National Arbitration Forum

 

DECISION

 

Caribbean Publishing Company, Ltd. v. Island Super Pages

Claim Number: FA0702000914922

 

PARTIES

Complainant is Caribbean Publishing Company, Ltd. (“Complainant”), represented by Paul D. McGrady, of Greenberg Traurig, LLP, 77 West Wacker Drive, Suite 2500, Chicago, IL 60601.  Respondent is Island Super Pages (“Respondent”), represented by Andre N. Brvenik, of The Law Office of Andre Brvenik, 8019 N. Himes Avenue, Suite 202, Tampa, FL 33614.

 

REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAMES 

The domain names at issue are <carribbeanyellowpages.com>, <carribeanyellowpages.com> and <caribyp.com> (the “Domain Names”), registered with Wild West Domains, Inc.   The domain names <carribbeanyellowpages.com> and <carribeanyellowpages.com> were registered on March 12, 2006.  The domain name <caribyp.com> was registered on May 17, 2006.

 

PANEL

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.

 

Christopher Gibson as Panelist.

 

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum electronically on February 9, 2007; the National Arbitration Forum received a hard copy of the Complaint on February 12, 2007.

 

On February 12, 2007, Wild West Domains, Inc. confirmed by e-mail to the National Arbitration Forum that the <carribbeanyellowpages.com>, <carribeanyellowpages.com> and <caribyp.com> domain names are registered with Wild West Domains, Inc. and that Respondent is the current registrant of the names.  Wild West Domains, Inc. has verified that Respondent is bound by the Wild West Domains, 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 February 21, 2007, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the “Commencement Notification”), setting a deadline of March 13, 2007 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@carribbeanyellowpages.com, postmaster@carribeanyellowpages.com and postmaster@caribyp.com by e-mail.

 

A timely Response was received and determined to be complete on March 12, 2007.

 

NAF confirmed that Complainant’s Additional Submission of March 19, 2007 was received in a timely manner, in accordance with NAF Supplemental Rule No. 7:

 

On April 18, 2007, pursuant to Complainant’s request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the National Arbitration Forum appointed Christopher Gibson as Panelist.

 

Complainant also brought a request to consolidate this case with Case No. FA 921647.  This request was opposed by Respondent.  The Panelist, by order dated April 17, 2007, denied the request to consolidate these cases.

 

RELIEF SOUGHT

Complainant requests that the Domain Names be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.

 

PARTIES’ CONTENTIONS

A. Complainant

Complainant contends that it is the owner of the trademark CARIBBEAN YELLOW PAGES CPC (& design); that the Domain Names are confusingly similar to Complainant’s mark; that Respondent has no legitimate interests in the Domain Names; and that Respondent has registered and is using the Domain Names in bad faith.  Complainant’s arguments are reviewed below.

 

Rights in a trademark: Complainant is a company that provides telephone directories focusing on Caribbean businesses and community information.  Complainant’s online directory currently enables Internet users to find pertinent information including phone numbers, addresses, maps, links to websites, and e-mail addresses. 

 

Complainant is the owner of the U.S. trademark CARIBBEAN YELLOW PAGES CPC (& design) (Reg. No. 1,663,390), covering “classified directories.”  Complainant claims that it first began to use its trademark in 1980.  Complainant has submitted evidence that it filed for its U.S. trademark in July 1989, and received its trademark registration in November 1991.  The trademark registration contains the following disclaimer: “No claim is made to the exclusive right to use ‘yellow pages’ apart from the mark as shown.”

 

Complainant’s principal website is located at <caribbeanyellowpages.com>.  Complainant states that it expanded use of its mark onto the Internet in 1997, and has submitted evidence that its website has been available and in use since at least November 1998.  Complainant therefore claims that it has also established common law rights to the mark, CARIBBEANYELLOWPAGES.COM.

 

The Domain Names were registered by Respondent in March and May 2006 (see above).  Complainant contends that this registration occurred well after Complainant had established trademark rights in its mark.

