The domain community is fuming over the recent review of a UDPR filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The UDPR was filed by Danish company Borum A/S, which was trying to get control of the Borum.com domain this way. The complaint itself looked very dubious, as this domain was registered by Thomas A. Borum from the US and used for the website of his veterinary clinic. His surname allowed him to own the domain without violating anyone's rights. Moreover, Borum registered the domain name back in 1998 – before the Danish company registered its trademarks.
Borum A/S lawyers tried to prove that Borum was not the real surname of the registrant. In addition, they tried to blame him for not checking the databases before registering the domain name to make sure that the domain would not violate anyone's rights. WIPO panelist Alistair Payne was unimpressed by these arguments and denied the UDPR. But this is not even the main point. As it turned out, Thomas Borum died in a plane crash last year. And Borum A/S, which called out Borum for not doing the necessary research before registering the domain, did not in fact take a minute to search for information about the registrant’s death, although this information can be easily Googled. However, Domain Name Wire thinks that the company and its lawyers knew well about Borum's death and decided to grab the domain, taking advantage of the fact that the registrant would not respond to requests and would not be able to protect his interests.
Such a cynical case angered many users of thematic domain forums and sites – from ordinary investors to the "domain king" Rick Schwartz. All of them unanimously condemn the actions of Borum A/S and promise to make every effort to destroy the reputation of the Danish company and its lawyers. In particular, information about them will be posted on HallOfShame.com, which spotlights individuals and companies showing extreme dishonesty in the domain business.
