An Arbitrator with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation Center has awarded the domain name Browns.com to Cleveland Browns .
Cleveland Browns filed a complaint with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center,asserting legal rights over the disputed domain name .
Cleveland Browns (also known as The Browns) owns many trademark registration for the Browns mark.Therefore,they contended that the disputed domain name is confusingly similar to its trademark.Moreover they contended that the respondent,Andrea Denise Diniola of Pineta,Italy, registered and used the disputed domain name in bad faith .
"The disputed domain name has been effectively under the control of the same entity from at least as early as 2001 (the apparent registration date) until the present. The nature of the corresponding website since at least as early as 2005 until January 4, 2011, has been essentially a click-through operation in which visitors have been offered links to a variety of goods, services and tickets related to football, and other things. The business model of an Internet click-through or pay-per-click operation is well understood and relies essentially on the attraction of viewers who may decide to follow the referral links offered, for which the website operator may receive commissions and derive commercial gain."
The respondent failed to submit a response in this proceeding.
The panel ordered the disputed domain name be transferred from the respondent to the complainant .
You can read the decision here .
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