 

Confusingly similar:  Complainant contends that the Domain Names are confusingly similar to its trademark because they incorporate the dominant part of Complainant’s mark, CARIBBEAN YELLOW PAGES, adding only a hyphen between words. 

 

No legitimate interests:  Complainant contends that Respondent has no trademark or other intellectual property rights in the Domain Names, and that Respondent’s use of Complainant’s mark is unauthorized, having received no license or permission from Complainant.  Complainant asserts that Respondent is predominantly known as “Island Yellow Pages,” and has also been known as “Island Super Pages” or “Rummi’s,” but has never been known as Caribbean Yellow Pages.  Complainant has also submitted WHOIS look-up records for the Domain Names, indicating that the registrant is listed as “Island Super Pages.”

 

Complainant contends that Respondent has never operated any bona fide or legitimate business under the Domain Names, nor made non-commercial or fair use of them.  Instead, Respondent is using the Domain Names to offer directly competing services.

 

Registered and using the Domain Names in bad faith:  Complainant contends that Respondent registered the Domain Names in bad faith and is using them in bad faith.  With respect to registration in bad faith, Complainant contends that Respondent offers competing services and had actual knowledge of Complainant’s mark and rights.  Complainant refers to the letter dated February 25, 2004 sent by Complainant’s legal representative to Respondent, in which Complainant informed Respondent of Complainant’s trademark rights and demanded that it cease and desist from using Complainant’s trademark.

 

Complainant further contends that Respondent has used the Domain Names in bad faith by willfully redirecting traffic to Respondent’s websites, which offer competing services.  Complainant argues that Respondent’s conduct is squarely within the illustrations of bad faith in the UDRP Policy, paragraph 4(b), which sets forth two applicable examples of bad faith:

 

“(iii) you have registered the domain name primarily for the purpose of disrupting the business of a competitor; or

 

(iv) by using the domain name, you have intentionally attempted to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to your web site or other on-line location, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the complainant's mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of your web site or location or of a product or service on your web site or location.”

 

Complainant contends that Respondent has intentionally attempted to attract Complainant’s customers by creating a likelihood of confusion, and that Respondent is using the Domain Names to create a false impression to consumers that they have reached Complainant’s site.  Respondent’s use is therefore disrupting Complainant’s business.

 

B. Respondent

In its Response, Respondent contends that Complainant has no legally protected rights to the terms “Caribbean Yellow Pages;” that Respondent has legitimate interests in the Domain Names; and that Respondent has not registered or used the Domain Names in bad faith.  Respondent’s arguments are reviewed below.

 

Respondent contends that Complainant’s trademark rights are limited only to the mark CARIBBEAN YELLOW PAGES CPC in conjunction with the design, but do not extend to exclusive rights for the terms “Yellow Pages” or “Caribbean.”  Respondent highlights that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) requires a disclaimer of any exclusive right to use the term “yellow pages.”  Further, the phrase “Caribbean Yellow Pages” is generic and therefore incapable of trademark protection.  In addition, Respondent contends that geographical terms cannot be trademarked unless one can show distinctiveness, and the terms “Caribbean” and/or “yellow pages” in “CARIBBEAN YELLOW PAGES” have no distinctiveness.

 

With respect to legitimate rights, Respondent contends that it was operating a business website for at least one year prior to Complainant’s website being published.  Respondent therefore argues that it did not disturb or redirect any traffic away from Complainant’s website, since this site did not yet exist at the time Respondent first established its own site.  Additionally, Respondent contends that it has been known as Caribbean Yellow Pages since 2003 and has operated under this name since that time.  Respondent also alleges that it is Complainant which has practiced “cybersquatting” because it did not use its own registered domain name <caribbeanyellowpages.com> for at least seven years. 

 

Respondent contends that, even though Complainant and Respondent engage in the same area of commerce, they do so using different and distinct methodologies.  Complainant specializes in business to business directory services, while Respondent offers directory services geared more towards individuals. 

