Bloomberg Finance L.P. v.
Claim Number: FA1912001876279
Complainant: Bloomberg Finance L.P. of New York, New York, United States of America.
Respondent: Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 1245890048 of Toronto, Ontario, CA.
REGISTRIES and REGISTRARS
Registries: Charleston Road Registry Inc.
Registrars: 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 Examiner in this proceeding.
Honorable Karl V. Fink (Ret.), as Examiner.
Complainant submitted: December 20, 2019
Commencement: December 23, 2019
Default Date: January 7, 2020
Having reviewed the communications records, the Examiner finds that the Forum has discharged its responsibility under URS Procedure Paragraphs 3 and 4 and Rule 4 of the Rules for the Uniform Rapid Suspension System (the "Rules") .
Complainant requests that the domain name be suspended for the life of the registration.
Clear and convincing evidence.
URS Procedure 1.2.6, requires Complainant to prove, by clear and convincing evidence, each of the following three elements to obtain an order that a domain name should be suspended.
1.2.6.1. that the registered domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a word mark: (i) for which the Complainant holds a valid national or regional registration and that is in current use; or (ii) that has been validated through court proceedings; or (iii) that is specifically protected by a statute or treaty in effect at the time the .usURS complaint is filed.
1.2.6.2. that the Registrant has no legitimate right or interest to the domain name.
1.2.6.3. that the domain was registered and is being used in bad faith.
Additional URS sections provide:
8.4 If the Examiner finds that the Complainant has not met its burden, or that genuine issues of material fact remain in regards to any of the elements, the Examiner will reject the Complainant under the relief available under the .usURS. That is, the Complaint shall be dismissed if the Examiner finds that evidence was presented or is available to the Examiner to indicate that the use of the domain name in question is a non-infringing use or fair use of the trademark.
8.5 Where there is any genuine contestable issue as to whether a domain name registration and use of a trademark are in bad faith, the Complainant will be denied, the URS proceeding will be terminated without prejudice, e.g. a URS Appeal, UDRP, or a court proceeding may be utilized. The URS is not intended for use in any proceedings with open questions of fact, but only clear cases of trademark abuse.
After reviewing the Complainant’s uncontested submissions, the Examiner determines that the Complainant has demonstrated all three elements of the URS by a standard of clear and convincing evidence.
1. The domain name is identical to or confusingly similar to Complainant’s BLOOMBERG mark. This action is based upon the trademark and service mark BLOOMBERG, owned by Complaint’s subsidiary. The domain name fully incorporates the BLOOMBERG mark and adds the extension .how.
2. Respondent has no legitimate rights or interest in respect of the domain name. Complainant has not licensed or otherwise permitted Respondent to use Complainant’s BLOOMBERG marks or to apply for or use any domain name incorporating the BLOOMBERG mark. There is no evidence to suggest that the Respondent listed on the WHOIS record is commonly known by the name “Bloomberg”. Respondent’s current and apparently only use of the Domain Name is a non-functioning website.
3. The domain was registered and is being used in bad faith. Complainant has a strong reputation and a high-profile presence in the financial and media sectors and is the subject of substantial consumer recognition and goodwill. Bloomberg registered the <bloomberg.com> domain name in September 1993 and has used this domain continuously since then. These facts lead to the Conclusion that Respondent was aware of Complainant’s BLOOMBERG marks before registering the Domain Name.
The Examiner hereby Orders the following domain name be SUSPENDED for the duration of the registration:
Honorable Karl V. Fink (Ret.), Examiner
Dated: January 8, 2020
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