ASOS.com Limited, ASOS Holdings Limited, ASOS plc v. wang yong ming
Claim Number: FA2112001977820
Complainant: ASOS.com Limited, ASOS Holdings Limited, ASOS plc of London, United Kingdom.
Complainant Representative: Stobbs of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Respondent: wang yong ming of yi chun shi, hei long jiang, International, CN.
REGISTRIES and REGISTRARS
Registries: DotStore Inc.
Registrars: Alibaba Cloud Computing Ltd. d/b/a HiChina (www.net.cn)
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.
Omar Haydar, as Examiner.
Complainant submitted: December 21, 2021
Commencement: December 21, 2021
Default Date: January 5, 2022
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.
The complaint and findings relate to one domain <missselfridgeuk.store>. There is one Complainant and one (or more) Respondent, and no domain names were dismissed from this complaint.
The Respondent has registered the domain name <missselfridgeuk.store> on October 10, 2021 and operates the website as a sales platform selling products claimed to be licensed/produced by Complainant.
Complainant, ASOS, is the owner of trademark Miss Selfridge, amongst other trademarks, which it has acquired, and which was registered in various jurisdictions since at least 1969. The brand has been operated for over a half century.
Complainant has claimed that the domain name in question is identical to their protected word or mark and further invokes the jurisdiction of its establishment of the brand, the UK.
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.
The Examiner finds that Complainant has proven that the domain name is identical through evidence of the trademark registration. The Complainant’s trademark is a well established mark, in use for over fifty years with international use and recognition as a brand.
The Examiner further finds that Complainant has proven that Respondent has no legitimate right or interest to the domain name. The Complainant has neither licensed the trademark to the Respondent for use, nor has the Respondent made any claim to a legitimate right or interest to the name. Further the Complainant has confirmed that Respondent is not an authorized reseller of its products.
The Examiner finds that the evidence proves the domain names were registered and are being used in bad faith. The Examiner finds that the following factors when taken together stand as sufficient evidence of bad faith:
- Respondent’s offering of Complainant’s products without being an authorized reseller.
- The domain and the website marketing of Complainant’s products and logo gives an automatic inference of affiliation to the entity holding the trademark, and would cause confusion amongst internet users into an assumption of an affiliation or relationship. (See Treeforms.com FA0010000095856)
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 names be SUSPENDED for the duration of the registration.
<missselfridgeuk.store>
Omar Haydar, Examiner
Dated: January 10, 2022
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