Czech Arbitration Court rules in favour of the EUIPO by cancelling EUIPP.com domain name

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) continues to take action against senders of misleading payment requests targeting users of the intellectual property (IP) system. As part of its Strategic Plan SP2030, the EUIPO has intensified efforts to tackle these fraudulent activities. A recent ruling by the Czech Arbitration Court’s Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) Panel in favour of the EUIPO to cancel the domain name euipp.com, effective 16 March 2025, marks an important milestone in this endeavor.

The case is a classic example of typosquatting, where fraudsters exploit common typographical errors, in this case replacing the letter ‘O’ with the adjacent letter ‘P’ on a QWERTY keyboard in the domain name. The Panel found it was the respondent's intention to deceive and divert consumers, as evidenced by their dissemination of scam emails. By doing so, the respondent sought to take advantage of the EUIPO's goodwill and credibility, luring internet users into using services that may appear to be affiliated with the Office.

In its decision, the Panel acknowledged the EUIPO’s long-standing reputation and the widespread recognition of the ‘EUIPO’ trade mark, which is a registered European Union Trade Mark (EUTM). This is the first time the Office has successfully relied on its registered EUTM in a domain name dispute resolution process. The ruling demonstrates how IP rights provide tangible enforcement benefits in holding scammers accountable for misleading consumers.

The ruling also underscores the strategic importance of connecting IP rights, such as trade marks, with related rights such as domain names as a tool for growth and sustainable development. Under the SP2030, the EUIPO aims to improve the customer experience, ensure fair online commerce and assist brand owners in protecting their rights online by developing new services to manage interactions with other types of IP and related rights, including domain names, and by increasing cooperation with domain name registries.

It is not the first time that a decision has been taken in favour of the EUIPO in anti-scam matters in EU Member States: previous criminal court rulings in Sweden in 2017 and in Germany in 2024 found that sending misleading payment requests to users of the IP system constitutes fraud. The UDRP Panel’s ruling shows the EUIPO’s commitment to tackling scam activities. and protecting its customers.

Source: https://www.euipo.europa.eu/en/news/czech-arbitration-court-rules-in-favour-of-the-euipo-by-cancelling-euipp-com-domain-name