In April 2018 DPDgroup International Services GMBH & Co. KG filed a complaint (D2018-0887) with the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) regarding the domain dpdservicesdelivery.com. The domain holder is a private person from Africa.

The disputed domain was registered on November 27, 2017.

With almost 5 million parcels, the complainant is the second largest parcel service provider in Europe. It is in possession of registered trademark rights and sees its trademark infringed both with the domain and the website under this domain. Above all, the addition of the two common English words for "service" and "delivery" increase the degree of confusion. It further declares that there is no business relationship with the domain owner, nor is he entitled to use the trademarks or that he is generally known under the domain name. Several attempts to contact the domain owner or clarify the deactivation of this domain with the registrar have failed.

The defendant did not respond to the official request from WIPO.

WIPO agrees that the domain infringes registered trademark rights and that the addition of the two common terms does not lead to a distinction from the complainant's trademark. This is more likely to encourage confusion. Furthermore it is obvious that the defendant has tried to replicate the complainant's website under the domain. Additionally it has not proven or stated that there is a legitimate interest in the domain. Finally WIPO notes that this is a classic example of cybersquatting. This impression is reinforced by the fact that the defendant has not reacted to either the complainant's letters and e-mails or those of WIPO.

Conclusively WIPO orders that the domain be deleted at the complainant's request. The full decision was published on the WIPO website on June 11, 2018.

The domain has not yet been deleted today (6/22/2018) and the confusingly similar website can still be accessed. We hope that the deletion will be carried out as soon as possible and that the image damage and monetary losses will be kept within reasonable limits. It remains to be seen, however, whether the domain might be registered again (by another person) with bad intentions.