WIPO Rejects COM.APP Domain Claim in Reverse Domain Hijacking Ruling
Jun/18/2026
A recent WIPO decision highlighted the challenges of asserting trademark rights against premium domain registrations acquired before those rights fully materialize. The dispute centered on the domain com.app, acquired in 2018 through a competitive auction for more than $20,000, while the complainant’s U.S. trademark registration for COM.APP was not granted until 2019. Although the panel acknowledged that the domain name was identical to the trademark, it found no evidence that the registrant had targeted the complainant’s nascent rights when purchasing the domain. Instead, the respondent successfully argued that "com" and "app" were highly valuable generic Internet terms, making the domain attractive independently of any trademark claim. The panel further noted that trademark applications alone do not automatically place domain investors on notice and rejected allegations that passive holding and resale activity constituted bad-faith registration. In an unusually strong outcome, WIPO not only denied the complaint but also declared it an instance of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking, concluding that the complainant pursued the case despite knowing that the domain had been acquired before any enforceable trademark rights existed and after previously attempting to purchase the domain directly from its owner.
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