Wakefit Innovations, an Indian mattress provider, attempted to reverse hijack the domain names wakefit.com and wake.fit, according to a World Intellectual Property Organization tribunal.
Wakefit Innovations, which operates under the domain wakefit.co, was established in 2016. Wakefit.com was registered in 2009 and is being used to market exercise devices.
This lawsuit was doomed from the start because the domain was registered before the Complainant existed. Add to that the lawful business use, and there’s no reason why this case was filed.
Wakefit Innovations committed further blunders that contributed to the reverse domain name hijacking decision.
It supplied a sequence of events indicating that the Respondent approached it to purchase the domain for $150,000. However, it turns out that the Complainant originally raised the issue, writing to the domain owner:
” Hi Wakefit team. High-five on the awesome name both of us chose for our businesses! We are a memory-foam product-based company operating out of Bangalore, India specializing in mattresses and pillows looking to expand globally. To achieve that we believe a wakefit.com domain is essential and thus we wanted to have a conversation round it. Please let us know if you’d be interested and would be available to talk sometime next week. Thanks Wakefit Team “
Panelist Nick Gardner was also upset that Wakefit Innovations portrayed the Respondent’s business and website as fictitious although it was plainly an operational firm. He further stated that there is no evidence to substantiate the claim that the Respondent participated in a “pattern of cybersquatting activities.”
Wakefit Innovations sold $120 million in 2023-2024. Its greatest bid for the domain was $3,000, while the Respondent reportedly requested $150,000.
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