national arbitration forum

 

DECISION

 

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc v. wils c/o abinabi

Claim Number: FA0808001221950

 

PARTIES

Complainant is The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (“Complainant”), United Kingdom.  Respondent is wils c/o abinabi (“Respondent”), Mississippi, USA.

 

REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME

The domain name at issue is <rbsonl.com>, registered with Estdomains, 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.

 

Honorable Paul A. Dorf (Ret.) as Panelist.

 

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum electronically on August 25, 2008; the National Arbitration Forum received a hard copy of the Complaint on August 26, 2008.

 

On August 28, 2008, Estdomains, Inc. confirmed by e-mail to the National Arbitration Forum that the <rbsonl.com> domain name is registered with Estdomains, Inc. and that Respondent is the current registrant of the name.  Estdomains, Inc. has verified that Respondent is bound by the Estdomains, 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 September 3, 2008, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the "Commencement Notification"), setting a deadline of September 23, 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@rbsonl.com by e-mail.

 

Having received no response from Respondent, the National Arbitration Forum transmitted to the parties a Notification of Respondent Default.

 

On September 30, 2008, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the National Arbitration Forum appointed Honorable Paul A. Dorf (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.

 

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 <rbsonl.com> domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s RBS mark.

 

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

 

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

 

B.  Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding.

 

FINDINGS

Complainant, The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc, is a financial services provider that operates in multiple countries.  Complainant operates its banking, insurance, and brokerage services under the RBS mark, which has been registered with multiple governmental authorities including: (i) the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (“UKIPO”) registered on January 5, 1996 (Reg. No. 2,004,167); (ii) the European Union’s Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (“OHIM”) registered on March 23, 1998 (Reg. No. 97,469); and (iii) the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) registered on December 19, 2006 (Reg. No. 3,185,538).  Complainant also owns and operates numerous domain names in conjunction with its Internet operations, including the <rbs.com> domain name.

 

Respondent registered the disputed <rbsonl.com> domain name on July 10, 2008.  The disputed domain name is currently used to resolve to a website that imitates Complainant’s own website.

 

DISCUSSION

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.

 

Identical and/or Confusingly Similar

 

The Panel finds that Complainant’s registrations of its mark with the UKIPO, the OHIM, and the USPTO adequately confers rights in the mark under Policy ¶ 4(a)(i) to Complainant.  See Morgan Stanley v. Fitz-James (CT2341-RSC) Cititrust Group Ltd., FA 571918 (Nat. Arb. Forum Nov. 29, 2005) (“The Panel finds from a preponderance of the evidence that Complainant has registered its mark with national trademark authorities.  The Panel has determined that such registrations present a prima facie case of Complainant’s rights in the mark for purposes of Policy ¶ 4(a)(i).”); see also Mothers Against Drunk Driving v. phix, FA 174052 (Nat. Arb. Forum Sept. 25, 2003) (finding that the complainant’s registration of the MADD mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office establishes the complainant’s rights in the mark for purposes of Policy ¶ 4(a)(i)).

 

Respondent’s <rbsonl.com> domain name includes Complainant’s RBS mark, the letters “onl,” and the generic top-level domain “.com.”  The addition of “.com” is considered irrelevant under the Policy.  Moreover, the letters “onl” would fit with an abbreviated form of “online,” which would describe Complainant’s Internet banking activities.  In any event, the Panel finds that these changes fail to distinguish the disputed domain name.  As such, the Panel also finds that the disputed domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s mark under Policy ¶ 4(a)(i).  See Reese v. Morgan, FA 917029 (Nat. Arb. Forum Apr. 5, 2007) (finding that the mere addition of the generic top-level domain “.com” is insufficient to differentiate a disputed domain name from a mark); see also Am. Online, Inc. v. Tullo, FA 150811 (Nat. Arb. Forum Apr. 15, 2003) (finding that the <3daol.com> domain name is confusingly similar to the complainant’s AOL mark because “…the addition of the prefix ‘3d’ does nothing to ‘distinguish’ Respondent’s domain name from Complainant’s registered trademarks.”).

 

The Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(i) has been satisfied.

