Fair Isaac Corporation v. Omni Associates Inc.
Claim Number: FA0806001212644
Complainant is Fair Isaac Corporation (“Complainant”), represented by Timothy
M. Kenny, of Fulbright &
Jaworski,
REGISTRAR
AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME
The domain name at issue is <theficosurgeon.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.
Judge Harold Kalina (Ret.) as Panelist.
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum electronically on June 25, 2008; the National Arbitration Forum received a hard copy of the Complaint on June 26, 2008.
On June 25, 2008, Godaddy.com, Inc. confirmed by e-mail to the National Arbitration Forum that the <theficosurgeon.com> domain name is registered with Godaddy.com, Inc. and that 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 June 27, 2008, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the "Commencement Notification"), setting a deadline of July 17, 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@theficosurgeon.com by e-mail.
Having received no response from Respondent, the National Arbitration Forum transmitted to the parties a Notification of Respondent Default.
On July 23, 2008, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the National Arbitration Forum appointed Judge Harold Kalina (Ret.) as Panelist.
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 name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.
A. Complainant makes the following assertions:
1. Respondent’s <theficosurgeon.com> domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s FICO mark.
2. Respondent does not have any rights or legitimate interests in the <theficosurgeon.com> domain name.
3. Respondent registered and used the <theficosurgeon.com> domain name in bad faith.
B. Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding.
Complainant is a provider of decision management solutions currently working with more than 2,600 businesses worldwide to provide solutions, software and consulting services. A considerable amount of its business and counseling occurs in the financial industry. In particular, its credit-related products are marketed to the general public. Complainant has registered the FICO mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) (Reg. No. 2,273,432 issued August 31, 1999).
The <theficosurgeon.com> domain name was registered on October 21, 2007 and currently resolves to a website offering credit evaluation and restoration services to consumers, including providing individuals with their credit scores and counseling services related to improving those scores. These services are substantially similar if not identical to those offered by Complainant under the FICO mark.
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.
The Panel finds that Complainant has sufficiently
established rights in the FICO mark through registration of the mark with the
USPTO pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(a)(i). See Thermo Electron Corp. v. Xu, FA 713851 (Nat. Arb. Forum
July 12, 2006) (holding that the complainants established rights in marks
because the marks were registered with a trademark authority); see also VICORP Rests., Inc. v.
Triantafillos, FA 485933 (Nat. Arb. Forum July 14,
2005) (“Complainant has established rights in the BAKERS SQUARE mark by
registering it with the United States Patent and Trademark Office
(“USPTO”).”).
The <theficosurgeon.com>
domain name contains Complainant’s FICO mark in its entirety while adding the
article “the” and the word “surgeon.”
Previous panels have established that the inclusion of “the” does not
adequately distinguish a disputed domain name.
See Antoun v. Truth Squad, FA
114766 (Nat. Arb. Forum Aug. 21, 2002) (stating that the
article "the" is "often added only for grammatical
purposes, and may be superfluous to the name itself"); see also Marriott Int’l, Inc. v. Stealth
Commerce, FA 109746 (Nat. Arb. Forum May 28, 2002) (“[T]he addition of the
[article] ‘the’ to the beginning of the domain names fails to make them
separate and distinct, as distinguishable from Complainant’s marks.”). Likewise, generic words such as “surgeon”
added to a disputed domain name, will not negate a finding of confusingly
similarity. See Google Inc. v. Xtraplus Corp., D2001-0125 (WIPO Apr. 16, 2001)
(finding that the respondent’s domain names were confusingly similar to
Complainant’s GOOGLE mark where the respondent merely added common terms such
as “buy” or “gear” to the end); see also
Am. Online, Inc. v. Miller, FA 180625 (Nat. Arb. Forum Sept. 15, 2003)
(finding confusing similarity where “[t]he domain name includes Complainant’s
mark with the addition of the descriptive word “hot,” which does not dispel any
confusion arising from the inclusion of Complainant’s mark in the domain
name.”). And finally, the disputed
domain name contains the generic top-level domain (“gTLD”) “.com.” However, it is well-established that the
inclusion of a gTLD is irrelevant to a Policy ¶ 4(a)(i)
analysis. See Trip
Network Inc. v. Alviera, FA 914943 (Nat. Arb. Forum Mar. 27, 2007)
(concluding that the addition of a gTLD, whether it be “.com,” “.net,” “.biz,”
or “.org,” is irrelevant to a Policy ¶ 4(a)(i)
analysis). For all of the aforementioned
reasons, the Panel finds that the <theficosurgeon.com>
domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s FICO mark pursuant to
Policy ¶ 4(a)(i).
The Panel concludes that Complainant has satisfactorily established Policy ¶ 4(a)(i).
