National Arbitration Forum

 

DECISION

 

Sears Brands, LLC v. Web Brands, Inc.

Claim Number: FA0803001164410

 

PARTIES

Complainant is Sears Brands, LLC (“Complainant”), represented by Paul D. McGrady, of Greenberg Traurig, LLP, Illinois, USA.  Respondent is Web Brands, Inc. (“Respondent”), South Carolina, USA.

 

 

REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME 

The domain name at issue is <mysears.com>, registered with Godaddy.com, Inc.

 

PANEL

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.

 

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum electronically on March 20, 2008; the National Arbitration Forum received a hard copy of the Complaint on March 21, 2008.

 

On March 21, 2008, Godaddy.com, Inc. confirmed by e-mail to the National Arbitration Forum that the <mysears.com> domain name is registered with Godaddy.com, Inc. and that the Respondent is the current registrant of the name.  Godaddy.com, Inc. has verified that Respondent is bound by the Godaddy.com, 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 March 25, 2008, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the “Commencement Notification”), setting a deadline of April 14, 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@mysears.com by e-mail.

 

A timely Response was received and determined to be complete on April 14, 2008.

 

On April 18, 2008, pursuant to Complainant’s request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the National Arbitration Forum appointed Sandra J. Franklin as Panelist.

 

RELIEF SOUGHT

Complainant requests that the domain name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.

 

PARTIES’ CONTENTIONS

            A.  Complainant makes the following assertions:

 

1.      Respondent’s <mysears.com> domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s SEARS mark.

 

2.      Respondent does not have any rights or legitimate interests in the <mysears.com> domain name.

 

3.      Respondent registered and used the <mysears.com> domain name in bad faith.

 

B.  Respondent did not contest the Complainant’s contentions and indicated it has voluntarily given up the <mysears.com> domain name.

 

DISCUSSION

Paragraph 15(a) of the Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (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.”

 

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;

(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.

 

 

Preliminary Issue: Consent to Transfer the Subject Domain Name

Respondent does not contest Complainant’s allegations regarding the <mysears.com> domain name.  Rather, Respondent has agreed to the immediate transfer of the subject domain name.  The Panel finds that where Respondent has authorized the transfer of the disputed domain name, it may forego the traditional UDRP analysis and order the immediate transfer of the domain name.  See Boehringer Ingelheim Int’l GmbH v. Modern Ltd. – Cayman Web Dev., FA 133625 (Nat. Arb. Forum Jan. 9, 2003) (transferring the domain name registration where the respondent stipulated to the transfer); see also Malev Hungarian Airlines, Ltd. v. Vertical Axis Inc., FA 212653 (Nat Arb. Forum Jan. 13, 2004) (“In this case, the parties have both asked for the domain name to be transferred to the Complainant . . . Since the requests of the parties in this case are identical, the Panel has no scope to do anything other than to recognize the common request, and it has no mandate to make findings of fact or of compliance (or not) with the Policy.”); see also Disney Enters., Inc. v. Morales, FA 475191 (Nat. Arb. Forum June 24, 2005) (“[U]nder such circumstances, where Respondent has agreed to comply with Complainant’s request, the Panel felt it to be expedient and judicial to forego the traditional UDRP analysis and order the transfer of the domain names.”).

 

DECISION

For the foregoing reasons, the Panel concludes that relief shall be GRANTED.

 

Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <mysears.com> domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.

 

 

 

Sandra J. Franklin, Panelist
Dated: April 30, 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

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