Harrah's License Company,
LLC v. Eric Hawkins
Claim Number: FA0809001225284
PARTIES
Complainant is Harrah's License Company, LLC (“Complainant”), represented by Jessica
E. Jacob, of Alston & Bird, LLP, Georgia,
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME
The domain name at issue is <horseshoeindiana.com>, registered
with Godaddy.com,
Inc.
PANEL
The undersigned certifies that he 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.
Hon. Sir Ian Barker as Panelist.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum
electronically on
On
On September 25, 2008, a
Notification of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the
“Commencement Notification”), setting a deadline of October 15, 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@horseshoeindiana.com by
e-mail.
A timely Response was received and determined to be complete on
A timely Additional Submission was received from Complainant on October
21, 2008.
On
RELIEF SOUGHT
Complainant requests that the domain name be transferred from
Respondent to Complainant.
PARTIES’ CONTENTIONS
A. Complainant
Complainant is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Harrah’s Operating Company
Inc. (“HOC”) which, either directly or through its licensed subsidiaries, owns
or manages 38 casinos in three countries.
It claims to be the largest provider of branded casino entertainment in
the world.
For more than 50 years, Complainant and its predecessors in interest
have used the mark HORSESHOE to identify casino entertainment and related
services. HOC or affiliates operates
five casinos under the HORSESHOE mark, including two that are located in the
state of
Complainant owns several
Respondent registered the disputed domain name on January 21, 2006. He operated the disputed domain name, initially
with links to third party sites, including links to hotel and casino services. The website also includes the statement at
the top of the site: “This domain name is for sale! If you wish to make an offer, please contact ehawkins28@gmail.com.”
Complainant caused to be sent to Respondent “cease and desist” letters
on July 31, 2008 and on August 11, 2008.
In response to these letters, Respondent removed his website. On August 14, 2008, Respondent, by email,
advised Complainant he did not intend to transfer the disputed domain name to
it without compensation. On August 17,
2008, counsel for Complainant offered to pay Respondent’s registration fees up
to US $50.00 in exchange for the transfer.
This sum was an amount that exceeded reasonable registration costs. On August 26, 2008, Respondent stated that he
would be unable to respond before the date on which the offer would
terminate. No further response was
received.
Respondent has no affiliation or association with Complainant or any
permission from Complainant to use the HORSESHOE mark in any form.
The disputed domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s
HORSESHOE mark. The fact that there is an
added geographical indicator in the word “
Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain
name. Complainant gave him none. Respondent does not qualify under Paragraph
4(c) of the Policy in that he does not use the disputed domain name in
connection with any bona fide offering
of goods and services. Nor is he known
by the disputed domain name. Nor is he
making a legitimate non-commercial or fair use of the disputed domain name.
Respondent has registered and used the disputed domain name in bad
faith, as is shown by his offer to sell it placed at the top of the
website. This is shown by his refusal to
transfer the disputed domain name in exchange for reimbursement of registration
fees.
Respondent has also engaged in conduct constituting bad faith
registration and use in violation of Paragraph 4(b)(iv)
of the Policy. His registration and use
of the disputed domain name has the effect of attracting internet users to
Respondent’s website for commercial gain by creating a likelihood of confusion
with Complainant’s HORSESHOE mark.
Respondent’s actions are designed to deceive internet users into
believing that
Respondent profits from his actions by
receiving either free domain name parking services or from being compensated
for advertisements that appear on the site.
B. Respondent
Complainant does not have exclusive rights to the word HORSESHOE. It is a generic word which predates the
establishment of Complainant’s operations by many centuries. The mark HORSESHOE appears in 29 other
trademarks, service marks and word-marks not related to casino services.
Complainant’s allegation that Respondent has no rights or legitimate
interest is based on the incorrect assumption that Complainant has an all-inclusive
right in the word “HORSESHOE.”
Respondent quotes from the WIPO Overview of Panel Views on Selected UDRP
Questions: “The Respondent is using a
generic word to describe his product/business or a product from a generic value
of the word without intending to take advantage of the Complainant’s rights in
that word when it has a legitimate interest.”
The sale of generic domain names constitutes a bona fide offering of
goods and services where the seller is not aware of a party’s rights in a
mark. The disputed domain name was
available for anyone to register because it incorporated common words.
Respondent has not taken advantage of any confusion in the marketplace. He did not register the disputed domain name to
divert customers or to try to sell the disputed domain name to Complainant at a
profit or to a competitor or otherwise to interfere with Complainant’s
trademark or business.
Respondent was not aware at the time he was contacted by Complainant
that his web page contained third party links.
The page was automatically generated without his request by his
registrar. He had no control over what
appeared on it. He has never been
compensated for usage of the disputed domain name. Immediately after Complainant’s letter, as an
act of good faith, he directed the registrar to remove the page, which it did.