 

Respondent denies that it registered or has used the Domain Names in bad faith, or that it has used it to redirect traffic to its own websites.  Respondent states that it registered the Domain Names in dispute in this case in order to prevent typosquatters from registering these names, and not for the purpose of disrupting Complainant’s business.  Respondent also refers to domain names registered by other third parties, such as <caribbeanonlineyellowpages.com>, which are “similar” but against which Complainant has yet to file any claim.  Finally, Respondent states that it has never used Complainant’s trademark on its website or claimed to be the same company, but instead has used the tag line “a division of Island Super Pages.”

 

C. Additional Submissions

Complainant’s Additional Submission first highlights that Respondent failed to deny several assertions made by Complainant, including that (i) the Domain Names are confusingly similar to Complainant’s trademark; (ii) Complainant owns the U.S. mark, CARIBBEAN YELLOW PAGES CPC; (iii) Respondent used the Domain Names to attract web traffic to its website; and (iv) Respondent had actual or constructive knowledge of Complainant’s trademark rights when it registered the Domain Names.

 

Complainant also takes issues with several of Respondent’s arguments.  In response to Respondent’s contention that Complainant does not have exclusive rights because Complainant’s mark is limited to CARIBBEAN YELLOW PAGES CPC in conjunction with the design, Complainant asserts that the text element of a mark may be protected under the Policy, and that the mere removal of “CPC” while still using the dominant part of Complainant’s mark does not decrease the confusing similarity between the Domain Names and Complainant’s mark.

 

Complainant emphasizes that not only has its trademark achieved incontestable status under U.S. trademark law, but that the commercial impression of a trademark, as stated by the U.S. Supreme Court, must be derived from the whole, not from its elements separated and considered in detail.  Thus, Complainant argues that the relevant issue is whether the textual elements of Complainant’s mark, CARIBBEAN YELLOW PAGES CPC, taken as a whole, are confusingly similar to the Domain Names.  As to Respondent’s contention that geographical terms cannot be trademarked unless the mark holder can show distinctiveness, Complainant contends that U.S. registered trademarks are presumed by law to be inherently distinctive and to have acquired secondary meaning.

 

Complainant contests Respondent’s assertion that it had rights and legitimate interests in the Domain Names because Respondent was using them to direct Internet users to a website that pre-existed the establishment of Complainant’s own site.  Complainant first offers evidence to make clear that it registered its own domain name <caribbeanyellowpages.com> and commenced operating that site from November 1998, well before Respondent registered the Domain Names in March and May 2006.  Complainant argues that, to the extent Respondent is asserting it offered services online before Complainant (albeit using a domain name different from the Domain Names), this is not the proper framing of the issue.  The question to be considered under the Policy is not when Complainant first operated its own website, but whether Complainant had rights in its trademark before Respondent registered the Domain Names.  As to this question, Complainant states that it had registered and used its trademark in commerce for more than a decade before Respondent registered the Domain Names.

 

Among the other arguments made by Complainant, it asserts that Respondent’s own statements describing its offering of slightly different services actually emphasize the fact that Respondent is a direct competitor of Complainant.  Complainant argues that whether or not it has taken action against other potentially infringing domain names is irrelevant to this case.  Finally, Complainant contends that the small disclaimer on Respondent’s website does nothing to minimize any confusion and in fact increases the likelihood of confusion.

 

FINDINGS

The Panel finds that Complainant is the owner of the U.S. trademark CARIBBEAN YELLOW PAGES CPC (& design), Reg. no. 1,663,390, covering “classified directories.”  Complainant filed for its U.S. trademark in July 1989, and received its trademark registration in November 1991.  The trademark registration contains the disclaimer: “No claim is made to the exclusive right to use ‘yellow pages’ apart from the mark as shown.”  Complainant’s principal website is located at <caribbeanyellowpages.com>.  Complainant’s website has been available and in use since at least November 1998.  The Domain Names <carribbeanyellowpages.com> and <carribeanyellowpages.com> were registered on March 12, 2006.  The Domain Name <caribyp.com> was registered on May 17, 2006.

 

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 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;

(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.

