Aon Corporation v. Randy Wadley / Harry L. Murphy, Inc.
Claim Number: FA2002001881813
Complainant is Aon Corporation (“Complainant”), represented by Joel D. Leviton of STINSON LLP, Minnesota, USA. Respondent is Randy Wadley / Harry L. Murphy, Inc. (“Respondent”), California, USA.
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME
The domain name at issue is <i-aon.com>, registered with Google LLC.
The undersigned certifies that he has acted independently and impartially, and, to the best of his knowledge, has no conflict of interests in serving as Panelist in this proceeding.
Terry F. Peppard as Panelist.
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the Forum electronically on February 3, 2020; the Forum received payment on February 3, 2020.
On February 4, 2020, Google LLC confirmed by e-mail to the Forum that the <i-aon.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 February 6, 2020, the Forum served the Complaint and all Annexes, including a Written Notice of the Complaint, setting a deadline of February 26, 2020 by which Respondent could file a Response to the Complaint, via e-mail to all entities and persons listed on Respondent’s registration as technical, administrative, and billing contacts, and to postmaster@i-aon.com. Also on February 6, 2020, the Written Notice of the Complaint, notifying Respondent of the e-mail 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 February 28, 2020, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the Forum appointed Terry F. Peppard as sole Panelist in this proceeding.
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 a response from Respondent.
Complainant requests that the domain name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.
A. Complainant
Complainant is a global professional services firm that markets a range of financial risk-mitigation products, including insurance policies, pension administration services and health insurance plans.
Complainant holds a registration for the AON service mark, which is on file with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) as Registry No. 1,496,123, registered July 12, 1988, most recently renewed as of July 2, 2018.
Respondent registered the domain name <i-aon.com> on or about December 11, 2019.
The domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s mark.
Respondent has not been commonly known by the domain name.
Respondent is not authorized to use Complainant’s AON mark.
Respondent fails to use the domain name in connection to a bona fide offering of goods or services or a legitimate noncommercial or fair use.
Rather, Respondent uses the domain name to facilitate a fraudulent phishing scheme by which it impersonates an employee of Complainant in order to obtain an unauthorized payment of money.
Respondent has rights to or legitimate interests in the domain name.
Respondent knew of Complainant’s rights in the AON mark when it registered the domain name.
Respondent registered and uses the domain name in bad faith.
B. Respondent
Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding.
(1) the domain name registered by Respondent is confusingly similar to a service mark in which Complainant has rights; and
(2) Respondent has no rights to or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; and
(3) the same domain name was registered and is being used by Respondent 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:
ii. Respondent has no rights to or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; and
iii. the domain name has been registered and is being used by Respondent in bad faith.
In view of Respondent's failure to submit a response, the Panel will, pursuant to paragraphs 5(f), 14(a) and 15(a) of the Rules, decide this proceeding on the basis of Complainant's undisputed representations, and, pursuant to paragraph 14(b) of the Rules, draw such inferences as it deems appropriate. The Panel is entitled to accept as true all reasonable claims and inferences set out in the Complaint unless the supporting evidence is manifestly contradictory. See, for example, Vertical Solutions Mgmt., Inc. v. webnet-marketing, inc., FA 95095 (Forum July 31, 2000) (finding that a respondent’s failure to respond allows all reasonable inferences of fact in the allegations of a UDRP complaint to be deemed true). But see eGalaxy Multimedia Inc. v. ON HOLD By Owner Ready To Expire, FA 157287 (Forum June 26, 2003) (“Because Complainant did not produce clear evidence to support its subjective allegations [...] the Panel finds it appropriate to dismiss the Complaint”).
Complainant has rights in the AON service mark sufficient for purposes of Policy ¶ 4(a)(i) by reason of its registration of the mark with a national trademark authority, the USPTO. See, for example, Haas Automation, Inc. v. Jim Fraser, FA 1627211 (Forum August 4, 2015) (finding that a UDRP complainant’s USPTO registration for a mark sufficiently demonstrated its rights in that mark for purposes of establishing its standing to prosecute a complaint under Policy ¶ 4(a)(i)).
Turning to the central question posed by Policy ¶ 4(a)(i), we conclude from a review of the record that Respondent’s <i-aon.com> domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s AON service mark. The domain name incorporates the mark in its entirety, with only the addition of an extraneous letter “i” letter, plus a hyphen and the generic Top Level Domain (“gTLD”) “.com.” These alterations of the mark, made in forming the domain name, do not save it from the realm of confusing similarity under the standards of the Policy. See, for example, Twitch Interactive, Inc. v. Antonio Teggi, FA 1626528 (Forum August 3, 2015) (finding the <twitcch.tv> domain name confusingly similar to the TWITCH TV trademark where the domain name consisted of a common misspelling of the mark by merely adding an extraneous letter “c”).
See also Innomed Techs., Inc. v. DRP Servs., FA 221171 (Forum February 18, 2004) (finding that the addition of hyphens and top-level domains to the mark of another in creating a domain name is irrelevant to an analysis conducted under Policy ¶ 4(a)(i). This is because a hyphen adds nothing of consequence to the meaning, nor does it change the phonetic character, of the result, while every domain name requires a gTLD or other TLD.
