We always cover stories when a trademark holder over reaches and tries to stake claim to a domain through UDRP instead of entering into a transaction with the registrant. In this post we are taking a look at a company that went out and purchased the name instead of going the UDRP route. Now whether or not a UDRP would have been a victory remains to be seen.

Sonar is a music festival that was founded in 1994 in Barcelona by Advanced Music Sl. They put on festivals all around the world and operate under the domain sonar.es.

From their Facebook page:

Created in 1994, Sonar is a pioneering festival with a unique format and content. It’s first class reputation as a leading reference for international festivals is by virtue of a carefully balanced cultural offering, combining a playful nature, the avant-garde, and experimentation with electronic dance music’s newest trends.

Sonar is constantly on the pulse of the current electronic music landscape.
Its interactions and hybridizations with digital creation and new media, unites established artists with emerging talent, in all areas of musical and audiovisual production.

Sónar’s founding values have defined the festival since its inception: the link between creativity and technology, its commitment to being a global event and
a meeting point for creative people from both public and industry sectors, from different disciplines and communities.

Sonar Barcelona’s activities are divided into two main locations: the recently premiered Sónar by Day, located from 2013 in Fira Montjuïc, with concerts and dj’s, showcases as well as the new Sónar+D area, the essence of which is discovering and tracking new talent and enhance professional activities; and the larger shows at Sónar by Night, in Fira Gran Via de L’Hospitalet, where the leading names in the current international music scene are staged.

Sónar+D presents a program with a common goal: to make the relationship between creativity, technology, mobility, innovation and business more transparent and accessible. The birth of Sónar+D in 2013 expresses a concrete commitment to Sónar’s professional activity, linking creative and technology companies of all kinds.

Since 2002 Sonar has organized more than 50 events in many different parts of the world, adapting the Sónar philosophy to unique venues and environments, and highlighting the most interesting homegrown talent and the scene in the city where it takes place. As well as the event in Barcelona, Sónar organizes festivals every year in other cities. In previous years, it has travelled to Reykjavik, Buenos Aires, New York, London, Frankfurt, Seoul, Lisboa, Lyon, Hamburg, Toronto, Montreal, Chicago, Boston, Denver, Oakland, Los Ángeles, Tokyo and Osaka, among many other destinations around the world.

In last weeks sales report a reader, Gypsum Fanatastic  pointed out the sale of SonarFestival.com, regged in 2005  sold for $8,000.

The domain now points to sonar.es. Kudos to Sonar on doing business the right way.