 

Identical and/or Confusingly Similar

 

The Panel finds that Complainant has clearly established rights in its CARIBBEAN YELLOW PAGES CPC (and design) mark pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(a)(i).  The trademark has achieved incontestable status under U.S. trademark law and this has not been disputed by Respondent.

 

Instead, the focus of both parties’ arguments has been on the issue of whether or not the Domain Names are confusingly similar to Complainant’s trademark.  In particular, Complainant has asserted that the Domain Names are confusingly similar to its trademark because it contains the dominant part of Complainant’s mark in its entirety and merely inserts a hyphen between the terms “caribbean” and “yellow pages.”  Complainant has referred to previous UDRP cases in which the addition of punctuation marks, such as a hyphen, is considered irrelevant in the determination of confusing similarity under the Policy.  See Health Devices Corp. v. Aspen S T C, FA 158254 (Nat. Arb. Forum July 1, 2003) (“[T]he addition of punctuation marks such as hyphens is irrelevant in the determination of confusing similarity pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(a)(i).”).

 

While the Panelist would agree that the introduction of a hyphen, alone, would normally not be sufficient to avoid confusion between a domain name and a trademark, this is not the key point on which Respondent hinges its arguments.  Respondent contends that there is no confusing similarity because the Domain Names consists only of terms such as “caribbean” and “yellow pages,” which are generic, descriptive and incapable of being within the scope of Complainant’s trademark rights.  Thus, the question of confusing similarity turns on whether the terms which comprise the Domain Names fall within the scope of Complainant’s protectable rights.

 

Both parties have made reference to legal authorities under U.S. law.  The Panelist is extremely reluctant, in the context of this domain name dispute, to accept arguments by Respondent that would amount to a significant challenge to the distinctiveness and secondary meaning of Complainant’s incontestable trademark, which under U.S. law is presumed to be inherently distinctive and to have acquired secondary meaning.  See Men’s Wearhouse, Inc. v. Wick, FA 117861 (Nat. Arb. Forum Sept. 16, 2002) (“Under U.S. trademark law, registered marks hold a presumption that they are inherently distinctive [or] have acquired secondary meaning.”).  Complainant has referred to Diners Club v. MForce Communications, FA 708908 (Nat. Arb. Forum July 27, 2006), which the Panelist finds to be instructive because the three-member panel in that case carefully considered similar issues.  There, the respondent essentially contended that the trademark in question had become generic.  In this case, Respondent argues that the elements of Complainant’s trademark which have been incorporated into the Domain Names are generic.  The three-member panel in Diners Club reasoned in relevant part that:

 

This is of course a domain name dispute and the standards and tests that are used when trademarks are said to collide do not necessarily apply to the same degree.  However it is worth noting that the Supreme Court of the United States held, in a court case to enjoin infringement of a registered and uncontestable trademark, that such an action may not be defended by the adverse party on the grounds that the mark is merely descriptive.  See Park ‘N Fly, Inc. v. Dollar Park & Fly, Inc., 469 U.S. 189 (1985).  That reasoning suggests that in domain name disputes, such as this one, where the Complainant has a registered and incontestable mark, a Respondent should not be permitted to defend the domain name dispute on the grounds that the mark is merely descriptive or generic as to the issue of rights and legitimate interests.  As the Supreme Court stated, an incontestable mark that becomes generic may be cancelled at any time pursuant to the Lanham Act.  That cause of action places the burden of proof on the party seeking cancellation.  That is the proper method for resolving such a controversy.

 

Here, Complainant’s trademark had been registered and used by Complainant for more than 15 years prior to the date on which Respondent registered the Domain Names.  While Respondent attempts to attack Complainant’s online activity as being limited – an attack to which Complainant has submitted reasonable evidence in response – Respondent has failed to address the prior off-line commercial activities of Complainant, which would have contributed to distinctiveness and secondary meaning for Complainant’s mark.  The present case is not one where the comparison is between two domain names, but between the Domain Names and an incontestable trademark registration that has been used by Complainant both off-line and online.  Respondent has failed to provide sufficient evidence in this case to overcome the high threshold of showing that Complainant’s registered mark, even when comprised of certain terms that alone may not be distinctive, has not attained secondary meaning or distinctiveness.

