UN agency rules for Sands in trademark case

Monday, Dec. 24, 2001 | 10:25 a.m.

Venetian hotel-casino owner Las Vegas Sands Inc. said Friday it won a trademark infringement complaint against Red Group, an affiliate of an offshore online gaming operator accused of using the Sands trademark to offer Internet gambling.

The United Nation's World Intellectual Property Organization Arbitration and Mediation Center (WIPO), in a decision issued Dec. 6, ordered Red Group of South Africa to transfer its domain name "sandsofthecaribbean.com" to Las Vegas Sands because the name was "identical or confusingly similar to its trademarks ... and registered and used in bad faith."

Las Vegas Sands accused Red Group of using the domain name in bad faith when it emphasized the "SANDS mark all in capital letters, several times larger than 'of the Caribbean.' " The company said Red Group's online disclaimer of no affiliation with Las Vegas Sands was "insufficient to cure the initial and illegitimate diversion of Internet users."

But Red Group argued Las Vegas Sands has no exclusive rights in 'Sands' trademark because there are 95 registered trademarks in the United States that bear the Sands name.

Red Group said the Sands name was used because it is evocative of the sands on a Caribbean beach and because its affiliates are based in the Caribbean.

The Venetian in October won a trademark infringement complaint against another online gaming, International Services Inc., accused of offering to sell domain names bearing the Venetian trademark on 14 websites for as much as $450,000.