Alo, LLC, a prominent player in the yoga apparel industry, has initiated legal proceedings in a bid to gain control of the domain name alo.com.
This marks the company’s second endeavor to acquire the domain through legal channels. Initially, in 2017, Alo, LLC filed a cybersquatting complaint under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). However, the claim was unsuccessful as the panel ruled against Alo, citing that the domain had been registered prior to the existence of the apparel company, and thus the filing was considered to be in bad faith.
Undeterred, Alo, LLC has now taken its case to court, asserting that subsequent actions surrounding the domain name justify their legal challenge:
“In this action, Alo does not allege that the Defendant Domain Name was originally registered to exploit Alo’s trademarks during its inception, nor was Alo aware of any infringement of its intellectual property rights until more recently. Nonetheless, the present circumstances surrounding the domain name’s current use and registration necessitate our current legal action,” the company stated.
Alo contends that the domain has been utilized for parking purposes, displaying advertisements related to Alo and its competitors. While the Whois record indicates continuity in ownership since the 2017 UDRP dispute, Alo argues that the recent utilization of the domain name raises concerns of trademark infringement rather than mere cybersquatting.
Representing Alo, LLC in this legal pursuit is David Weslow of Wiley Rein, while ESQwire.com represented the domain owner in the previous UDRP dispute.
The outcome of this latest legal battle will likely hinge on the interpretation of trademark law and the demonstrated use of the domain name alo.com in relation to Alo, LLC’s business activities.
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