RTIC Outdoors, LLC v. haipeng dong
Claim Number: FA2110001969752
Complainant: RTIC Outdoors, LLC of Houston, Texas, United States of America.
Complainant Representative:
Complainant Representative: Fish & Richardson P.C. of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America.
Respondent: haipeng dong / dong haipeng of Yichun, Heilongjiang, CN.
Respondent Representative: «cFirstName» «cMiddle» «cLastName»
REGISTRIES and REGISTRARS
Registries: DotStore Inc.
Registrars: Chengdu West Dimension Digital Technology Co., Ltd.
The undersigned certifies that he or she has acted independently and impartially and to the best of his or her knowledge has no known conflict in serving as Examiner in this proceeding.
Jonathan Agmon, as Examiner.
Complainant submitted: October 19, 2021
Commencement: October 20, 2021
Default Date: November 4, 2021
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.
Complainant, RTIC Outdoors, LLC, is known for premium outdoor products, including hard coolers, soft coolers, drinkware, bags, and camping products. Complainant, by and through its predecessors-in-interest, namely, RTIC Coolers, LLC and RTIC IP, LLC, launched its business over five years ago. Complainant currently has over 2.4 million followers on social media. Complainant states that it has extensively used the RTIC word mark, RTIC logo and R logo as its trade name and trademarks (collectively, the “RTIC Marks”) since 2016. Complainant owns over 90 registrations worldwide for the RTIC Marks and also owns the domain name <rticoutdoors.com> since February 7, 2016 which it uses to promote and sell its products.
Complainant owns the following registered trademarks in the U.S, including but not limited to:
- Registration No. 5886271 for “RTIC” registered on October 15, 2019;
- Registration No. 4909776 for “RTIC” registered on March 1, 2016;
- Registration No. 5155866 for “RTIC” registered on March 7, 2017;
- Registration No. 5886249 for “” registered on October 15, 2019;
- Registration No. 5886270 for “” registered on October 15, 2019;
- Registration No. 4909788 for “” registered on March 1, 2016; and
- Registration No. 5155868 for “” registered on March 7, 2017.
Complainant asserts the following against the Respondent:
1. The registered domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a word or mark [URS 1.2.6.1]: for which the Complainant holds a valid national or regional registration and that is in current use;
2. Registrant has no legitimate right or interest to the domain name [URS 1.2.6.2];
3. The domain name was registered and are being used in bad faith [URS 1.2.6.3] such as: Registrant registered the domain name primarily for the purpose of disrupting the business of a competitor; and by using the domain name Registrant has intentionally attempted to attract for commercial gain, Internet users to Registrant’s web site or other online location, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the complainant’s mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of Registrant’s web site or location or of a product or service on that web site or location.
Even though the Respondent has defaulted, URS Procedure 1.2.6, requires Complainant to make a prima facie case, proven by clear and convincing evidence, for each of the following three elements to obtain an order that a domain name should be suspended.
[URS
1.2.6.1] The registered domain name(s) is/are 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 URS complaint is filed.
Determined: Finding for Complainant
Complainant owns the following registered trademarks in the U.S, including but not limited to:
- Registration No. 5886271 for “RTIC” registered on October 15, 2019;
- Registration No. 4909776 for “RTIC” registered on March 1, 2016;
- Registration No. 5155866 for “RTIC” registered on March 7, 2017;
- Registration No. 5886249 for “” registered on October 15, 2019;
- Registration No. 5886270 for “” registered on October 15, 2019;
- Registration No. 4909788 for “” registered on March 1, 2016; and
- Registration No. 5155868 for “” registered on March 7, 2017.
The domain name includes Complainant's mark in its entirety together with the generic term “online” and gTLD ".store".
[URS 1.2.6.2] Registrant has no legitimate right or interest to the domain name.
Determined: Finding for Complainant
Complainant has not authorized Respondent to use its RTIC Marks. The Respondent is not commonly known by the registered domain name.
[URS 1.2.6.3] The domain name(s) was/were registered and is being used in bad faith. a. Registrant has registered or acquired the domain name primarily for the purpose of selling, renting or otherwise transferring the domain name registration to the complainant who is the owner of the trademark or service mark or to a competitor of that complainant, for valuable consideration in excess of documented out-of-pocket costs directly related to the domain name; b. Registrant has registered the domain name in order to prevent the trademark holder or service mark from reflecting the mark in a corresponding domain name, provided that Registrant has engaged in a pattern of such conduct; c. Registrant has registered the domain name primarily for the purpose of disrupting the business of a competitor; d. By using the domain name Registrant has intentionally attempted to attract for commercial gain, Internet users to Registrant's web site or other online location, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the complainant's mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of Registrant's web site or location or of a product or service on that web site or location.
Determined: Finding for Complainant
Complainant provided evidence of the webpage of the disputed domain name which appears to impersonate and pass off as Complainant. The evidence provided clearly shows that the Respondent was aware of the Complainant’s RTIC Marks at the time of registration of the disputed domain name and specifically targeted Complainant. Complainant has also submitted evidence that the Respondent has also engaged in a pattern of such conduct. Given the clear and convincing evidence filed by the Complainant, the conclusion is that Respondent registered and used the domain name primarily for the purpose of disrupting the business of a competitor and by using the domain name Respondent has intentionally attempted to attract for commercial gain, Internet users to Respondent’s web site or other online 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 that web site or location. Complainant has complied with URS 1.2.6.3 (c) and (d).
After reviewing the Complainant’s submissions, the Examiner determines that
the Complainant has demonstrated all three elements of the URS by a standard of clear and convincing evidence; the Examiner hereby Orders the following domain name be SUSPENDED for the duration of the registration.
<rticonline.store>
Jonathan Agmon, Examiner
Dated: November 9, 2021
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