Veolia Environnement SA v. Guo Ping
Claim Number: FA1701001714404
Complainant: Veolia Environnement SA of PARIS, France.
Complainant Representative:
Complainant Representative: IP TWINS of Paris, France.
Respondent: Guo Ping of Shang Hai Shi, Shang Hai, International, CN.
Respondent Representative: None known.
REGISTRIES and REGISTRARS
Registries: Zodiac Leo Limited
Registrars: Alibaba Cloud Computing Ltd. d/b/a HiChina (www.net.cn)
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 Examiner in this proceeding.
David L. Kreider, as Examiner.
Complainant submitted: January 27, 2017
Commencement: January 30, 2017
Default Date: February 14, 2017
Having reviewed the communications records, the Examiner finds that the Forum has discharged its responsibility under URS Procedure, Paragraphs 3 and 4 and Rule 4 of the Rules for the Uniform Rapid Suspension System (the "Rules") .
Complainant requests that the domain name be suspended for the life of the registration.
Clear and convincing evidence.
The Examiner finds that Complainant is the holding company of Veolia group, a 160 years old group, which represents today a total of €24.96 Billion in revenue. Complainant is the holder of the trademark VEOLIA, registered in China and other jurisdictions. The latter is well-known, widely used, and protected worldwide in relation to water, waste and energy services.
Complainant sent a cease-and-desist letter to Respondent via e-mail. Several replies in Chinese were received by Complainant via the email 505709222@qq.com. At some point, the sum of 50,000 USD was offered in exchange for the domain name. As no amicable settlement could be found, Complainant thereafter initiated this URS.
Complainant owns the following trademark registrations:
- American trademark VEOLIA number 3543738 in classes 16, 35, 37, 39, 40 and 42;
- International trademark VEOLIA number 814678 in classes 1, 6, 9, 11, 17, 19, 32, 35, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41 and 42,
protected in China; and
- Community trademark VEOLIA number 0910325 in classes 9, 11, 16, 32, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42 and 44.
Even though the Respondent has defaulted, URS Procedure 1.2.6, requires Complainant to make a prima facie case, proven by clear and convincing evidence, for each of the following three elements to obtain an order that a domain name should be suspended.
The Examiner finds that the disputed domain name at the second-tier, is identical to the Claimant’s registered trademark VEOLIA. The Respondent has no lawful right or interest in or to the Claimant’s registered mark. By using the domain name, Registrant has intentionally attempted to attract for commercial gain, Internet users to Registrant’s web site or other online location, in bad faith, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the complainant’s mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of Registrant’s web site or location or of a product or service on that web site or location.
After reviewing the Complainant’s submissions, the Examiner determines that
the Complainant has demonstrated all three elements of the URS by a standard of clear and convincing evidence; the Examiner hereby Orders the following domain names be SUSPENDED for the duration of the registration:
David L. Kreider, Examiner
Dated: February 14, 2017
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