EA loses control rights over domain name SSX.com
Dispute ends deeming EA’s argument invalid.
Electronic Arts has failed to claim a domain name that represents its upcoming snowboarding rebooted title, SSX.
Having EA entered into a dispute against the current owner of SSX.com, Abstract Holdings International LTD, with claims from the publishing giant that the URL was booked by the company in “bad faith” after the misuse of hosting game-related advertisements, a three-person National Arbitration Forum panel determined that EA’s argument was invalid.
“The EA allegations of bad faith in part are based upon the lack of due diligence conducted by retailers of domain names like Respondent. EA would seem to require that entities like Respondent conduct an international search for relatively obscure trademarks in order to determine whether a name is a registered mark. The Panel is not willing to go so far,” according to the Abstract Holdings International LTD.
Abstract Holdings made its purchase of SSX.com back in October 2011 as part of a $200,000 portfolio investment.
