Molson Wins Dispute Over Canadian.biz

A recent decision of the National Arbitration Forum ("Forum") has concluded that only Molson Canada is entitled to use the domain "canadian.biz". Molson Canada is the registered owner of the trademark "Canadian" in Canada. "Canadian.biz" had been registered by a Toronto resident on April 26, 2002, which resulted in Molson Canada submitting a Start-up Trademark Opposition Policy ("STOP") Complaint to the Forum requesting the transfer of the "canadian.biz" domain name from the registrant to Molson Canada. At the time of the hearing, the registrant had not yet used the domain name for business purposes, but asserted that he had every intention of doing so. After hearing the arguments of both parties, the dispute resolution panellist found that Molson Canada had extensive trademark rights in the word "Canadian", and that the registrant had not demonstrated any rights or interests in the mark. It was not enough that the registrant intended to use the domain name. The panel noted that actual use must be shown in order to demonstrate rights or interests in the mark and ordered the domain name be transferred to Molson Canada. For a copy of the decision, visit: http://www.arb-forum.com/domains/decisions/112451.htm.