GENEVA—The parent company of online foot fetish marketplace FeetFinder was handed a legal victory Thursday as a review panel for the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) found a U.S.-based domain name owner infringed upon its globally-protected intellectual property.
The ruling stated that FLRT Inc., the owner of FeetFinder, had its IP violated by an individual named James Renae, who registered the domain feetfinderpics.com through Amazon's domain registry in December 2025. Users who navigated to the disputed domain name were met with a "coming soon" landing page with color schemes and branding similar to FeetFinder. FeetFinder's flagship domain is feetfinder.com, thus concerns over domain name dilution and alleged IP theft.
"The [infringing] website features a pink and purple color scheme, which shares certain similarities with the color scheme used on complainant’s website," reads the decision documented handed down by the one-person panel, staffed by Richard W. Page, of the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center.
Page added, "Although the Disputed Domain Name has not been actively used, panels have found that the non-use of a domain name (including a 'coming soon' page) would not by itself prevent a finding of bad faith under the doctrine of passive holding. To the contrary, in looking at the totality of circumstances in each case, panels have found that the registration and non-use of a domain name can still constitute bad faith."
Bad faith domain registration has also been regarded as "cybersquatting" or even the "tarnisment" of protected marks, including the IP communicated through web URLs.
The panel ruled that ownership of feetfinderpics.com was to be transferred to FLRT immediately as a resolution to the case.
Corey Silverstein, the attorney representing FeetFinder's corporate parent, praised the decision in a emailed statement to AVN.
"FeetFinder’s victory is a decisive reaffirmation that bad-faith actors cannot exploit established brands to mislead consumers and siphon traffic," he said. "The Panel had little difficulty concluding that the respondent’s domain—built around the FeetFinder mark and clearly intended to launch a competing platform—was designed to create confusion and capitalize on FeetFinder’s reputation."
He noted, "Importantly, the decision makes clear that even so-called ‘coming soon’ pages do not insulate infringers from liability where the intent to trade on another’s brand is evident.
"This outcome underscores FeetFinder’s commitment to protecting its platform, its users, and its brand integrity. It also serves as a warning to would-be infringers that attempts to mimic or appropriate established digital marketplaces will be met with swift and effective enforcement.”
