Sycomore Vox France Société, a French company, has claimed ownership of the SYCOMORE mark across various domains since 2019.
(https://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/shared/images/socialmedia/wipo_services_adr_2019_1200.jpg)
The domain name Sycomore.com was registered in 2004 and became a focus point for a UDRP.
The Complainant claims that the SYCOMORE mark was first used by them in 1986 when the corporation was formed.
The Respondent is a French domain investor who listed the domain for sale on Sedo. The Complainant's initial offer of 200 Euro was countered with an offer of 190,000 Euro, which was refused. Further negotiations in 2023 involved an offer of 1500 Euro and an asking price of 9,990 Euro, which was again refused by the Complainant.
The Panelist from WIPO noted that at the time of the registration of the disputed domain name, SYCOMORE trademarks were not registered by the Complainant. The Panel also found that the Complainant did not provide relevant evidence that it had used the word SYCOMORE as an unregistered trademark.
Therefore, the panel considers that it is unlikely that the Respondent targeted the Complainant and/or its trademarks when registering the disputed domain name before the registration and use by the Complainant of the dictionary terms "sycomore" as trademarks. Given these circumstances, the Panel finds it highly unlikely that the Respondent had the Complainant in mind when registering the disputed domain name.
Final decision: Transfer of the domain name Sycomore.com will not be granted to the Complainant.