Emerson Electric Co. v. Thmas Ronnie / Thmas Group
Claim Number: FA2004001892264
Complainant is Emerson Electric Co. (“Complainant”), Missouri, USA. Respondent is Thmas Ronnie / Thmas Group (“Respondent”), South Korea.
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME
The domain name at issue is <ermreson.com>, registered with PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com.
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.
Paul M. DeCicco, as Panelist.
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the Forum electronically on April 16, 2020; the Forum received payment on April 16, 2020.
On April 17, 2020, PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com confirmed by e-mail to the Forum that the <ermreson.com> domain name is registered with PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com and that Respondent is the current registrant of the name. PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com has verified that Respondent is bound by the PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com registration agreement and has thereby agreed to resolve domain disputes brought by third parties in accordance with ICANN’s Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the “Policy”).
On April 20, 2020, the Forum served the Complaint and all Annexes, including a Written Notice of the Complaint, setting a deadline of May 11, 2020 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@ermreson.com. Also on April 20, 2020, the Written Notice of the Complaint, notifying Respondent of the e-mail 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 Forum transmitted to the parties a Notification of Respondent Default.
On May 13, 2020, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the Forum appointed Paul M. DeCicco as Panelist.
Having reviewed the communications records, the Administrative Panel (the "Panel") finds that the 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 Electronic and Written Notices, as defined in Rule 1 and Rule 2. Therefore, the Panel may issue its decision based on the documents submitted and in accordance with the ICANN Policy, ICANN Rules, the Forum's Supplemental Rules and any rules and principles of law that the Panel deems applicable, without the benefit of any response from Respondent.
Complainant requests that the domain name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.
A. Complainant
Complainant contends as follows:
Complainant is a global manufacturing and technology company.
Complainant has rights in the EMERSON mark through its registration of the mark with multiple trademark agencies, including the European Union Intellectual Property Office (“EUIPO”) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) (e.g. USPTO Reg. No. 111,931, registered Aug, 15, 1916).
Respondent’s <ermreson.com> domain name is identical or confusingly similar to Complainant’s mark as it consists of a purposeful misspelling of Complainant’s mark and a generic top-level domain (“gTLD”).
Respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in the <ermreson.com> domain name. Respondent is not commonly known by the at-issue domain name, nor has Complainant authorized, licensed, or otherwise permitted Respondent to use the mark. Respondent fails to use the domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services or legitimate noncommercial or fair use. Instead, Respondent uses the at-issue domain name and email to create the impression of authorization and administration by Complainant and to pass off as various employees of Complainant. The at-issue domain name resolved to a blank webpage that lacks content.
Respondent registered and uses the <ermreson.com> domain name in bad faith. Respondent holds several other infringing domain names, indicating bad faith. Respondent uses the domain name for the purpose of launching a phishing attack by impersonating Complainant’s employees and sending fraudulent emails. The disputed domain name does not resolve to an active webpage. Respondent engages in typosquatting by registering the a domain name containing a misspelling of a mark. Respondent registered the disputed domain name with actual knowledge of Complainant’s trademark rights.
B. Respondent
Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding.
Complainant owns a USPTO registered trademark for EMERSON.
Respondent is not affiliated with Complainant and had not been authorized to use the EMERSON mark in any capacity.
Respondent registered the at-issue domain name after Complainant acquired trademark rights in EMERSON.
Respondent uses the <ermreson.com> domain name to host email that pretends to originate from Complainant in furtherance of a phishing scheme whereby Respondent attempts to entice third parties into making payments to Respondent and giving up personal information.
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."
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.
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(f), 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 set forth in a complaint; however, the Panel may deny relief where a complaint contains mere conclusory or unsubstantiated arguments. See WIPO Jurisprudential Overview 3.0 at ¶ 4.3; see also eGalaxy Multimedia Inc. v. ON HOLD By Owner Ready To Expire, FA 157287 (Forum June 26, 2003) (“Because Complainant did not produce clear evidence to support its subjective allegations [. . .] the Panel finds it appropriate to dismiss the Complaint”).
