Oracle International Corporation v. Hostmaster
Claim Number: FA1912001873520
Complainant is Oracle International Corporation ("Complainant"), represented by Steven M. Levy of FairWinds Partners LLC, District of Columbia, USA. Respondent is Hostmaster ("Respondent")
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME
The domain name at issue is <us2-oraclecloud.com>, registered with Google LLC.
The undersigned certifies that he has acted independently and impartially and to the best of his knowledge has no known conflict in serving as Panelist in this proceeding.
David E. Sorkin as Panelist.
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the Forum electronically on December 3, 2019; the Forum received payment on December 3, 2019.
On December 3, 2019, Google LLC confirmed by email to the Forum that the <us2-oraclecloud.com> domain name is registered with Google LLC and that Respondent is the current registrant of the name. Google LLC has verified that Respondent is bound by the Google LLC registration agreement and has thereby agreed to resolve domain disputes brought by third parties in accordance with ICANN's Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Policy").
On December 6, 2019, the Forum served the Complaint and all Annexes, including a Written Notice of the Complaint, setting a deadline of December 26, 2019 by which Respondent could file a Response to the Complaint, via email to all entities and persons listed on Respondent's registration as technical, administrative, and billing contacts, and to postmaster@us2-oraclecloud.com. Also on December 6, 2019, the Written Notice of the Complaint, notifying Respondent of the email addresses served and the deadline for a Response, was transmitted to Respondent via post and fax, to all entities and persons listed on Respondent's registration as technical, administrative, and billing contacts.
Having received no response from Respondent, the Forum transmitted to the parties a Notification of Respondent Default.
On December 27, 2019, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the Forum appointed David E. Sorkin as Panelist.
Having reviewed the communications records, the Administrative Panel (the "Panel") finds that the Forum has discharged its responsibility under Paragraph 2(a) of the Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Rules") "to employ reasonably available means calculated to achieve actual notice to Respondent" through submission of Electronic and Written Notices, as defined in Rule 1 and Rule 2. Therefore, the Panel may issue its decision based on the documents submitted and in accordance with the ICANN Policy, ICANN Rules, the Forum's Supplemental Rules, and any rules and principles of law that the Panel deems applicable, without the benefit of any response from Respondent.
Complainant requests that the domain name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.
A. Complainant
Complainant is one of the world's largest developers and marketers of enterprise software products and services and computer hardware systems, ranking second only to Microsoft by revenue. Among Complainant's popular and well-known products is a cloud-based computing environment known as the ORACLE CLOUD. Complainant has used ORACLE and ORACLE CLOUD in connection with its products and services since 1979 and 2012 respectively, and owns U.S. trademark registrations for both of these marks. Complainant contends that its ORACLE marks have become famous worldwide as a result of longstanding use and promotion. In addition, Complainant uses the <us2.oraclecloud.com> subdomain for many of its user login pages.
Respondent registered the disputed domain name <us2-oraclecloud.com> via a privacy registration service in September 2019. The domain name does not currently resolve to a website, but Complainant suggests that Respondent may be planning to use the domain name for fraud, phishing, or other deceptive practices.
Complainant contends on the above grounds that the disputed domain name <us2-oraclecloud.com> is confusingly similar to its ORACLE and ORACLE CLOUD marks; that Respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name; and that the disputed domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith.
B. Respondent
Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding.
The Panel finds that the disputed domain name is confusingly similar to a mark in which Complainant has rights; that Respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name; and that the disputed domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith.
Paragraph 15(a) of the Rules instructs this Panel to "decide a complaint on the basis of the statements and documents submitted in accordance with the Policy, these Rules and any rules and principles of law that it deems applicable."
Paragraph 4(a) of the Policy requires that Complainant must prove each of the following three elements to obtain an order that a domain name should be cancelled or transferred:
(1) the domain name registered by Respondent is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which Complainant has rights; and
(2) Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; and
(3) the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.
