A one member UDRP panel awarded Bodybuilding.com, LLC the domain name bodvbuildinq.com

The interesting part of the case is that the panel found that Bodybuilding.com by virtue of the domain registration itself combined with the use of the domain over the 14 years, amount of traffic it received and the general success of the site,  gave rise to common law trademark rights which the panel then found the domain bodvbuildinq.com was infringing on.

The domain was parked

Here is what the one member panel had to say on the issue of a common law trademark:

“Complainant claims to own the BODYBUILDING.COM mark through its common law trademark. Complainant has registered its mark.

“Complainant claims it has been using the BODYBUILDING.COM mark since 1999 in connection with an online sports nutrition company.

“Complainant uses the mark to feature 25,000 articles and over 10,000 videos, which help users reach their fitness goals.

“Complainant also uses the mark in connection with retail store services, and is the number one sports and nutrition online retailer.

“Previous panels have found that complainants can establish a common law trademark through evidence such as the manner and amount of promotion of goods available under the mark, the extent of complainant’s use of the mark, and a degree of consumer recognition, all of which contribute to the establishment of a secondary meaning in a mark.“

“The Panel notes that the bodybuilding.com domain claims to receive on average over 1,000,000 unique daily visitors, and has over 1.5 million registered members who frequent the site, making Complainant allegedly the most visited and bodybuilding and fitness website in the world.

The Panel finds that Complainant has established common law rights in the BODYBUILDING.COM mark for the purposes of Policy ¶ 4(a)(i), as Complainant has promoted goods and services under the mark for 14 years, amassed a considerable clientele of visitors and members of the site, and enjoys commercial popularity.”