Complainant’s trademark registration of the EMERSON mark with the USPTO, as well as the mark’s registration with other national registries, sufficiently demonstrates Complainant’s rights in a mark under Policy ¶ 4(a)(i). ). Alibaba Group Holding Limited v. YINGFENG WANG, FA 1568531 (Forum Aug. 21, 2014) (“Complainant has rights in the ALIBABA mark under the Policy through registration with trademark authorities in numerous countries around the world.”).
The <ermreson.com> domain name incorporates a misspelling of Complainant’s EMERSON trademark wherein an “r” is inserted between the mark’s “e” and “m”, and the mark’s second “e” and its “r” are transposed. To complete the domain name the resulting string is followed by the top level domain name “.com.” The differences between the at-issue domain name and Complainant’s trademark are insufficient to distinguish the two for the purposes of the Policy. Therefore, the Panel finds that Respondent’s <ermreson.com> domain name is confusingly similar to the Complainant’s EMERSON ELECTRIC mark under Policy ¶ 4(a)(i). See Bank of America Corporation v. Above.com Domain Privacy, FA 1629452 (Forum Aug. 18, 2015) (finding that the <blankofamerica.com> domain name contains the entire BANK OF AMERICA mark and merely adds the gTLD ‘.com’ and the letter ‘l’ to create a common misspelling of the word ‘bank’).
Respondent lacks both rights and legitimate interests in respect of the at-issue domain name. Respondent is not authorized to use Complainant’s trademark in any capacity and, as discussed below, there are no Policy ¶4(c) circumstances from which the Panel might find that Respondent has rights or interests in respect of the domain name.
Under Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii), Complainant must first make out a prima facie case showing that Respondent lacks rights and legitimate interests in respect of an at-issue domain name and then the burden, in effect, shifts to Respondent to come forward with evidence of its rights or legitimate interests. See Hanna-Barbera Prods., Inc. v. Entm’t Commentaries, FA 741828 (Forum Aug. 18, 2006). Since Respondent failed to respond and since as discussed below there is no evidence supporting a finding pursuant to Policy 4(c) that Respondent has rights or interests in the at-issue domain name, Complainant’s prima facie showing acts conclusively.
The WHOIS information for <ermreson.com> identifies “Thmas Ronnie/Thmas Group” as the domain name’s registrant and the record before the Panel contains no evidence that suggests Respondent is otherwise commonly known by the <ermreson.com> domain name. The Panel thus concludes that Respondent is not commonly known by the at-issue domain name for the purposes of Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii). See 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); see also, Emerson Electric Co. v. golden humble / golden globals, FA 1787128 (Forum June 11, 2018) (“lack of evidence in the record to indicate a respondent is authorized to use [the] complainant’s mark may support a finding that [the] respondent does not have rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name per Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii)”).
Respondent uses the at-issue domain name to pass itself off as Complainant. To wit, Respondent concocted emails hosted @ermreson.com that are made to appear as if they are coming from various employees of Complainant. The emails, which Respondent sent to parties it determined to have particular business dealings with Complainant, ask their targeted recipients to make payment on past due invoices. Further the emails provide fraudulent bank details for submitting said payment. Respondent’s deceptive emails also phish for recipients’ personal information. Respondent’s fraudulent antics are clearly for commercial gain. Respondent’s use of the confusingly similar domain name in this way is neither a Policy ¶ 4(c)(i) bona fide offering of goods or services, nor a Policy ¶ 4(c)(iii) legitimate noncommercial or fair use of the at-issue domain name. See Emerson Electric Co. v. golden humble / golden globals, FA 1787128 (Forum June 11, 2018) (“Passing off as a complainant through e-mails is evidence that a respondent lacks rights and legitimate interests under Policy ¶¶ 4(c)(i) & (iii).”); see also, Emerson Electric Co. v. Adilcon Rocha, FA 1735949 (Forum July 11, 2017) (finding that respondent’s attempt to pass off as complainant through emails does not constitute a bona fide offering of goods or services and, as such, respondent lacked rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name); see also, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Gregory Stea, FA1403001550388 (Forum May 5, 2014) (“Respondent is using the domain name in emails to various IT hardware suppliers in an attempt to impersonate Complainant and defraud its customers. The domain name also resolved to a website similar to Complainant's website. The Panel found that such actions precluded a bona fide offer or fair use.”).