 

The final piece of the confusing similarity analysis relates to a direct comparison of the Domain Names with Complainant’s mark.  Complainant contends that the relevant issue is whether the textual elements of Complainant’s mark, CARIBBEAN YELLOW PAGES CPC, taken as a whole, are confusingly similar to the Domain Names.  Complainant further argues that Respondent’s position would improperly dissect Complainant’s mark by separating out the “CPC” and “yellow pages” elements.  Complainant has cited Estate of P.D. Beckwith, Inc. v. Commisioner of Patents, 252 U.S. 538 (1920), in which the Supreme Court ruled that “the commercial impression of a trademark is derived from it as a whole.”  Respondent, however, emphasizes that Complainant’s entire mark must be taken to include the “CPC” text (and the design), which are the elements that really serves to distinguish Complainant’s mark. 

 

The Panelist disagrees with Respondent’s position with respect to two of the Domain Names.  The overall impression when comparing the “Caribbean Yellow Pages CPC” mark with the domain names <carribbeanyellowpages.com> and <carribeanyellowpages.com>, each of which contains a typographical misspelling of one of the words that forms a dominant element in Complainant’s trademark, is one that easily yields a finding of confusing similarity.  See Gen. Steel Domestic Sales LLC v. Malinuskii, FA 140653 (Nat. Arb. Forum, Mar. 4, 2004) (finding <generalsteel.com> to be confusingly similar to GENERAL STEEL CORPORATION mark).  However, with respect to the third Domain Name in dispute, <caribyp.com>, this apparent abbreviation is nonetheless sufficiently dissimilar from and unclear in any reference to Complainant’s trademark, such that there can be no finding of confusing similarity.

 

In conclusion, the Panel finds that the Domain Names <carribbeanyellowpages.com> and <carribeanyellowpages.com> are confusingly similar to Complainant’s mark, while the Domain Name <caribyp.com> is not.

 

Rights or Legitimate Interests

 

As noted above, Complainant contends that Respondent has no trademark or other intellectual property rights in the Domain Names, that Respondent’s use of Complainant’s mark is unauthorized, and that Respondent is predominantly known as “Island Yellow Pages,” and has also been known as “Island Super Pages” or “Rummi’s.”  Complainant also asserted that Respondent has never operated any bona fide or legitimate business under the Domain Names.

 

Respondent rejected these contentions, indicating that it has rights and legitimate interests in the Domain Names because it was operating a business website for at least one year prior to Complainant’s website being published, and therefore argues that it did not disturb or redirect any traffic away from Complainant’s website.  Respondent asserts that it has been known as Caribbean Yellow Pages since 2003 and has operated under this name since that time.  Respondent argues that it is Complainant which has practiced “cybersquatting” because it did not use its own registered domain name <caribbeanyellowpages.com> for at least seven years.

 

The Panel finds that Respondent cannot establish rights or legitimate interests in the Domain Names.  First, as discussed above, Respondent’s arguments focus only on online activities and do not weigh Complainant’s off-line commercial activities and use of its trademark, which were established well before Respondent chose to register the Domain Names.  Second, Complainant submitted evidence to show that its own website was available from at least 1998, more than seven years before Respondent registered the Domain Names in dispute.  Thus, we have a chronology in which Complainant obtained its registered trademark in 1991, then registered its own domain name <caribbeanyellowpages.com> in 1997 and published and maintained its website under that name since November 1998 at the latest.  It was more than seven years later, in March and May 2006, when Respondent registered the Domain Names.  Respondent could have chosen different domain names that did not give rise to the issues which are now before this Panel.  However, it is important to recall that each time a domain name is registered, the registrant represents in the registration agreement that to the best of the registrant’s knowledge and belief, neither the registration of the domain name nor the manner in which it is directly or indirectly used infringes the legal rights of any third party.

