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Battle for Gorgonzola in domain space

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has recently heard several complaints filed by Consorzio per la Tutela del Formaggio Gorgonzola within the framework of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). The name of the Italian cheese consortium can be translated as Consortium for the Protection of Gorgonzola Cheese, which explains its purpose: to protect and monitor the production and trade of Gorgonzola PDO and the use of its designation.

However, the cheese defenders are also fighting the domain names that include the word “gorgonzola.” So far, some of the cases are being won by the company but others are being lost. Consorzio per la Tutela del Formaggio Gorgonzola won the transfer of gorgonzola.blue and gorgonzola.best, according to Domain Name Wire. The company’s lawyers proved that Gorgonzola was a trademark in both instances.

At the same time, it lost cases against gorgonzola.club and gorgonzola.city. The domain owner in the .club decision was in the United States, and the panel noted that the consortium didn’t show that Gorgonzola was a trademark there. In the .city case, Digital Town registered the domain as part of a collection of .city domains, so it was clear the domain referred to the Italian city, not the cheese.

Gorgonzola is a place with a population of around 20,000 in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy. In fact, the famous cheese is named after the town.

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