A panel investigating domain-name disputes has found that Canadian cannabis company Cronos Group tried to reverse hijack the domain name “CronosGroup.com”.
The Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) decision comes following a complaint filed on behalf of Cronos Group, Inc. in June 2024. Legal counsel representing Cronos Group alleged that Mira Holdings, Inc., a professional domain name investor, had acquired the domain cronosgroup.com with the goal of charging the cannabis company a large amount to secure it.
In a letter in response to Cronos Group’s concerns, Mira Holdings had asked for $18,500 to transfer the domain to the cannabis company. In their complaint to the Canadian International Internet Dispute Resolution Centre (CIIDRC), Cronos Group Inc. sought to have the domain name transferred to their ownership.
Reverse domain name hijacking is when a company that is a rightful trademark owner tries to secure a domain name by making “cybersquatting” claims against a domain name’s owner through aggressive means.
Cronos Group argued that Mira Holdings secured the domain with the specific goal of selling it for an “excessive” amount. In response, Mira Holdings argued that many businesses commonly use the name Cronos and that they acquired it in an open public auction for USD$2,849, arguing that Cronos did not participate in the auction.
Despite Cronos Group’s concerns, the panel reviewing the complaint found that the cannabis company was unable to prove that Mira Holdings had acted in bad faith. Because of this, the panel dismissed the complaint, finding that it had been “brought in bad faith and constituted an abuse of the administrative proceeding.”
Cronos Group was not immediately available for comment.
