Wood Manufacturing Company, Inc. v. Art Board IV
Claim Number: FA0801001138438
Complainant is Wood Manufacturing Company, Inc. (“Complainant”), represented by William
Schultz, of Merchant & Gould, P.C.,
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN
NAMES
The domain names at issue are <myrangerboat.com>, <rangerboatforum.com>, and <rangerboatsforum.com>, registered with Godaddy.com, Inc.
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 Panelist in this proceeding.
Sandra J. Franklin as Panelist.
Complainant submitted a Complaint to
the National Arbitration Forum electronically on
On
On January 22, 2008, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the "Commencement Notification"), setting a deadline of February 11, 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@myrangerboat.com, postmaster@rangerboatforum.com, and postmaster@rangerboatsforum.com by e-mail.
Having received no response from Respondent, the National Arbitration Forum transmitted to the parties a Notification of Respondent Default.
On
Having reviewed the communications records, the Administrative Panel (the "Panel") finds that the National Arbitration 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 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 names be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.
A. Complainant makes the following assertions:
1. Respondent’s <myrangerboat.com>, <rangerboatforum.com>, and <rangerboatsforum.com> domain names are confusingly similar to Complainant’s RANGER BOATS ROAD ARMOR EQUIPPED mark.
2. Respondent does not have any rights or legitimate interests in the <myrangerboat.com>, <rangerboatforum.com>, and <rangerboatsforum.com> domain names.
3. Respondent registered and used the <myrangerboat.com>, <rangerboatforum.com>, and <rangerboatsforum.com> domain names in bad faith.
B. Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding.
Complainant, Wood Manufacturing Company, Inc., manufactures
genuine Ranger boats and related products.
Complainant holds a registered trademark in the RANGER BOATS ROAD ARMOR
EQUIPPED mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”)
(Reg. No. 2,964,382, issued
Respondent registered the <rangerboatforum.com>, and <rangerboatsforum.com>
domain names on
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 draw such inferences it 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 that 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 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 RANGER BOATS ROAD ARMOR EQUIPPED
mark with the USPTO, and has therefore established rights to the mark pursuant
to Policy ¶ 4(a)(i). See
The Panel finds that the <myrangerboat.com>, <rangerboatforum.com>,
and <rangerboatsforum.com> domain names are confusingly
similar to Complainant’s mark pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(a)(i). The addition of the
general terms “my,” and “forum,” as well as the addition of the letter “s” does
not negate the similarities to the RANGER BOATS ROAD ARMOR EQUIPPED mark.
Additionally, the removal of the words “road,” “armor,” and “equipped” from the
registered mark is insufficient to reverse the similarities because the
disputed domain name still contains the dominant elements of Complainant’s mark.
See Nat’l Geographic Soc’y v. Stoneybrook Invs.,
FA 96263 (Nat. Arb. Forum
The Panel finds that Complainant has established Policy ¶
4(a)(i).
Complainant claims that Respondent has neither rights nor
legitimate interests in the disputed domain names under Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii). Complainant has the initial burden of showing
the Respondent does not have rights or legitimate interests in the disputed
domain names. Once Complainant has made
a prima facie case, the burden shifts
to Respondent. The Panel finds that
Complainant has 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
Because Respondent failed to answer the Complaint, the Panel presumes that Respondent lacks all rights and legitimate interests in the disputed domain names. 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, the Panel will examine all evidence in the record to determine if Respondent does have rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain names under Policy ¶ 4(c).
Complainant asserts that Respondent has never been
authorized to use the RANGER BOATS ROAD ARMOR EQUIPPED mark or its variations,
and that Respondent is not and has never been commonly known by the disputed
domain names. Further, the WHOIS
information does not indicate that Respondent is commonly known by the disputed
domain names. Thus, the Panel finds that
Respondent is not commonly known by the <myrangerboat.com>, <rangerboatforum.com>,
and <rangerboatsforum.com> domain names pursuant to Policy
¶ 4(c)(ii). See Tercent Inc. v. Lee Yi,
FA 139720 (Nat. Arb. Forum
Respondent is using the <myrangerboat.com>, <rangerboatforum.com>, and <rangerboatsforum.com> domain names to redirect to Respondent’s blog, which advertises and sells products in direct competition with Complainant’s 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 has established Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii).
The Panel finds that Respondent’s use of the <myrangerboat.com>, <rangerboatforum.com>,
and <rangerboatsforum.com> domain names to commercially
gain by advertising links to competing services constitutes bad faith
registration and use under Policy ¶ 4(b)(iii).
See Disney Enters., Inc. v. Noel, FA 198805 (Nat. Arb. Forum
Complainant contends that Respondent is using the <myrangerboat.com>, <rangerboatforum.com>,
and <rangerboatsforum.com> domain names for commercial gain
by advertising links to competing services, and benefiting from the likely
confusion between Complainant’s mark and the disputed domain names. The Panel finds that the similarity between
the disputed domain names and the RANGER BOATS ROAD ARMOR EQUIPPED mark are
likely to create confusion as to Complainant’s source, sponsorship,
affiliation, or endorsement of the website that resolves from the disputed
domain names and therefore serves as evidence of bad faith registration and use
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
The Panel finds that Complainant has established 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 <myrangerboat.com>, <rangerboatforum.com>, and <rangerboatsforum.com> domain names be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.
Sandra J. Franklin, Panelist
Dated: February 28, 2008
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