In a decision in July 2000, WIPO had decided that the domain name corinthians.com should be transferred to a Brazilian corporation named Corinthians Licenciamentos. The domain name had initially been owned by a US citizen for the posting of Biblical quotations.
The policy of ICANN provides that its dispute resolution procedure “shall not prevent either [party] from submitting the dispute to a court of competent jurisdiction for independent resolution before […]or after [the] proceeding is concluded.”
The initial owner of the domain name requested that the federal court declare that he was not a cybersquatter under the US Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) and that the domain name should not be transferred from him.
In an initial decision by the district court, it was decided that federal courts did not have jurisdiction over the dispute involving the WIPO decision. The initial decision was overturned, however, in the appeal court’s decision issued on Wednesday, which ruled that US federal courts can make a determination that a domain name should not be transferred if a plaintiff can prove that he has not violated ACPA.