TRIA Beauty, Inc. v. yan tinglei c/o Yan TingLei
Claim Number: FA1005001322706
Complainant is TRIA Beauty, Inc. (“Complainant”), represented by Truman
H. Fenton, of King & Spalding LLP,
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN
NAME
The domain name at issue is <nicetria.com>, registered with XIN NET TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION.
The undersigned certifies that he has acted independently and impartially and to the best of his knowledge has no known conflict in serving as Panelist in this proceeding.
Judge Ralph Yachnin as Panelist.
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum electronically on May 4, 2010. The Complaint was submitted in both Chinese and English.
On May 4, 2010, XIN NET TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION confirmed by e-mail to the National Arbitration Forum that the <nicetria.com> domain name is registered with XIN NET TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION and that Respondent is the current registrant of the name. XIN NET TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION has verified that Respondent is bound by the XIN NET TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION 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 13, 2010, the Forum served the Chinese language Complaint and all Annexes, including a Chinese language Written Notice of the Complaint, setting a deadline of June 2, 2010 by which Respondent could file a Response to the Complaint, via e-mail to all entities and persons listed on Respondent’s registration as technical, administrative, and billing contacts, and to postmaster@nicetria.com. Also on May 13, 2010, the Chinese language Written Notice of the Complaint, notifying Respondent of the email addresses served and the deadline for a Response, was transmitted to Respondent via post and fax, to all entities and persons listed on Respondent’s registration as technical, administrative and billing contacts.
Having received no response from Respondent, the National Arbitration Forum transmitted to the parties a Notification of Respondent Default.
On June 9, 2010 pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the National Arbitration Forum appointed Judge Ralph Yachnin 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" through submission of a Written Notice, as defined in Rule 1. 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.
Pursuant to Rule 11(a) the Panel determines that the language requirement has been satisfied through the Chinese language Complaint and Commencement Notification and, absent a Response, determines that the remainder of the proceedings may be conducted in English.
Complainant requests that the domain name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.
A. Complainant makes the following assertions:
1. Respondent’s <nicetria.com> domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s TRIA mark.
2. Respondent does not have any rights or legitimate interests in the <nicetria.com> domain name.
3. Respondent registered and used the <nicetria.com> domain name in bad faith.
B. Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding.
Complainant, TRIA Beauty, Inc., sells laser-based hair removal systems under the TRIA mark, which Complainant registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) on December 25, 2007 (Reg. No. 3,360,633). Complainant’s hair removal system is available for sale in stores such as Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom, from online retailers such as QVC and Amazon, and over the Internet directly from Complainant.
Respondent registered the <nicetria.com>
domain name on January 12,
2010. The disputed domain name resolves
to a website that is very similar to Complainant’s
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.
Respondent registered the <nicetria.com> domain name on January 12, 2010. The Panel finds that Complainant has established rights in the TRIA mark for purposes of Policy ¶ 4(a)(i) through its trademark registrations with the USPTO (Reg. No. 3,360,633 issued December 25, 2007). See Intel Corp. v. Macare, FA 660685 (Nat. Arb. Forum Apr. 26, 2006) (finding that the complainant had established rights in the PENTIUM, CENTRINO and INTEL INSIDE marks by registering the marks with the USPTO); see also AOL LLC v. Interrante, FA 681239 (Nat. Arb. Forum May 23, 2006) (finding that where the complainant had submitted evidence of its registration with the USPTO, “such evidence establishes complainant’s rights in the mark pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(a)(i).”).
Complainant contends that
Respondent’s <nicetria.com>
domain name is confusingly similar to its TRIA
mark. The <nicetria.com> domain name consists of the TRIA mark with the additions
of the generic term “nice” and the generic top-level domain (“gTLD”)
“.com.” The Panel finds that neither the
addition of a generic term, nor the addition of a gTLD sufficiently distinguishes
a domain name from an incorporated mark for the purposes of Policy ¶ 4(a)(i). Therefore, the
Panel finds that these changes do not minimize or eliminate the resulting
likelihood of confusion, and so Respondent’s disputed domain name is
confusingly similar to Complainant’s TRIA mark
pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(a)(i). See L.L.
Bean, Inc. v. ShopStarNetwork, FA
95404 (Nat. Arb. Forum Sept. 14, 2000) (finding that
combining the generic word “shop” with the complainant’s registered mark
“llbean” does not circumvent the complainant’s rights in the mark nor avoid the
confusing similarity aspect of the ICANN Policy); see also Gardline Surveys
Ltd. v. Domain Fin. Ltd., FA 153545 (Nat. Arb. Forum May 27, 2003) (“The
addition of a top-level domain is irrelevant when establishing whether or not a
mark is identical or confusingly similar, because top-level domains are a
required element of every domain name.”).
The Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(i) has been satisfied.
Complainant contends that Respondent lacks all rights and legitimate interests in the <nicetria.com> domain name. Under Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii), after the complainant makes a prima facie case against the respondent, the respondent then has the burden of showing evidence that it does have rights and legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. The Panel finds that Complainant has made a prima facie case under Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii), and that Respondent has failed to respond to the Complaint. See 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”); see also 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).”). However, the Panel will examine the record to determine whether Respondent has developed any rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name under Policy ¶ 4(c).
Complainant contends that Respondent is not commonly known by the <nicetria.com> domain name, and that Complainant has never been licensed or authorized to use the TRIA mark. The WHOIS information for the disputed domain name lists the domain name registrant as “yan tinglei c/o Yan TingLei.” The Panel finds that this evidence, along with the fact that Respondent has failed to show any evidence contrary to Complainant’s contentions, compels it to find that Respondent is not commonly known by the <nicetria.com> domain name pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii). See Wells Fargo & Co. v. Onlyne Corp. Services11, Inc., FA 198969 (Nat. Arb. Forum Nov. 17, 2003) (“Given the WHOIS contact information for the disputed domain [name], one can infer that Respondent, Onlyne Corporate Services11, is not commonly known by the name ‘welsfargo’ in any derivation.”); 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 in its response).
Complainant contends
that Respondent is maintaining a website at the <nicetria.com> domain name that imitates Complainant’s
The Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii) has been satisfied.
Complainant contends that Respondent is gaining commercially
through the counterfeit sales that Respondent makes at the website passing
itself off as Complainant’s own
The Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii) has been satisfied.
Having established all three elements required under the ICANN Policy, the Panel concludes that relief shall be GRANTED.
Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <nicetria.com> domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.
Hon. Ralph Yachnin, Panelist
Justice, Supreme Court, NY (Ret.)
Dated: June 11, 2010
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