National Arbitration Forum

 

DECISION

 

Cafepress.com, Inc. v. Demand Domains, Inc.

Claim Number: FA0907001273216

 

PARTIES

Complainant is Cafepress.com, Inc. (“Complainant”), represented by CitizenHawk, Inc., California, USA.  Respondent is Demand Domains, Inc. (“Respondent”), represented by Christina G. Radocha, of Demand Domains, Inc., Washington, USA.

 

REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME

The domain name at issue is <kafepress.com>, registered with Enom, 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.

 

Joel M.Grossman,Esq. as Panelist.

 

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum electronically on July 10, 2009; the National Arbitration Forum received a hard copy of the Complaint on July 13, 2009.

 

On July 10, 2009, Enom, Inc. confirmed by e-mail to the National Arbitration Forum that the <kafepress.com> domain name is registered with Enom, Inc. and that the Respondent is the current registrant of the name.  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 July 16, 2009, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the “Commencement Notification”), setting a deadline of August 5, 2009 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@kafepress.com by e-mail.

 

A timely Response was received and determined to be complete on August 5, 2009.

An Additional Submission from Complainant was timely received on August 10, 2009.

 

 

 

On August 11, 2009, pursuant to Complainant’s request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the National Arbitration Forum appointed Joel M. Grossman, Esq.,  as Panelist.

 

RELIEF SOUGHT

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

 

PARTIES’ CONTENTIONS

A. Complainant

Plaintiff first contends that the domain name is identical to or confusingly similar to its protected trademark Complainant owns federal trademarks not only in the phrase “cafepress” but also in the phrase “cafepress.com.” The substitution of the letter “k” for “c” does nothing to avoid confusion. Complainant next asserts that Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the domain name. Respondent is not commonly known by the name; Complainant has not authorized Respondent to use its mark; and Respondent is using the name to redirect Internet users to its website which features links to third-party businesses which compete with Complainant. Finally, Complainant contends that the name was registered and is being used in bad faith. Complainant asserts that typosquatting, such as replacing the “c” in Complainant’s mark with a “k,” is in and of itself evidence of bad faith.

 

B. Respondent

Respondent does not contest the transfer of the domain name to Complainant, and does not address the first two factors, that is, whether the domain name is identical to or confusingly similar to a mark in which Complainant has rights, or whether Respondent has any rights or legitimate interests in the domain name. Respondent does contend that it did not register the name in bad faith, as it was unaware of Complainant’s mark at the time of registration. Respondent requests that the Panel transfer the domain name to Complainant with no finding of bad faith on the part of Respondent.

 

C. Additional Submissions

In its Additional Submission Complainant asserts that it is extremely unlikely that Respondent would not have been aware of Complainant’s mark at the time of registration, given the fact that Complainant has over 7 million users who have created over 300 million products through Complainant’s website. Complainant objects to Respondent’s request that the Panel transfer the domain name to Complainant with no finding of bad faith registration.

 

FINDINGS

Because Respondent consents to the transfer of the domain name to Complainant, the Panel elects not to make specific findings in this matter. See Boehringer Ingelheim Int’l GmbH v. Modern Ltd.—Cayman Web Dev., FA 133625 (Nat. Arb. Forum Jan. 9, 2003). 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 mandate to make findings of fact or of compliance (or not) with the Policy.”)

 

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.

 

Identical and/or Confusingly Similar

 

As set forth above, the Panel has determined not to make findings in this matter.

 

Rights or Legitimate Interests

 

As noted above, the Panel has determined not to make findings in this matter.

 

Registration and Use in Bad Faith

 

As noted above, the Panel has determined not to make findings in this matter.

 

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 <kafepress.com> domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.

 

 

 

Joel M. Grossman, Panelist
Dated: August 25, 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

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