 

The Panel must also observe that, to the extent Respondent’s views that its rights or legitimate interests in the Domain Names are predicated on establishing its rights in another domain name, <caribbean-yellowpages.com>, which is the subject of NAF Case FA 921647, this position cannot be sustained.  The Panelist here has also served as the panelist in that case, which was brought by the same complainant as in this case.  The respondent in that case failed to establish rights or legitimate interests in the domain name in dispute and the panelist there ruled in favor of the complainant.

 

Respondent has also provided no evidence in support of its statement that it has been known as the Caribbean Yellow Pages since 2003.  The Panelist notes that the Domain Names were registered only recently in March and May 2006.  The Panelist has viewed the current web pages which appear when the domain names <carribbeanyellowpages.com> and <carribeanyellowpages.com> are entered.  Both sites include a reference to Caribbean Yellow Pages, but this would appear to contradict another statement made by Respondent in its Response, that “[a]t no time has Respondent used Complainant’s trademark on their web pages or made any claims to be the same company.”  Respondent cannot have it both ways.  As noted above, Complainant submitted a copy of a letter from its legal representative to Respondent dated March 2004, in which it demanded that Respondent cease and desist from using Complainant’s trademark and to transfer the domain name <caribbean-yellowpages.com> to Complainant.  See Am. Online, Inc. v. World Photo Video & Imaging Corp., FA 109031 (Nat. Arb. Forum May 13, 2002) (finding that the respondent was not commonly known by <aolcamera.com> or <aolcameras.com> because the respondent was doing business as “Sunset Camera” and “World Photo Video & Imaging Corp.”).

 

All of these circumstances together suggest that, even in the face of Respondent’s use of the Domain Names for its own business, such use has not established rights or legitimate interests for Respondent.  See Or. State Bar v. A Special Day, Inc., FA 99657 (Nat. Arb. Forum Dec. 4, 2001) (“Respondent's advertising of legal services and sale of law-related books under Complainant's name is not a bona fide offering of goods and services because Respondent is using a mark confusingly similar to the Complainant's to sell competing goods.”)

 

Registration and Use in Bad Faith

 

Complainant contends that Respondent registered the Domain Names in bad faith and is using them in bad faith, that Respondent had actual or constructive knowledge of Complainant’s mark, and offered competing services.  Complainant argues that Respondent’s conduct is also squarely within the illustrations of bad faith in the Policy, paragraph 4(b), which sets forth two examples of bad faith:

 

(iii) you have registered the domain name primarily for the purpose of disrupting the business of a competitor; or

 

(iv) by using the domain name, you have intentionally attempted to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to your web site or other on-line location, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the complainant's mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of your web site or location or of a product or service on your web site or location.

 

Complainant contends that Respondent has intentionally attempted to attract Complainant’s customers by creating a likelihood of confusion, and that Respondent is using the Domain Names to create a false impression to consumers that they have reached Complainant’s site.

 

Respondent denies that it registered or has used the Domain Names in bad faith, or that it has used the Domain Names to redirect traffic to its own websites.  Respondent contends that, even though Complainant and Respondent engage in the same area of commerce, they do so using different and distinct methodologies.  Respondent also argues, as noted above, that its website was established before Complainant’s site, and therefore no traffic was “redirected” to Respondent’s site.  Respondent also referred to domain names registered by other third parties which are “similar” but against which Complainant has filed no claims.  Respondent contends that it has never used Complainant’s trademark on its website or claimed to be the same company, but instead used the tag line “a division of Island Super Pages.”  Finally, Respondent states that it registered the Domain Names in order to prevent typosquatters from registering them, not to disrupt Complainant’s business.

