Nintendo still a winner following amendment to 'pokemon.cl' decision

In Aguilar v Distribuidora de Impresos y Artes Gráficas Ltda, NIC Chile panellist Gabriel Paiva Hantke has amended her earlier decision ordering the transfer of the domain name 'pokemon.cl' to a third party - US-based Nintendo. NIC Chile requested the amendment because Nintendo had failed to file a formal opposition to the registration. The panellist accepted NIC Chile's objection in part, but refused to order the transfer of the domain name to either Aguilar or Artes Gráficas.

In her original decision, Hantke concluded that neither Daniel Aguilar nor Artes Gráficas had rights to the domain name 'pokemon.cl', so she ordered its transfer to Nintendo, the owner of a number of international registrations for POKEMON. According to Hantke, although Nintendo had not formally opposed the registration, it had provided overwhelming evidence that it has superior rights to the POKEMON mark, and therefore the 'pokemon.cl' domain name, in Chile and internationally.

NIC Chile objected to Hantke's decision and asked her to amend it. It argued that since Nintendo had failed to file a formal opposition, it was not entitled to receive an order in its favour transferring the disputed domain name. Hantke agreed to change her original decision ordering the transfer of 'pokemon.cl' to Nintendo, but refused to order that the domain name be transferred to either Aguilar or Artes Gráficas.

Luis Felipe Claro Swinburn, Claro y Cia, Santiago