Zynga goes after ZyngaGiftcards.com and ZyngaWorld.com domain names

Zynga has filed two domain name complaints concerning zyngagiftcards.com and zyngaworld.com with WIPO, the World Intellectual Property Organization. 

The complaints were filed today for ZyngaWorld.com and yesterday for ZyngaGiftcards.com. 

Zynga’s Domain Dispute Track Record

Zynga has had no problem winning domain disputes filed using the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, better known as UDRP. 

In all previous cases, the domain names were transferred from the respondent back to Zynga.  The list of domain names includes zynga-chips.com, zynga.cc, zyngachips.com, zyngapoker.com, buyzyngachips.net, cheapzyngachips.net, chips4zynga.com, yourzyngachips.com, and zyngachips4sell.com.

As TechCrunch reported in March 2010, Zynga rolled out gift cards at a number of major retailers in the U.S.  Though Zynga refers to them as “game cards“, they are essentially gift cards which can be used  for in-game currency to buy the items you want.

Zyngagiftcards.com is currently registered to Joanna Hewett according to Whois Records, and has been registered since December 2009.  Zyngaworld.com is registered to David Cahill of Australia. 

Oddly enough, Zynga doesn’t own zyngagamecards.com and hasn’t filed a dispute over the domain as of yet, even though it refers to its “gift cards” as “game cards”. 

The company also doesn’t own zyngaecards.com, online “game cards” that can be purchased and sent to users with a personal message.  What’s even stranger, is the domain name isn’t even registered at the time of this story, despite the number of abusive registrations the company regularly encounters.  But given Zynga’s success at WIPO, hopefully people will learn some lessons, and avoid these types of registrations.

Though the company will likely win these domain disputes and have the names transferred, they might not be as lucky with the trademark dispute over Blingville, which so far has backfired after Blingville responded with a lawsuit, and thousands have lined up to test and play the soon-to-be released Facebook game.

[Update 1: On March 21, 2011, the WIPO panel ordered the domain name zyngaworld.com transferred to Zynga.  The dispute for zyngagiftcards.com was terminated, after the owner agreed to turn over the name to Zynga.]