Before the burden shifts to a respondent to prove that it has rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name, a complainant must establish a prima facie case that the respondent lacks any rights and legitimate interest. See Hanna-Barbera Prods., Inc. v. Entm’t Commentaries, FA 741828 (Nat. Arb. Forum Aug. 18, 2006) (holding that the complainant must first make a prima facie case that the respondent lacks rights and legitimate interests in the disputed domain name under Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii) before the burden shifts to the respondent to show that it does have rights or legitimate interests in a domain name). The Panel finds that Complainant has established a prima facie case against Respondent and that this burden is accordingly shifted to Respondent. See Document Techs., Inc. v. Int’l Elec. Commc’ns Inc., D2000-0270 (WIPO June 6, 2000) (“Although Paragraph 4(a) of the Policy requires that the Complainant prove the presence of this element (along with the other two), once a Complainant makes out a prima facie showing, the burden of production on this factor shifts to the Respondent to rebut the showing by providing concrete evidence that it has rights to or legitimate interests in the Domain Name.”).
In regards to this Complaint, Respondent has failed to submit a reply. Therefore, the Panel may presume that Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the <theficosurgeon.com> domain name, but it will nonetheless examine the record in consideration of the elements listed within Policy ¶ 4(c). See Parfums Christian Dior v. QTR Corp., D2000-0023 (WIPO Mar. 9, 2000) (finding that by not submitting a response, the respondent has failed to invoke any circumstance which could demonstrate any rights or legitimate interests in the 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).
There is nothing in the record that even creates an
inference that Respondent is or ever was commonly known by the disputed domain
name. The WHOIS information lists
Respondent as “Omni Associates Inc.”
Moreover, Complainant asserts that it has never granted permission or
license to Respondent to use the FICO mark.
Without any additional information, the Panel finds that Respondent is
not commonly known by the <theficosurgeon.com>
domain name pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii). See
Reese v. Morgan, FA 917029 (Nat.
Arb. Forum Apr. 5, 2007) (concluding that the respondent was not commonly known
by the <lilpunk.com> domain name as there was no evidence in the record
showing that the respondent was commonly known by that domain name, including
the WHOIS information as well as the complainant’s assertion that it did not
authorize or license the respondent’s use of its mark in a domain name); see also Educ. Broad. Corp.
v. DomainWorks Inc., FA 882172 (Nat. Arb.
Forum Apr. 18, 2007) (concluding that the respondent was not commonly known by
the <thirteen.com> domain name based on all evidence in the record, and
the respondent did not counter this argument).
Respondent’s <theficosurgeon.com> domain name resolves to a website providing credit evaluation and counseling services. Complainant provides credit evaluation and counseling services under the FICO mark as well. The Panel determines that Respondent is acting in competition to Complainant with the disputed domain name. Consequently, the Panel determines that this does not constitute a bona fide offering of goods or services pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c)(i) nor a legitimate noncommercial or fair use pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c)(iii). See Computerized Sec. Sys., Inc. v. Hu, FA 157321 (Nat. Arb. Forum June 23, 2003) (“Respondent’s appropriation of [Complainant’s] SAFLOK mark to market products that compete with Complainant’s goods does not constitute a bona fide offering of goods and services.”); see also 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.”).
The Panel concludes that Complainant has satisfactorily established Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii).
Respondent is using the disputed domain name, which contains Complainant’s FICO mark in its entirety, to operate a commercial website featuring goods and services that compete with those offered under Complainant’s FICO mark. The Panel finds that this competitive utility establishes that Respondent registered and is using the <theficosurgeon.com> domain name in bad faith pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(iii). See Jerie v. Burian, FA 795430 (Nat. Arb. Forum Oct. 30, 2006) (concluding that the respondent registered and used the <sportlivescore.com> domain name in order to disrupt the complainant’s business under the LIVESCORE mark because the respondent was maintaining a website in direct competition with the complainant); see also 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).”).
Additionally, the Panel may presume that Respondent
commercially benefits from its use of the <theficosurgeon.com>
domain name, because it is purporting to sell goods and services. See G.D. Searle & Co. v. Pelham, FA 117911 (Nat. Arb.
Forum Sept. 19, 2002) (finding that because the respondent is using the
infringing domain name to sell prescription drugs, the panel could infer that
the respondent is using the complainant’s mark to attract Internet users to its
website for commercial benefit).
Accordingly, the Panel finds that Respondent has registered and is using
the disputed domain name in bad faith pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv) in an attempt to attract Internet users to its
commercially competing website. See TM Acquisition Corp. v.
Carroll, FA 97035 (Nat. Arb. Forum May 14, 2001) (finding bad faith
where the respondent used the domain name, for commercial gain, to
intentionally attract users to a direct competitor of the complainant); see also Busy Body, Inc. v. Fitness Outlet, Inc.,
D2000-0127 (WIPO Apr. 22, 2000) (finding bad faith pursuant to Policy ¶
4(b)(iv) because the respondent and the complainant were in the same line of
business and the respondent was using a domain name confusingly similar to the
complainant’s FITNESS WAREHOUSE mark to attract Internet users to its
<efitnesswarehouse.com> domain name); see
also Fanuc Ltd v. Mach. Control Servs., FA 93667 (Nat. Arb. Forum Mar. 13,
2000) (finding that the respondent violated Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv) by creating a
likelihood of confusion with the complainant's mark by using a domain name
identical to the complainant’s mark to sell the complainant’s products).
The Panel concludes that Complainant has satisfactorily 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 <theficosurgeon.com> domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.
Judge Harold Kalina (Ret.), Panelist
Dated: July 31, 2008
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