The dot.com names registered included AYAHOO, JAHU, NYYAHOO, YAHOOF, YAHOONY YOUHOO and YAHPOO.
Yahoo! had trade and service mark registrations for the word “Yahoo!” in the classes of computer software for search and retrieval, books, computer services, magazines, posters, shirts, etc. The original domain name was registered in 1995.
The company claimed that the similar domain names were registered mostly by one individual, Eitan Zviely, under a number of fictitious company names. It said he was “a known cybersquatter”.
WIPO found that the Zviely and the other parties had no legitimate interests in the names and that they were registered in bad faith. It ordered that the registration of the 37 names be transferred to Yahoo!
Yahoo is also planning on filing a lawsuit in Thailand against Yoohhoo.com, a Thai based site. According to reports, the site’s owners claim “it is simply a spelling of the yoo-hoo sound people make to attract the attention of someone they know.”