Cultureireland.ie WIPO Decision

Ambrand mentions the WIPO decision regarding the domain cultureireland.ie
The case is between Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism and Odyssey Internet Portal Limited.
It seems that Odyssey registered the domain after the Department had either failed to renew the domain or simply let it expire. While they had held the domain for a period up to 2004 they were no longer the holder when they setup a national agency “culture ireland” in February 2005. Of course the domain was still available at that time, so why didn’t they register it?
In either case they lost the WIPO case.
Why?
The judgement includes some interesting details:
“As to the use of the name “Culture Ireland” by the agency established by the Complainant in February 2005, the Complainant asserts that the agency and its name were “widely publicized” at the time of launch and that the agency “has already gained recognition and has established a reputation in both Ireland and abroad”.
Again there is little detail let alone supporting evidence. Just how widely was the agency publicized in February 2005? Why have no examples of this publicity been produced? What activities has the agency undertaken in the six month period between its launch and the filing of this Complaint to generate the claimed reputation and recognition in that relatively short period? Again the Complainant might have exhibited samples of marketing material or details of marketing spend amongst other things.”
So before you go running off on a big marketing campaign, you may want to protect your brand..