The National Association of Realtors won a judgment against an unaffiliated website for the use of the “Realtor” trademark in its domain name.
The trade group filed a complaint against the GayRealtor website with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a nonprofit that manages Internet domain names. Icann issued a ruling Wednesday that the GayRealtor.com name was “misleading and not adopted in good faith,” according to NAR.
GayRealtor.com continued to operate as of late Thursday. Under Icann policy, a proceeding can either result in cancelation of a domain name, or the transfer of it to the complainant.
NAR said it allows members to use its “Realtor” trademark in domain names, but only in connection to a member or firm name. Jeff Hammerberg, listed on the site as its founder, is no longer a member of the trade group, according to NAR.
Initially, NAR said it asked GayRealtor.com to “comply with those rules.” The website refused.
Multiple spokespeople for NAR could not be reached for comment. A call to a phone number listed on GayRealtor.com went unanswered.
