Front Range Community College et. al. v.
dannyBOY inc.
Claim Number: FA0202000104197
PARTIES
Complainant
is Front Range Community College,
Westminster, CO (“Complainant”) represented by Nancy Wahl, of Office of the
Attorney General. Respondent is dannyBOY inc., New York, NY
(“Respondent”).
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME
The
domain name at issue is <frontrangecommunitycollege.com>,
registered with Tucows, Inc.
PANEL
The
undersigned certifies that she has acted independently and impartially and to
the best of her knowledge, has no known conflict in serving as Panelist in this
proceeding.
Sandra
Franklin as Panelist.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Complainant
submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum (the “Forum”)
electronically on February 1, 2002; the Forum received a hard copy of the
Complaint on February 1, 2002.
On
February 1, 2002, Tucows, Inc. confirmed by e-mail to the Forum that the domain
name <frontrangecommunitycollege.com>
is registered with Tucows, Inc. and that Respondent is the current registrant
of the name. Tucows, Inc. has verified
that Respondent is bound by the Tucows, Inc. registration agreement and has
thereby agreed to resolve domain-name disputes brought by third parties in
accordance with ICANN’s Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the
“Policy”).
On
February 5, 2002, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of
Administrative Proceeding (the “Commencement Notification”), setting a deadline
of February 25, 2002 by which Respondent could file a Response to the
Complaint, was transmitted to Respondent via e-mail, post and fax, to all
entities and persons listed on Respondent’s registration as technical,
administrative and billing contacts, and to postmaster@frontrangecommunitycollege.com
by e-mail.
Having
received no Response from Respondent, using the same contact details and
methods as were used for the Commencement Notification, the Forum transmitted
to the parties a Notification of Respondent Default.
On
March 4, 2002 pursuant to Complainant’s request to have the dispute decided by
a single-member Panel, the Forum appointed Sandra Franklin 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.” 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.
RELIEF SOUGHT
Complainant
requests that the domain name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.
PARTIES’ CONTENTIONS
A. Complainant
Respondent’s
<frontrangecommunitycollege.com> domain name is identical to Complainant’s
FRONT RANGE COMMUNITY COLLEGE common law service mark.
Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in
the disputed domain name.
Respondent registered and used the disputed domain
name in bad faith.
B.
Respondent
No
Response was received.
FINDINGS
Complainant is an entity of the state of
Colorado and is the largest community college in Colorado with locations in
Boulder, Westminster, Longmont, Brighton, and Fort Collins, Colorado. The college was established in 1985 and
draws students from all over Colorado and beyond.
Respondent registered the disputed domain
name on January 30, 2001, well after Complainant began using its FRONT RANGE COMMUNITY COLLEGE name. Respondent has linked the disputed domain
name to graphic anti-abortion websites including <holylamb.com> and
<abortionismurder.org>, as well as a webite offering to sell the disputed
domain name for $1500. The registrants
of the anti-abortion websites linked to the disputed domain indicate they have
no knowledge of or connection with Respondent.
DISCUSSION
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.”
In view
of Respondent's failure to submit a Response, the Panel shall decide this
administrative proceeding on the basis of the Complainant's undisputed
representations pursuant to paragraphs 5(e), 14(a) and 15(a) of the Rules and
draw such inferences it considers appropriate pursuant to paragraph 14(b) of
the Rules.
Paragraph
4(a) of the Policy requires that the 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 the Respondent is identical or confusingly similar
to a trademark or service mark in which the Complainant has rights; and
(2)
the 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.
Identical and/or Confusingly Similar
Complainant has common law rights in its FRONT RANGE COMMUNITY COLLEGE service mark
due to its use of the mark since 1985, and the subsequent wide recognition of
Complainant’s mark in the academic community for higher education services.
The Panel finds that Policy ¶
4(a)(i) has been satisfied.
Rights or Legitimate Interests
The Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii)
has been satisfied.
Registration and Use in Bad Faith
Respondent’s linking of the disputed
domain name to a website offering to sell the domain name for $1500 indicates
that it registered and is using the disputed domain name in bad faith pursuant
to Policy ¶ 4(b)(i). See Little Six, Inc v. Domain For Sale, FA
96967 (Nat. Arb. Forum Apr. 30, 2001) (finding Respondent's offer to sell the
domain name at issue to Complainant was evidence of bad faith); see also Educational Testing Serv. v. TOEFL,
D2000-0044 (WIPO Mar. 16, 2000) (finding that a general offer of sale combined
with no legitimate use of the domain name constitutes registration and use in
bad faith). Additionally, Respondent’s
attempt to blackmail Complainant into buying the disputed domain to avoid the
negative publicity Complainant’s college and its students will receive if
Internet users associate the school with the politically charged websites
indicates bad faith registration and use.
See Ingram Micro Inc v.
Noton Inc., D2001-0124 (WIPO Mar. 6, 2001) (finding bad faith registration
and use where Respondent attempted to blackmail the Complainant into buying the
disputed domain names with threats of adverse publicity to the Complainant’s
employees and customers).
The
Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii) has been satisfied.
DECISION
Having established all three elements
required under the ICANN policy, the Panel concludes that the requested relief
shall be hereby granted.
Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <frontrangecommunitycollege.com> domain
name be transferred from Respondent
to Complainant.
Sandra Franklin, Panelist
Dated: March 13, 2002
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