The single case, heard by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)'s arbitration centre, transferred 1,519 domain names to the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), refusing to transfer just 10 of the names. The hotels group had withdrawn claims relating to 13 other domain names.
The case was taken by the Inter-Continental Hotels Corporation and Six Continents Hotels, both of which are owned by the IHG. The man who had registered the domain names was German resident Daniel Kirchhof.
WIPO's Uniform Domain Resolution Policy (UDRP) allows for the taking of one case to settle many disputes as long as the domain names are held by the same person. The rules also allow companies to take a joint case against a holder of domain names if they are related and have a common interest in the case.
The WIPO panel said that it accepted the taking of the action by two related companies over 1,500 domain names was acceptable.
