Romeo Maggi, also of Switzerland, registered the domain name maggi.com in 1996. The web site for the name bears a family photo and a message that the site is “coming soon.” Mr Maggi originally registered the domain name in the name of his own company, Pro Fiducia Treuhand AG, although he subsequently instructed the domain name registry to transfer ownership to his family name. Nestlé accused him of cybersquatting and brought its claim before the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
The multinational said that Mr Maggi had registered and used the name in bad faith. Maggi is a brand used by Nestlé in various food products, including bouillon, soup, seasoning, sauce and prepared dishes.
Mr Maggi argued that his interest in the name was legitimate and further that Nestlé was guilty of “reverse domain name hijacking, on the grounds that [it] is well aware of his legal right to have a domain name corresponding to his family name.” The rules followed by WIPO define reverse domain name hijacking as use of the proceedings “in bad faith to attempt to deprive a registered domain-name holder of a domain name.”
The three-member panel of WIPO agreed with Mr Maggi and refused to transfer the name. The panel concluded that the complaint “was brought in bad faith and constitutes an abuse of the administrative proceeding.”