The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has stripped ownership of the XPole.com domain name from a South Korean Internet user.
Seoul-based Jeongyong Cho has been forced to hand over the rights to the Web address to Vertical Leisure Ltd., which holds the XPole trademark in several countries.
Mr. Cho was found to hold no trademarks relating to the term XPole, and WIPO said he had acquired the domain name for the purpose of selling it for a profit.
WIPO arbitrators ruled that the domain name had been registered in bad faith, as the existing holder had no practical use for the Web address.
At present, the domain name is simply used to redirect Internet users to the DancePoleKit.com website.
The organization added that the “only credible explanation for the current use of the domain name is that [Cho] is seeking to take advantage of the similarity between the domain name and complainant’s website to draw Internet users to that site for commercial advantage.”
Last week, the U.S. firm Chief Architect won a WIPO dispute it filed against CAD Australia, with regards to the chiefarchitect.com.au domain name.