Build a Rocket Boy Games Ltd has been found guilty of reverse domain name hijacking by World Intellectual Property Organization panelist, Assen Alexiev.
The decision comes after the video game company, which was founded by former Rockstar North President and Grand Theft Auto series producer, Leslie Benzies, filed a Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution (UDRP) against Build a Rocket GmbH, seeking to take possession of the domain BuildARocket.com.
Here’s what Alexiev said in the decision:
In the present case, the Complainant is represented by counsel. There is no question that the Parties are involved in numerous trademark cancellation and opposition proceedings, and the Respondent has submitted evidence showing that the facts about the Respondent’s company name and its activities prior to the commencement of the Complainant’s activities in 2018 have been brought forward by it in these proceedings. The Complainant was therefore aware of these facts and ought to have known that it could not succeed as a result, but nevertheless proceeded to file the Complaint.
Build a Rocket Boy is a video game company that’s currently working on a AAA NFT title, Everywhere. With Benzies at the helm, Build a Rocket Boy’s upcoming game is expected to garner a fair bit of attention. However, this kind of publicity won’t help.
Benzies’ company, which currently uses the domain BuildARocketBoy.com, filed a UDRP against Build a Rocket GmbH, an esports agency that uses the domain name BuildARocket.com. Basically, what Benzies’ studio tried to do is to claim ownership of BuildARocket.com.
Build a Rocket Boy claimed that Build a Rocket’s ownership of the domain amounts to cybersquatting. It argued that the agency does not have a globally relevant business and shouldn’t own the .com domain. Build a Rocket was founded in 2016 and acquired the domain in question, BuildARocket.com, in 2018, the same year that Benzies’ company was founded.
Clearly, the UDRP panelist didn’t agree with Build a Rocket Boy’s agruments.
Benzies recently revealed his upcoming project, Everywhere. His last project with Rockstar, Grand Theft Auto 5, has shipped over 170 million copies in less than a decade. Take-Two Interactive CEO, Strauss Zelnick, revealed this milestone while confirming that work on GTA 6 will go on as planned despite the huge leak a few months ago.
