MINNEAPOLIS – Saying the Canadian broadcaster doesn’t have world wide rights to the three-letter tandem CTV, the National Arbitration Forum ruled that CTVglobemedia can’t force a Turkish company to give up the ownership of the web domain ctv.com (they could probably buy it, though).
Having bought and deployed the web domain to attract traffic for advertisers is a legitimate business use, no matter that the site doesn’t do much. Plus, it’s not linked to the broadcaster (which uses www.ctv.ca) in any way and a three-judge panel ruled 2-1 against CTV’s claim to the domain.
“I fail to see why a resident of country A can interfere with an established trade mark in country B even if he is free to use it in country A. The essential problem in this case is the universality of the Internet. I agree with the majority that Complainant cannot assert its trademark throughout the world. It can, however make a powerful case in Canada and the USA. But Respondent seeks to use the mark everywhere, including those two countries. This is made clear, I think, by its use of the suffix ".com", which is the nearest thing we have to a universal identity. Had he – like (the) complainant – used a less universally symbolic suffix, one could argue he sought to avoid conflict. The burden to avoid conflict with established rights, even if less than universally established, should rest upon the registrant. Failure to meet that burden, in my view, leads to a conclusion of a lack of legitimate interest, or better the lack of a legitimate universal interest,” reads the dissent of Hon. Roger P. Kerans.
