Romeo Maggi, also of Switzerland, registered the domain name
maggi.com in 1996. The web site for the name bears a family photo
and a message that the site is “coming soon.” Mr Maggi originally
registered the domain name in the name of his own company, Pro
Fiducia Treuhand AG, although he subsequently instructed the domain
name registry to transfer ownership to his family name. Nestlé
accused him of cybersquatting and brought its claim before the
World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
The multinational said that Mr Maggi had registered and used the
name in bad faith. Maggi is a brand used by Nestlé in various food
products, including bouillon, soup, seasoning, sauce and prepared
dishes.
Mr Maggi argued that his interest in the name was legitimate and
further that Nestlé was guilty of “reverse domain name hijacking,
on the grounds that [it] is well aware of his legal right to have a
domain name corresponding to his family name.” The rules followed
by WIPO define reverse domain name hijacking as use of the
proceedings “in bad faith to attempt to deprive a registered
domain-name holder of a domain name.”
The three-member panel of WIPO agreed with Mr Maggi and refused
to transfer the name. The panel concluded that the complaint “was
brought in bad faith and constitutes an abuse of the administrative
proceeding.”
