National Arbitration Forum

 

DECISION

 

Wells Fargo & Company v. OZ Ace c/o Ian Spencer

 

Claim Number: FA0805001189814

 

PARTIES

Complainant is Wells Fargo & Company (“Complainant”), represented by Ryan M. Kaatz, of Faegre & Benson, LLP, Minnesota, USA.  Respondent is OZ Ace c/o Ian Spencer (“Respondent”), Australia.

 

 

REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME

The domain name at issue is <wellsfargo.cc>, registered with eNom, Inc.

 

PANEL

The undersigned certifies he or she acted independently and impartially in rendering this decision.  Additionally, the undersigned confirms to the best of his or her knowledge he or she had no known conflict regarding his or her service as Panelist in this proceeding.

 

Hon. Charles A. Kuechenmeister (Ret.)

 

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum electronically on May 8, 2008 and in hard copy on May 9, 2008.

 

On May 9, 2008, eNom, Inc. confirmed by e-mail to the National Arbitration Forum that Respondent is the current registrant of the <wellsfargo.cc> domain name, and the disputed domain name is registered with eNom, Inc.  eNom, Inc. has verified that Respondent is bound by the eNom, 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 May 16, 2008, the National Arbitration Forum transmitted a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the “Commencement Notification”) 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@wellsfargo.cc by e-mail. The Commencement Notification set a deadline of June 5, 2008 by which Respondent could file a Response to the Complaint.

 

On June 2, 2008, a timely Response was received and the National Arbitration Forum determined the Response to be complete pursuant to Supplemental Rule 5.

 

Neither party filed any additional submissions.

 

On June 5, 2008, pursuant to Complainant’s request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the National Arbitration Forum appointed Hon. Charles A. Kuechenmeister (Ret.) as Panelist.

 

RELIEF SOUGHT

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

 

PARTIES’ CONTENTIONS

A.     Complainant

            Complainant alleges that the disputed domain name, <wellsfargo.cc>, is identical or confusingly similar to its WELLS FARGO registered trademark, under which it does business as a financial institution in the United States and overseas, with over $442 billion in assets.  It further alleges that the Respondent has no right or legitimate interest in the name Wells Fargo incorporated into the disputed domain name.  Finally, it alleges that Respondent registered and is using the disputed domain name in bad faith, first by luring unsuspecting Internet users to his website established under the domain name <wellsfargo.cc> to solicit personal financial information from them for fraudulent purposes, and later, after Respondent’s ISP removed the Internet website, by making no use of it at all.

 

B.     Respondent

            Respondent alleges that he had no knowledge of the existence of the disputed domain name, or its prior registration, until he received the Complaint and other papers in this Proceeding.  He alleges that someone unknown to him fraudulently registered <wellsfargo.cc> in his name, without his knowledge or consent.  He disclaims any interest in the disputed domain name and consents to its transfer to Complainant.

 

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

Paragraph 15(a) of the Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the “Rules”) instructs this Panel in contested cases 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.

 

In this case, however, the parties agree that Respondent has no interest in the disputed domain name and both are amenable to its transfer to Complainant.  Accordingly, to effectuate the common desire of the parties, and in the interest of judicial economy, the Panel dispenses with findings and discussion, and ORDERS that the <wellsfargo.cc> domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.

 

 

 

 

Honorable Charles A. Kuechenmeister (Ret.)

Dated:  June 19, 2008

 

 

 

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