 

Rights or Legitimate Interests

 

Complainant has alleged that Respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. When Complainant sets forth a prima facie case supporting its allegations as it has in the current case, the burden shifts to Respondent to prove that it has rights or legitimate interests pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii). See G.D. Searle v. Martin Mktg., FA 118277 (Nat. Arb. Forum Oct. 1, 2002) (“Because Complainant’s Submission constitutes a prima facie case under the Policy, the burden effectively shifts to Respondent. Respondent’s failure to respond means that Respondent has not presented any circumstances that would promote its rights or legitimate interests in the subject domain name under Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii).”); see also Do The Hustle, LLC v. Tropic Web, D2000-0624 (WIPO Aug. 21, 2000) (holding that once the complainant asserts that the respondent has no rights or legitimate interests with respect to the domain, the burden shifts to the respondent to provide “concrete evidence that it has rights to or legitimate interests in the domain name at issue”).

 

There is no evidence in the record that indicates that Respondent is commonly known by the disputed domain name.  The WHOIS information lists the registrant as “wils c/o abinabi,” which bears no similarity to the disputed domain name.  Therefore, with no response or contrary evidence from Respondent, the Panel finds that Respondent is not commonly known by the disputed domain name under Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii).  See M. Shanken Commc’ns v. WORLDTRAVELERSONLINE.COM, FA 740335 (Nat. Arb. Forum Aug. 3, 2006) (finding that the respondent was not commonly known by the <cigaraficionada.com> domain name under Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii) based on the WHOIS information and other evidence in the record); see also Coppertown Drive-Thru Sys., LLC v. Snowden, FA 715089 (Nat. Arb. Forum July 17, 2006) (concluding that the respondent was not commonly known by the <coppertown.com> domain name where there was no evidence in the record, including the WHOIS information, suggesting that the respondent was commonly known by the disputed domain name).

 

Respondent’s disputed domain name resolves to a website that imitates Complainant’s own website and offers Internet users the ability to input their private account information from Complainant.  The Panel finds this activity to be blatant “phishing,” that is, an activity designed to fraudulently and deceptively obtain private data through forgery.  Such activity here evidences Complainant’s lack of rights land legitimate interests under Policy ¶¶ 4(c)(i) and (iii), as it is not a bona fide offering of goods or services or a legitimate noncommercial or fair use.  See Juno Online Servs., Inc. v. Nelson, FA 241972 (Nat. Arb. Forum Mar. 29, 2004) (“‘Phishing’ involves the use of e-mails, pop-ups or other methods to trick Internet users into revealing credit cards, passwords, social security numbers and other personal information to the ‘phishers’ who intend to use such information for fraudulent purposes.”); see also Allianz of Am. Corp. v. Bond, FA 690796 (Nat. Arb. Forum June 12, 2006) (holding that the respondent’s use of the <allianzcorp.biz> domain name to fraudulently acquire the personal and financial information of Internet users seeking Complainant’s financial services was not a bona fide offering of goods or services pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c)(i) or a legitimate noncommercial or fair use of the disputed domain name pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c)(iii)).

 

The Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii) has been satisfied.

 

Registration and Use in Bad Faith

 

The Panel finds that Respondent has created a likelihood of confusion as to Complainant’s source, affiliation, and endorsement of the disputed domain name and corresponding website for fraudulent commercial gain.  This constitutes bad faith registration and use under Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv).  See Entrepreneur Media, Inc. v. Smith, 279 F.3d 1135, 1148 (9th Cir. 2002) ("While an intent to confuse consumers is not required for a finding of trademark infringement, intent to deceive is strong evidence of a likelihood of confusion."); see also Perot Sys. Corp. v. Perot.net, FA 95312 (Nat. Arb. Forum Aug. 29, 2000) (finding bad faith where the domain name in question is obviously connected with the complainant’s well-known marks, thus creating a likelihood of confusion strictly for commercial gain).

 

The Panel finds that Respondent’s engagement in phishing constitutes bad faith registration and use under Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii).  See Hess Corp. v. GR, FA 770909 (Nat. Arb. Forum Sept. 19, 2006) (finding that the respondent demonstrated bad faith registration and use because it was attempting to acquire the personal and financial information of Internet users through a confusingly similar domain name); see also Wells Fargo & Co. v. Maniac State, FA 608239 (Nat. Arb. Forum Jan. 19, 2006) (finding bad faith where the respondent registered the <wellsbankupdate.com> domain name in order to fraudulently acquire the personal and financial information of the complainant’s customers).

 

The Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii) has been satisfied.

 

DECISION

Having established all three elements required under the ICANN Policy, the Panel concludes that relief shall be GRANTED.

 

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

 

 

 

Honorable Paul A. Dorf (Ret.), Panelist

Dated:  October 14, 2008

 

 

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