In light of the foregoing, Complainant satisfies its initial burden and conclusively demonstrates Respondent’s lack of rights and interests in respect of the at-issue domain name under Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii).
The at-issue domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith. As discussed below without limitation, circumstances are present from which the Panel may conclude that Respondent acted in bad faith pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii).
First, Complainant shows that Respondent currently holds registrations for several other domain names that may be confused with well-known brands and/or businesses. Respondent’s other domain name registrations appear to be typosquatted versions of various well-known trademarks and indicate a pattern of domain name abuse. This pattern suggests Respondent’s bad faith in the instant case pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(ii). See Blue Diamond Growers v. L Wood, FA 1464477 (Forum June 7, 2017) (finding evidence that the respondent had previously registered domain names infringing on famous third-party marks established a pattern of bad faith registration and use of domain names and stood as evidence of bad faith in the registration and use of domain names under Policy ¶ 4(b)(ii)).
Next as discussed above regarding rights and legitimate interests, Respondent uses the <ermreson.com> domain name to pass itself off as Complainant so that Respondent may phish for the proprietary information of Complainant’s business associates and/or extract payments from them. Respondent’s use of the domain name in this manner shows Respondent’s bad faith registration and use of the at-issue domain name pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(iii) and Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv). See Abbvie, Inc. v. James Bulow, FA 1701075 (Forum Nov. 30, 2016) (“Respondent uses the <abbuie.com> domain name to impersonate Complainant’s CEO. Such use is undeniably disruptive to Complainant’s business and demonstrates bad faith pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(iii), and/or Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv)”); see also Chevron Intellectual Property, LLC v. Jack Brooks, FA 1635967 (Forum Oct. 6, 2015) (finding that Respondent’s use of <chevron-corps.com> to impersonate an executive of Complainant in emails is in opposition to Complainant and is therefore in bad faith under Policy ¶ 4(b)(iii)).
Respondent is also engaging in typosquatting. Respondent formed the at-issue domain name, inter alia, by inserting an extra-letter into Complainant’s EMERSON trademark and transposing two of its characters. When glancing at email hosted @ermreson.com the originating domain name’s second-level might well pass for Complainant’s trademark. Typosquatting is a practice whereby a domain name registrant deliberately introduces typographical errors or misspellings into a trademark and then uses the resulting string in a domain name. The registrant hopes that internet users will: 1) inadvertently type the malformed string when searching for content related to the domain name’s target trademark; and/or ‑as Respondent desires here‑ 2) in viewing the domain name will confuse the domain name with its target trademark. The registrant then may use the confusion to inappropriately capitalize on the target mark’s goodwill, as did Respondent via the use of the domain name in fraudulent email addresses. Typosquatting, in itself, indicates bad faith under Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii). See Computerized Sec. Sys., Inc. v. Hu, FA 157321 (Forum June 23, 2003) (finding that the respondent engaged in typosquatting, which is evidence of bad faith registration and use under Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii)).
Finally, Respondent had actual knowledge of Complainant’s rights in the EMERSON trademark before registering <ermreson.com>. Respondent’s prior knowledge is evident from the notoriety of Complainant’s EMERSON trademark and from the fact that Respondent uses the domain name to host email which is designed to appear to originate from Complainant. Registering and using a confusingly similar domain with knowledge of Complainant’s rights in such domain name indicates bad faith registration and use pursuant to Policy ¶4(a)(iii). See Minicards Vennootschap Onder FIrma Amsterdam v. Moscow Studios, FA 1031703 (Nat. Arb. Forum Sept. 5, 2007) (holding that respondent registered a domain name in bad faith under Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii) after concluding that respondent "actual knowledge of Complainant's mark when registering the disputed domain name).
Having established all three elements required under the ICANN Policy, the Panel concludes that relief shall be GRANTED.
Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <ermreson.com> domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.
Paul M. DeCicco, Panelist
Dated: May 13, 2020
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