He has never attempted to lure or confuse users looking for information
on Complainant’s services. Complainant
must proffer evidence that demonstrates that Respondent has specifically
intended to confuse consumers.
C. Additional Submissions
Complainant
Respondent’s arguments are meritless.
Complainant has a strong distinctive mark for casino services and
Respondent has transparently registered and used the disputed domain name for
the purpose of trading on those rights.
As has been found by many NAF Panels, a registrant of a domain name is
responsible for the content of any website located at the domain name and the
registrant cannot pass that responsibility off to a registrar or a third party.
Complainant has, through years of continued use of the trademark, had a significant investment in the promotion of goods and services offered under the HORSESHOE mark. In the words of Horseshoe License Co. v. Mercedes Net A.V.V.., FA97052 (Nat. Arb. Forum May 21, 2001), it was held by the panel that the HORSESHOE mark “is synonymous with casino operations and services around the country.”
A geographic indicator in a domain name - particularly where it is a
location where the owner of the trademark operates - cannot overcome a finding
of confusing similarity.
There is no requirement to prove actual confusion to internet users. The test is likely confusion. See Gateway, Inc. v. Pixelera.com, Inc., D2000-0109 (WIPO April 12, 2000) (“Evidence of lack of actual
confusion is irrelevant since the test is confined to a consideration of a disputed
name and the trademarks.”).
Respondent provided no evidence that he is using the term HORSESHOE to
describe any product or business. He is
using the domain name as a website for third party advertisements and links to
casino and hotel related services available to visitors on the site. Respondent does not argue that he was unaware
of Complainant’s rights in the mark. Nor
could he do so in good faith in view of the fame of the mark.
It is insufficient for Respondent to allege that he was unaware of the
links automatically generated by his registrar on the click-through site. He must take responsibility for the contents
of the site; otherwise every cyber-pirate would avoid the reach of the Policy
simply by getting someone else to put infringing content on the sites.
As to Respondent’s contention that there is no confusion in the
marketplace, that the disputed domain name was registered to divert customers,
actual confusion does not need to be proved.
It was said in Consultour Inc. v.
Travel Options Inc., D2003-0352 (WIPO
July 10, 2003) that “[t]o require Complainant to provide direct evidence of
Respondent’s bad faith intentions would allow a Respondent with a certain level
of skill to easily evade the application of the Policy, hence rendering its
application moot or irrelevant.”
FINDINGS
(1)
Complainant
has trademark rights in respect to the word “HORSESHOE,” which rights have been
held for many years.
(2)
The
disputed domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s trademark.
(3)
Respondent
has no rights to or legitimate interest in respect of the disputed domain name.
(4)
The disputed domain name has been registered and
is being used in bad faith.
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.
Complainant has clearly established rights in
the HORSESHOE name for its casino and entertainment services through
registration of a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”)
as long ago as 1993. It is not for the
Respondent to gainsay the registration once the USPTO has made a determination
that a mark is registrable. A panel is
not empowered to disturb that determination.
Many cases under the ICANN Policy show that a
registered trademark followed by a geographical locator, such as the word “
Accordingly, Complainant has made out the
first limb of Paragraph 4(a) of the Policy.
Complainant has made out a prima facie case that Respondent lacks
rights and legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. The burden then shifts to Respondent to show
that he has rights and/or legitimate interests.
In the view of the Panel, Respondent has
failed to do that. He is not commonly
known by the disputed domain name, which originally resolved to a website
featuring sponsored links, some of which advertised or directed internet users
to competing gaming and casino services.
Moreover, the notation on the website that
the disputed domain name was for sale is an indication that Respondent has no
legitimate right or interest in the disputed domain name. Advertising competing services offering to
sell the name and making no active use are all situations that indicate no bona fide offering of goods or services.
Respondent fails to come within
The initial statement that the disputed
domain name was for sale is indicative of bad faith. Moreover, the use of the “click-through”
services constitutes using the disputed domain name to attract internet users
to Respondent’s website for commercial gain.
Such conduct cannot help but create a likelihood of confusion with
Complainant’s mark.
Moreover, as was pointed out in Complainant’s
submissions, Respondent cannot abrogate responsibility for the contents of the
“click-throughs” shown on the website which he says were put there by the
registrar. A registrant must take
responsibility for what appears on his website.
As at the date of registration of the
disputed domain name, Complainant’s mark must have been well-known in the
Accordingly, the Complainant has satisfied
Paragraph 4(a)(iii) of the Policy. Bad faith registration and use can easily be
inferred.
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 <horseshoeindiana.com> domain name be
TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.
Hon. Sir Ian Barker, Panelist
Dated: October 31, 2008
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