The Occasions Group, Inc. v. Open Water Enterprises Limited
Claim Number: FA0712001119204
Complainant is The Occasions Group, Inc. (“Complainant”), represented by Collin B. Foulds of Gray, Plant, Mooty, Mooty & Bennett, P.A., Minnesota, USA. Respondent is Open Water Enterprises Limited (“Respondent”).
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN
NAME
The domain name at issue is <eimecke.com>, registered with Belgiumdomains, LLC.
The undersigned certifies that she has acted independently and impartially and that to the best of her knowledge she has no known conflict in serving as Panelist in this proceeding. Hon. Carolyn Marks Johnson sits as Panelist.
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum electronically December 12, 2007; the National Arbitration Forum received a hard copy of the Complaint December 13, 2007.
On December 20, 2007, Belgiumdomains, LLC confirmed by e-mail to the National Arbitration Forum that the <eimecke.com> domain name is registered with Belgiumdomains, LLC and that Respondent is the current registrant of the name. Belgiumdomains, LLC verified that Respondent is bound by the Belgiumdomains, LLC registration agreement and thereby has 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 19, 2008, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the "Commencement Notification"), setting a deadline of March 10, 2008, 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@eimecke.com by e-mail.
Having received no response from Respondent, the National Arbitration Forum transmitted to the parties a Notification of Respondent Default.
On March 19, 2008, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the National Arbitration Forum appointed Hon. Carolyn Marks Johnson to sit as Panelist.
Having reviewed the communications records, the Administrative Panel (the "Panel") finds that the National Arbitration Forum 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 National Arbitration Forum's Supplemental Rules and any rules and principles of law that the Panel deems applicable, without the benefit of any response from Respondent.
Complainant requests that the domain name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.
A. Complainant makes the following assertions:
1. The domain name that Respondent registered, <eimecke.com>, is confusingly similar to Complainant’s EIMICKE mark.
2. Respondent has no rights to or legitimate interests in the <eimecke.com> domain name.
3. Respondent registered and used the <eimecke.com> domain name in bad faith.
B. Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding.
Complainant, The Occasions Group, Inc., is a Minnesota-based organization that designs and manufactures printed paper products. Complainant holds a trademark registration for the EIMICKE mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) (Reg. No. 2,411,795 issued Dec. 12, 2000).
Respondent registered the disputed domain name July 24, 2006. The <eimecke.com> domain name currently resolves to a website in displaying links in direct competition with Complainant’s business.
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 Complainant's undisputed representations pursuant to paragraphs 5(e), 14(a) and 15(a) of the Rules and will draw such inferences as the Panel considers appropriate pursuant to paragraph 14(b) of the Rules. The Panel is entitled to accept all reasonable allegations and inferences set forth in the Complaint as true unless the evidence is clearly contradictory. See Vertical Solutions Mgmt., Inc. v. webnet-marketing, inc., FA 95095 (Nat. Arb. Forum July 31, 2000) (holding that the respondent’s failure to respond allows all reasonable inferences of fact in the allegations of the complaint to be deemed true); see also Talk City, Inc. v. Robertson, D2000-0009 (WIPO Feb. 29, 2000) (“In the absence of a response, it is appropriate to accept as true all allegations of the Complaint.”).
Paragraph 4(a) of the Policy requires Complainant to 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 Respondent is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which Complainant has rights; and
(2) 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.
Complainant registered the EIMICKE mark with the USPTO, and
therefore, established rights to the mark pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(a)(i). See Thermo Electron Corp. v. Xu, FA 713851 (Nat. Arb. Forum July 12, 2006) (finding that the
complainants had established rights in marks where the marks were registered
with a trademark authority); see also Honeywell
Int’l Inc. v. r9.net, FA 445594
(Nat. Arb. Forum May 23, 2005) (finding the complainant’s numerous
registrations for its HONEYWELL mark throughout the world sufficient to
establish Complainant’s rights in the mark under the Policy ¶ 4(a)(i).”).
Complainant contends that the <eimecke.com> domain name is confusingly similar to the EIMICKE mark. Respondent’s simple misspelling of Respondent’s mark is insufficient to distinguish the disputed domain name from the registered mark because the mark is so distinctive. In addition, because all domain names are required to have a top-level domain, Respondent’s use of the generic top-level domain (“gTLD”) “.com” does not distinguish the disputed domain name from Complainant’s registered mark. Therefore, the Panel finds that the <eimecke.com> domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s EIMICKE mark pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(a)(i). See Reuters Ltd. v. Global Net 2000, Inc., D2000-0441 (WIPO July 13, 2000) (finding that a domain name which differs by only one letter from a trademark has a greater tendency to be confusingly similar to the trademark where the trademark is highly distinctive); see also Belkin Components v. Gallant, FA 97075 (Nat. Arb. Forum May 29, 2001) (finding the <belken.com> domain name confusingly similar to the complainant's BELKIN mark because the name merely replaced the letter “i” in the complainant's mark with the letter “e”).
The Panel finds that Complainant satisfied Policy ¶ 4(a)(i).