In view of Respondent's failure to submit a response, the Panel shall decide this administrative proceeding on the basis of Complainant's undisputed representations pursuant to paragraphs 5(f), 14(a), and 15(a) of the Rules and draw such inferences it considers appropriate pursuant to paragraph 14(b) of the Rules. The Panel is entitled to accept all reasonable allegations set forth in a complaint; however, the Panel may deny relief where a complaint contains mere conclusory or unsubstantiated arguments. See WIPO Overview of WIPO Panel Views on Selected UDRP Questions, § 4.3 (3d ed. 2017), available at http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/overview3.0/; see also eGalaxy Multimedia Inc. v. ON HOLD By Owner Ready To Expire, FA 157287 (Forum June 26, 2003) (dismissing complaint where complainant failed to "produce clear evidence to support its subjective allegations").
The disputed domain name <us2-oraclecloud.com> incorporates Complainant's registered ORACLE CLOUD trademark (omitting the space), adding the generic abbreviation "US2" and a hyphen and appending the ".com" top-level domain. These additions do not substantially diminish the similarity between the domain name and Complainant's marks. See, e.g., Oracle International Corp. v. Carolina Rodrigues / Fundacion Comercio Electronico, FA 1819052 (Forum Jan. 4, 2019) (finding <oracleloud.com> confusingly similar to ORACLE CLOUD); Oracle International Corp. v. Panshuailou 1, Simon Pan, DCO2018-0009 (WIPO May 22, 2018) (finding <oraclecloud.co> and another domain name confusingly similar to ORACLE and ORACLE CLOUD); ADP, LLC v. Zhichao Yang, FA 1744546 (Forum Sept. 12, 2017) (finding <myaccesadp.com> confusingly similar to ADP and ADP ACCESS); Protiviti Inc. v. Matthew Moore, FA 1678649 (Forum July 13, 2016) (finding <protiviti-us.com> confusingly similar to PROTIVITY). The Panel considers the disputed domain name to be confusingly similar to a mark in which Complainant has rights.
Under the Policy, the Complainant must first make a prima facie case that the Respondent lacks rights and legitimate interests in the disputed domain name, and then the burden shifts to the Respondent to come forward with concrete evidence of such rights or legitimate interests. See Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. v. Entertainment Commentaries, FA 741828 (Forum Aug. 18, 2006).
The disputed domain name incorporates Complainant's registered mark without authorization, and Respondent does not appear to have made any use of the domain name. Complainant has made a prima facie case that Respondent lacks rights and legitimate interests in the domain name, and Respondent has failed to come forward with any evidence of such rights or interests. Accordingly, the Panel finds that Complainant has sustained its burden of proving that Respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name.
Finally, Complainant must show that the disputed domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith. Under paragraph 4(b)(iii) of the Policy, bad faith may be shown by evidence that Respondent registered the disputed domain name "primarily for the purpose of disrupting the business of a competitor." Under paragraph 4(b)(iv), bad faith may be shown by evidence that "by using the domain name, [Respondent] intentionally attempted to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to [Respondent's] web site or other on-line location, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the complainant's mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of [Respondent's] web site or location or of a product or service on [Respondent's] web site or location."
Respondent used a privacy registration service to register a domain name incorporating Complainant's well-known mark and mimicking a subdomain used by Complainant for many of its user login pages. Under the circumstances, the Panel considers it reasonable to infer bad faith on Respondent's part. See, e.g., United States Steel Corp. v. Karl Shorb / Scab Inc, FA 1842174 (Forum June 10, 2019) (finding bad faith where domain name incorporating famous mark was registered via privacy registration service, based upon inference that registrant intended to create and exploit confusion); ADP, LLC v. Zhichao Yang, supra (finding bad faith where privacy registration service was used to register domain name incorporating complainant's marks and mimicking a subdomain used by complainant). The Panel finds that the disputed domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith.
Having considered the three elements required under the ICANN Policy, the Panel concludes that relief shall be GRANTED.
Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <us2-oraclecloud.com> domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.
David E. Sorkin, Panelist
Dated: December 30, 2019
Click Here to return to the main Domain Decisions Page.
Click Here to return to our Home Page