The San Francisco-based non-profit organization Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. operates, among other things, wikipedia.org, the well-known free online encyclopedia, which is compiled, edited and maintained by over 70,000 active contributors. In the past, it has already tried to assert its right to injunctive relief. She has sent two e-mails to the current domain owner that seemingly went unanswered. It therefore decided to lodge a complaint with the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) in July 2018, demanding the transfer of the said domain.

In its appeal, it states that it owns and uses various registered trademarks for Wikipedia. In the past, various complaints to WIPO have also revealed that the brand name "Wikipedia" is known worldwide.

The disputed domain was registered on May 11, 2004 and redirects to websites that offer downloads or contain advertising. The complainant states that it considers itself to be entitled in all three respects (similarity of trademark, right or legitimate interest, use in bad faith).

WIPO concludes that, through registration and use, the complainant holds corresponding rights to "Wikipedia" and that the disputed domain name is confusingly similar by adding the letter "e" in the centre of the mark. Furthermore, the defendant has not submitted an opinion to prove a legitimate interest. It is undisputed that the complainant is not connected with the defendant, has not authorized him to use the trademark and that the defendant has not used the domain name otherwise, except on websites with downloads and advertising. WIPO also concludes that the defendant must have been aware of the registered trademark at the time of registration and that the disputed domain name was registered in bad faith. It therefore decides that the disputed domain must be transferred to the complainant. The full decision (D2018-1453) can be found on the WIPO website.

Especially companies that own trademarks, product or company names with similar spellings should check their domain portfolio with regard to these typing domains and above all include important top-level domains such as.com or.eu.