Panelist finds in domain owner’s favor, even though a response to the dispute wasn’t file.

Syndicat des Vins Côtes de Provence, a union of winemakers in the Côtes de Provence, France, has lost a cybersquatting complaint.

The group filed a dispute against the domain name cotesdeprovence.com, which is owned by a man in New Jersey.

World Intellectual Property Organization panelist Andrew D. S. Lothian noted that the group has some trademark protection. However, he had mixed thoughts on whether the domain is confusingly similar to a mark in which the group has rights.

He decided not to make a full conclusion about this, because he determined the case failed on the question or rights or legitimate interests.

The “best” trademark the group put forward dates to 2010, which is after the domain was registered. An earlier trademark only included a bottle of wine with no textual elements.

Lothian said that even if the trademark dates didn’t kill the case, there are other issues in showing the domain was registered in bad faith:

Indeed, there is no information before the Panel which indicates that the Respondent would likely have been aware of the Complainant, and/or its business activities, or roles and responsibilities, when it registered the disputed domain name. The Respondent’s selection of the term “Cotes de Provence” comprising the disputed domain name permits a reasonable inference that the Respondent was aware of the name of the region generally speaking, but not necessarily that it was aware of the Complainant or its trademark.