Google Loses Fight For Groovle Domain Name

Google Inc., the company behind the Google search engine, had lodged a complaint with the US National Arbitration Forum against the domain name Groovle.com, which is owned by Canada-based 207 Media, on November 6th.

But now, it appears that the search engine giant has lost the case as the ICANN-proved arbitration body turned down its complaint, citing it as ‘without foundation’. 

The California based company had claimed in its complaint against 207 Media that the disputed domain was "nearly identical or confusingly similar" to its own name with a difference of only two words. Google also made two more claims that 207 Media had no rights or legitimate reason to use the domain name and that Groovle.com was registered and used in "bad faith". 

However, the panel which constituted three judges, found that the adding R and switching a G with a V in Groovle.com gave the domain name an entirely different meaning, like that of ‘groovy’ or ‘groove’.  

The panel also refused to entertain the other two claims made by Google and said that "Because the complainant must prove all three elements under the policy, the complainant's failure to prove one of the elements makes further inquiry into the remaining element unnecessary."