Samsung has been found guilty of trying to reverse hijack the domain name ‘GalaxyStore.com’.
Earlier this year, they changed the name of their app store from Galaxy Apps to Galaxy Store but they failed to secure the domain name ‘GalaxyStore.com’ as it was already registered to someone else. In an effort to take ownership of the domain, they contacted the Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre and filed a cybersquatting complaint under the Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP).
Samsung accused the domain owner of registering ‘GalaxyStore.com’ in bad faith and breaching their trademark. However, the domain name was originally registered in 2004 – long before Samsung launched the Galaxy smartphone range in 2009 so their complaint was quickly thrown out.
The owner of ‘GalaxyStore.com’ had warned Samsung the domain registration pre-dated the Galaxy brand and requested they withdraw the complaint but they chose not to. The UDRP panel found Samsung’s case to be an abuse of the policy; a form of reverse domain name hijacking.
So… good news for the domain name owner, but not for Samsung.
If you’re launching a new brand or business – always start by checking domain name availability! If it’s available, snap it up before someone else does.
See if your domain name is available here: https://www.names.co.uk/domain-names
