14 DAY TRIAL // After tapping the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to pull down iPhone5.com, Apple now has one final step to obtain the domain from brand protection agency Corporation Service Company.
As spotted by TNW, the details for WIPO Case D2012-0951 over iPhone5.com reveal that the decision is now “terminated” following a complaint by "Apple Computer, Inc."
Apple has dropped “Computer” from its name for a decade now, but some regulators still refer to the Cupertino giant as a computer company.
Although the decision is terminated, the domain isn’t Apple’s just yet. The domain has been moved to a brand protection agency called Corporation Service Company. Apple could reportedly gain control from here.
Apple is now following the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, which states that “most types of trademark-based domain-name disputes must be resolved by agreement, court action, or arbitration before a registrar will cancel, suspend, or transfer a domain name.”
“Disputes alleged to arise from abusive registrations of domain names (for example, cybersquatting) may be addressed by expedited administrative proceedings that the holder of trademark rights initiates by filing a complaint with an approved dispute-resolution service provider.”
iPhone5.com, a site that was chock full of ads, was owned by so-called spatters whose business reportedly relied on hits generated by Google’s indexing system.
This is not the first time Apple moves to shut down or obtain a domain name referencing its products. For example, Apple has managed to snatch iPods.com
The World Intellectual Property Organization ordered in August 2011 that the iPods.com domain name be transferred to Apple from parking site holder MP3Gold.com. Apple had filed an official complaint with WIPO at the end of May 2011, citing trademark infringement.