In a decision in July 2000, WIPO had decided that the domain
name corinthians.com should be transferred to a Brazilian
corporation named Corinthians Licenciamentos. The domain name had
initially been owned by a US citizen for the posting of Biblical
quotations.
The policy of ICANN provides that its dispute resolution
procedure “shall not prevent either [party] from submitting the
dispute to a court of competent jurisdiction for independent
resolution before […]or after [the] proceeding is concluded.”
The initial owner of the domain name requested that the federal
court declare that he was not a cybersquatter under the US
Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) and that the
domain name should not be transferred from him.
In an initial decision by the district court, it was decided
that federal courts did not have jurisdiction over the dispute
involving the WIPO decision. The initial decision was overturned,
however, in the appeal court’s decision issued on Wednesday, which
ruled that US federal courts can make a determination that a domain
name should not be transferred if a plaintiff can prove that he has
not violated ACPA.