Complainant claims that Respondent has no rights to nor legitimate interests in the disputed domain name under Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii). Complainant has the initial burden of showing that Respondent lacks rights and legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. Once Complainant has made a prima facie showing, the burden shifts to Respondent to show that it does have rights or legitimate interests in the <eimecke.com> domain name. The Panel finds that Complainant met the initial burden of showing that Respondent lacks rights and legitimate interests, and therefore has made a prima facie case under Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii). See Compagnie Generale des Matieres Nucleaires v. Greenpeace Int’l, D2001-0376 (WIPO May 14, 2001) (“Proving that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the Domain Name requires the Complainant to prove a negative. For the purposes of this subparagraph, however, it is sufficient for the Complainant to show a prima facie case and the burden of proof is then shifted on to the shoulders of Respondent. In those circumstances, the common approach is for respondents to seek to bring themselves within one of the examples of paragraph 4(c) or put forward some other reason why they can fairly be said to have a relevant right or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name in question.”); see also Clerical Med. Inv. Group Ltd. v. Clericalmedical.com, D2000-1228 (WIPO Nov. 28, 2000) (finding that, under certain circumstances, the mere assertion by the complainant that the respondent has no right or legitimate interest is sufficient to shift the burden of proof to the respondent to demonstrate that such a right or legitimate interest does exist).
Because Respondent failed to answer the Complaint, the Panel is permitted to presume that Respondent lacks all rights and legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. See Am. Express Co. v. Fang Suhendro, FA 129120 (Nat. Arb. Forum Dec. 30, 2002) (“[B]ased on Respondent's failure to respond, it is presumed that Respondent lacks all rights and legitimate interests in the disputed domain name.”); see also Desotec N.V. v. Jacobi Carbons AB, D2000-1398 (WIPO Dec. 21, 2000) (finding that failing to respond allows a presumption that the complainant’s allegations are true unless clearly contradicted by the evidence). Nevertheless, this Panel examines the record to see if evidence suggests that Respondent does have rights to or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name under Policy ¶ 4(c).
Complainant asserts that it never authorized Respondent to use the EIMICKE mark, and that Respondent is not and has never been commonly known by the disputed domain name. Further, the WHOIS information does not indicate that Respondent is commonly known by the disputed domain name. Thus, the Panel finds that Respondent is not commonly known by the <eimecke.com> domain name pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii). See Tercent Inc. v. Lee Yi, FA 139720 (Nat. Arb. Forum Feb. 10, 2003) (stating “nothing in Respondent’s WHOIS information implies that Respondent is ‘commonly known by’ the disputed domain name” as one factor in determining that Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii) does not apply); see also Gallup, Inc. v. Amish Country Store, FA 96209 (Nat. Arb. Forum Jan. 23, 2001) (finding that the respondent does not have rights in a domain name when the respondent is not known by the mark).
Respondent is using the <eimecke.com> domain name to attempt to compete with Complainant in the same area of business. The Panel finds that such use is not a bona fide offering of goods or services under Policy ¶ 4(c)(i) or a legitimate noncommercial or fair use under Policy ¶ 4(c)(iii). See DLJ Long Term Inv. Corp. v. BargainDomainNames.com, FA 104580 (Nat. Arb. Forum Apr. 9, 2002) (“Respondent is not using the disputed domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods and services because Respondent is using the domain name to divert Internet users to <visual.com>, where services that compete with Complainant are advertised.”); see also Ameritrade Holdings Corp. v. Polanski, FA 102715 (Nat. Arb. Forum Jan. 11, 2002) (finding that the respondent’s use of the disputed domain name to redirect Internet users to a financial services website, which competed with the complainant, was not a bona fide offering of goods or services).
The Panel finds that Complainant satisfied Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii).
The Panel finds that Respondent’s use of the <eimecke.com> domain name to commercially gain by sponsoring competing services constitutes bad faith registration and use under Policy ¶ 4(b)(iii). See Disney Enters., Inc. v. Noel, FA 198805 (Nat. Arb. Forum Nov. 11, 2003) (“Respondent registered a domain name confusingly similar to Complainant's mark to divert Internet users to a competitor's website. It is a reasonable inference that Respondent's purpose of registration and use was to either disrupt or create confusion for Complainant's business in bad faith pursuant to Policy ¶¶ 4(b)(iii) [and] (iv).”); see also S. Exposure v. S. Exposure, Inc., FA 94864 (Nat. Arb. Forum July 18, 2000) (finding the respondent acted in bad faith by attracting Internet users to a website that competes with the complainant’s business).
Complainant contends that Respondent is using the <eimecke.com> domain name for
commercial gain by advertising links to competing services, and benefiting from
the likely confusion between Complainant’s mark and the disputed domain
name. The Panel finds that the
similarity between the disputed domain name and the EIMICKE mark are likely to
create confusion as to Complainant’s source, sponsorship, affiliation, or
endorsement of the website that resolves from the disputed domain name under
Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv).
See AltaVista Co. v. Krotov,
D2000-1091 (WIPO Oct. 25, 2000) (finding bad faith under Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv) where the respondent’s domain name resolved to a
website that offered links to third-party websites that offered services
similar to the complainant’s services and merely took advantage of Internet
user mistakes); see
also Gardens Alive, Inc. v. D&S
Linx, FA 203126 (Nat. Arb. Forum Nov. 20, 2003) (“Respondent
registered and used the <my-seasons.com> domain name in bad faith
pursuant to Policy ¶¶ 4(b)(iii) and (iv) because Respondent is using a domain
name that is confusingly similar to the MYSEASONS mark for commercial benefit
by diverting Internet users to the <thumbgreen.com> website, which sells
competing goods and services.”).
The Panel finds that Complainant satisfied Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii).
Having established all three elements required under the ICANN Policy, the Panel concludes that relief shall be GRANTED.
Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <eimecke.com> domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.
Hon. Carolyn Marks Johnson, Panelist
Dated: April 1, 2008.
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