If authorities that consider domain disputes under the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) had a prize similar to the Darwin Awards (a tongue-in-cheek prize that recognizes people for losing their lives in the most ridiculous way), British businessman Callum Charnock would certainly be in the lead to receive it. Domain Name Wire has recently published his case.
Charnock owns a small business selling extreme sports apparel under the brand of Loyal Soldiers and uses the domain LoyalSoldiers.co.uk. Not so long ago, he discovered the domain LoyalSoldiers.com and decided to seek justice. The man sent an angry letter to the domain owner, a company called Hola Domains, demanding that the owner sell the domain to him for 100 pounds, and threatening legal action otherwise.
The company was not impressed by the threat but agreed to sell the domain at a more reasonable price of $1,000. Here comes the most interesting part. Callum Charnock denied the counter-offer and filed a claim with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) under UDRP. For reference, the fee for a domain dispute claim reviewed by one panelist is $1,500. It appears that it was a matter of principle at that point. Charnock was absolutely certain he was entitled to the domain and he wanted to prove it.
That was where he made his second mistake. The panelist found that Charnock sought his rights to the title Loyal Soldiers using a British national trademark, UK00002529719, whose registration expired on October 23, 2019. Moreover, the trademark did not contain the words “loyal soldiers” in the form that the claimant referred to.
There is more to this story. LoyalSoldiers.com was first registered in 2014. The owner has never approached Charnock with an offer to buy the domain. It was Callum Chernock who got in touch with the owner first, on April 29, 2026. On the same day, he filed a formal notice of trademark violation and offered to buy the domain for 100 pounds. When rejected, he almost immediately filed a UDRP claim on May 1. The WIPO panelist found that this sequence of events could indicate an attempt to exploit the UDRP procedure to pressure the domain owner into lowering the price.
Finally, the panelist concluded that the domain LoyalSoldiers.com consisted of two commonly used English words, “loyal” and “soldiers.” This combination can be potentially used for a variety of projects while not automatically referring to Callum Charnock’s business. The panelist noted that the circumstances of the case did not provide any grounds for believing that the domain had been registered and used to the detriment of the Loyal Soldiers business in the UK. The latter is the prerequisite for recognizing the registration and use of a domain in breach of the UDRP.
As a result, the panelist not only refused to grant the complaint but actually qualified it as a reverse domain name hijacking attempt. Consequently, Callum Charnock opted out of buying the domain for $1,000 but paid $1,500 for the dispute, lost it, and tainted his own reputation.