Under Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii), Complainant must make out a prima facie showing that Respondent lacks rights to and legitimate interests in the <i-aon.com> domain name, whereupon the burden shifts to Respondent to show that it does have such rights or interests. See Hanna-Barbera Prods., Inc. v. Entm’t Commentaries, FA 741828 (Forum August 18, 2006) (finding that a UDRP complainant must make a prima facie case that a respondent lacks rights to or legitimate interests in a disputed domain name under UDRP ¶ 4(a)(ii) before the burden shifts to that respondent to show that it does have such rights or interests). See also AOL LLC v. Gerberg, FA 780200 (Forum September 25, 2006):
Complainant must … make a prima facie showing that Respondent does not have rights or legitimate interest in the subject domain names, which burden is light. If Complainant satisfies its burden, … the burden shifts to Respondent to show that it does have rights or legitimate interests in the subject domain names.
Complainant has made a sufficient prima facie showing under this head of the Policy. Respondent’s failure to respond to the Complaint therefore permits us to infer that Respondent does not have rights to or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. See Desotec N.V. v. Jacobi Carbons AB, D2000-1398 (WIPO December 21, 2000) (finding that a respondent’s failure to respond to a UDRP complaint allows a presumption that a complainant’s allegations are true unless they are clearly contradicted by the evidence). Nonetheless, we will examine the record before us, in light of the several considerations set out in Policy ¶ 4(c)(i)-(iii), to determine whether there is in it any basis for concluding that Respondent has rights to or legitimate interests in the contested domain name that are cognizable under the Policy.
We begin by noting that Complainant contends, and Respondent does not deny, that Respondent has not been commonly known by the <i-aon.com> domain name, and that Complainant has not authorized Respondent to use the AON mark. Moreover, the pertinent WHOIS information identifies the registrant of the domain name only as “Randy Wadley / Harry L Murphy, Inc.,” which does not resemble the domain name. On this record, we conclude that Respondent has not been commonly known by the disputed domain name so as to have acquired rights to or legitimate interests in it within the ambit of Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii). See, for example, Google LLC v. Bhawana Chandel / Admission Virus, FA 1799694 (Forum September 4, 2018) (concluding that a respondent was not commonly known by a disputed domain name incorporating the GOOGLE mark where the relevant WHOIS record identified that respondent as “Bhawana Chandel,” and nothing in the record showed that that respondent was authorized to use a UDRP Complainant’s mark in any manner). See also Navistar International Corporation v. N Rahmany, FA 620789 (Forum June 8, 2015) (finding, under Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii), that a respondent was not commonly known by a disputed domain name where a UDRP complainant had not authorized that respondent to incorporate its mark in a domain name).
We next observe that Complainant asserts, without objection from Respondent, that Respondent fails to use the <i-aon.com> domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services or a legitimate noncommercial or fair use, in that, Respondent employs the domain name to facilitate a fraudulent email phishing scheme by which it impersonates an employee of Complainant in order to obtain an unauthorized payment of money. This employment is neither a bona fide offering of goods or services by means of the domain name under Policy ¶ 4(c)(i) nor a legitimate noncommercial or fair use of it under Policy ¶ 4(c)(iii) such as would confirm in Respondent rights to or legitimate interests in the domain name as provided in those subsections of the Policy. See, for example, Abbvie, Inc. v. James Bulow, FA 1701075 (Forum November 30, 2016):
Respondent uses the at-issue domain name to pose as Complainant’s CEO by means of email addresses at the confusingly similar domain name in an attempt to determine Complainant’s ability to process a transfer [of funds]. Using the domain name in this manner is neither a bona fide offering of goods and services under Policy ¶ 4(c)(i), nor a legitimate noncommercial or fair use under Policy ¶ 4(c)(iii).
The Panel therefore finds that Complainant has satisfied the proof requirements of Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii).
We are persuaded by the evidence that Respondent employs the challenged <i-aon.com> domain name in order to perpetrate a financial fraud while impersonating an employee of Complainant, as alleged in the Complaint. This stands as proof of Respondent’s bad faith in registering and using the domain name. See, for example, SHUAA Capital psc v. Oba Junkie, FA1581255 (Forum October 29, 2014):
The Panel finds that Respondent’s use of the domain name’s e-mail suffix for fraudulent purposes illustrates Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii) bad faith.
We are also convinced by the evidence that Respondent knew of Complainant and its rights in the AON mark when it registered the contested <i-aon.com> domain name. This further demonstrates Respondent’s bad faith in registering the domain name. See, for example, Spectrum Brands, Inc. v. Guo Li Bo, FA 1760233 (Forum January 5, 2018):
[T]he fact Respondent registered a domain name that looked identical to the … mark and used that as an email address to pass itself off as Complainant shows that Respondent knew of Complainant and its trademark rights at the time of registration [and therefore registered the domain name in bad faith].
The Panel thus finds that Complainant has met its obligations of proof under Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii).
Complainant having established all three elements required to be proven under the ICANN Policy, the Panel concludes that the relief requested must be, and it is hereby, GRANTED.
Accordingly, it is Ordered that the contested <i-aon.com> domain name be TRANSFERRED forthwith from Respondent to Complainant.
Terry F. Peppard, Panelist
Dated: March 10, 2020
Click Here to return to the main Domain Decisions Page.
Click Here to return to our Home Page