 

Weighing the parties’ arguments and the evidence, the Panelist determines that Respondent registered the Domain Names in bad faith and has used them in bad faith. First, the evidence supports the view that Respondent was aware of Complainant’s trademark rights at the time when Respondent registered the Domain Names.  As noted above, Complainant’s legal representative sent a letter dated February 25, 2004 to Respondent, in which Complainant informed Respondent of Complainant’s trademark rights and demanded that it cease and desist from using Complainant’s trademark in the domain name <caribbean-yellowpages.com>.  Moreover, even if we assume that Respondent was not specifically aware of Complainant’s federally registered mark, this is no excuse under these circumstances.  Here, imputing to Respondent constructive knowledge of Complainant’s trademarks – that is, the trademarks of a company operating in the same area of commerce (although offering slightly different products and services) and targeting the same geographic region – is not going too far.  Bad faith registration can be found when a domain name registrant uses the mark of another with knowledge of the mark holder’s rights.  See Samsonite Corp. v. Colony Holding, FA 94313 (Nat. Arb. Forum, April 17, 2000) (finding evidence of bad faith includes actual or constructive knowledge of a mark at the time of registration); Digi Int’l v. DDI Sys., FA 124506 (Nat. Arb. Forum Oct. 24, 2002) (“There is a legal presumption of bad faith, when Respondent reasonably should have been aware of Complainant’s trademarks, actually or constructively.”); Nintendo of Am. Inc. v. Pokemon, D2000-1230 (WIPO Nov. 23, 2000) (finding that respondent, at the time of registration, had notice of complainant’s trademarks and thus registered the domain name in bad faith). 

 

Respondent has made the same mistake that many other domain name registrants have made when registering names: Respondent ignored what Complainant had been doing everywhere except on the Internet, as if this other activity had no relevance to his choice of domain names, and no legal relevance even now as Respondent seeks to justify registration of the Domain Names.  If the Panelist were to accept this approach, it would significantly undermine the legal rights and protections that arise through trademark registrations and conduct which takes place elsewhere than on the Internet.  In the opinion of the Panel, Respondent exercised, at best, poor judgment and, at worst, calculation in its approach on these issues.

 

The Panel also finds that Respondent has used the Domain Names to attract Internet users to its websites offering services in close competition with Complainant.  Because of the confusing similarity between Complainant’s mark and at least two of the Domain Names, <carribbeanyellowpages.com> and <carribeanyellowpages.com>, Internet users may mistakenly believe that Respondent’s website is sponsored by or affiliated with Complainant.  There is at least initial interest confusion, which cannot be completely remedied by statements on the websites themselves (although the statements on these sites do nothing to dispel the potential confusion).  Although Respondent contends that its website existed first in time, Complainant has offered evidence to call this assertion into question.  Furthermore, even if a website of Respondent might have existed earlier, it was a site published under a different domain name, not the Domain Names in dispute.  The “likelihood of confusion” that is the concern of ¶ 4(b)(iv) of the Policy is with respect to Complainant’s trademark, not simply who first established a website.  Finally, it is of no relevance to this case that Complainant has not filed claims against every third party whom might have registered a confusingly similar domain name. 

 

The Panel finds that Respondent has engaged in bad faith registration and use pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv).  See Identigene, Inc. v. Genetest Labs., D2000-1100 (WIPO Nov. 30, 2000) (finding bad faith where the respondent's use of the domain name at issue to resolve to a website where similar services are offered to Internet users is likely to confuse the user into believing that the complainant is the source of or is sponsoring the services offered at the site); see also MathForum.com, LLC v. Weiguang Huang, D2000-0743 (WIPO Aug. 17, 2000) (finding bad faith under Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv) where the respondent registered a domain name confusingly similar to the complainant’s mark and the domain name was used to host a commercial website that offered similar services offered by the complainant under its mark).

 

The Panel concludes that, in the totality of the circumstances, Respondent’s registration and use of the Domain Names is indicative of bad faith under the Policy.

 

DECISION

Having established all three of the required elements under the ICANN Policy with respect to the Domain Names <carribbeanyellowpages.com> and <carribeanyellowpages.com>, the Panel concludes that relief as to these two Domain Names shall be GRANTED.  However, because Complainant did not establish that the Domain Name <caribyp.com> was confusingly similar to its trademark, the relief as to this Domain Name shall be DENIED.

 

Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <carribbeanyellowpages.com> and <carribeanyellowpages.com> Domain Names be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.

 

 

 

Christopher Gibson, Panelist
Dated: May 9, 2007

 

 

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