In the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) case of Dori Media International GmbH v. Sikreto LLC, the purchase of www.rebelde.com is being brought into question. The Complainant, Dori Media believed that the domain name was bought in bad faith. Dori Media International GmbH, held worldwide distribution rights and copyright to a television program named “Rebelde Way”. The Argentinean television show was first broadcasted in 2002, licensed in Mexico under the name “Rebelde”, and then broadcasted in many other countries.

The Complainant’s earliest trademark registration was granted in September of 2004, for the word “Rebelde”. The Respondent, Mr. McCaw of Sikreto LLC, registered the domain www.rebelde.com on December 23, 1999. In 2000, the Respondent used www.rebelde.com to offer free web-based email addresses. References to the “Rebelde Way” television show did not appear on the archived web pages until April of 2006, when www.rebelde.com was parked.

Pursuant to paragraph 4(a) of the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), the Complainant argued that: (1) www.rebelde.com was identical or confusingly similar to the “Rebelde” trademark, (2) the Respondent had no rights or legitimate interests in www.rebelde.com and (3) the Respondent registered and used www.rebelde.com in bad faith. Although the Administrative Panel found that the domain was confusingly similar to the Complainant’s trademark, it denied the complaint because the Respondent registered the domain name prior to the Complainant having any rights in the “Rebelde” trademark. Therefore, the Administrative Panel could not establish bad faith targeting of the Complainant’s mark .