Genesis Teknoloji ve Bili?im Hizmetleri A.? v. Kacee Jackson
In the recent WIPO case involving Genesis Teknoloji ve Bili?im Hizmetleri A.? the company owned by Hakan Torehan, parent company of Miracle Cash&More against Kacee Jackson, the complainants sought control over the domain names miraclecashfacts.com and mtrcstock.com. The domains are used to host content critical of the complainants, outlining unethical activities within their business operations.
The panel determined that the use of the domain names by Jackson and constituted legitimate non-commercial fair use for the purpose of criticism. It was found that the domains did not mislead the public into believing they were official sites of the complainants, and the content was genuinely intended for critique rather than commercial exploitation or defamation.
This decision comes against a backdrop of a previous legal issue involving Micah Theard, an owner of Miracle Cash & More, who was involved in a domain impersonation case last year, indicating a pattern of legal challenges related to domain use and rights. That decision, which determined that Micah Theard was impersonating a healthcare website in order to obtain login credentials of it’s clients, can be found here.
Ultimately, the complaint to gain control over the disputed domain names was denied, reinforcing the our right to use the domains for bona fide criticism. The decision underscores the importance of distinguishing between genuine criticism and misleading or malicious use of domain names in digital communications.
For a detailed account of the arbitration process and findings, refer to the original WIPO decision here and below: