Wei Yau v. DH Softwares d/b/a Wei Yau
Claim Number: FA0703000934839
Complainant is Wei Yau (“Complainant”),
The domain names at issue are <qw.net> and <mlmd.com>, registered with GoDaddy.com, Inc.
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.
Bruce E. Meyerson as Panelist.
Complainant submitted a Complaint against itself to the National Arbitration Forum electronically on March 9, 2007; the National Arbitration Forum received a hard copy of the Complaint on March 13, 2007.
On March 13, 2007, Direct Information Pvt Ltd d/b/a Publicdomainregistry.com confirmed by e-mail to the National Arbitration Forum that the <qw.net> and <mlmd.com> domain names are registered with Direct Information Pvt Ltd d/b/a Publicdomainregistry.com and that Respondent (who is also the Complainant) is the current registrant of the names. Direct Information Pvt Ltd d/b/a Publicdomainregistry.com has verified that Respondent is bound by the Direct Information Pvt Ltd d/b/a Publicdomainregistry.com 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 March 21, 2007, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the "Commencement Notification"), setting a deadline of April 10, 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@qw.net and postmaster@mlmd.com by e-mail.
On
Having received no response from Respondent, the National Arbitration Forum transmitted to the parties a Notification of Respondent Default.
On
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." 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.
Complainant requests that the domain names be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.
A. Complainant makes the following assertions:
1. Respondent’s <qw.net> and <mlmd.com> domain names are identical to Complainant’s marks.
2. Respondent does not have any rights or legitimate interests in the <qw.net> and <mlmd.com> domain names.
3. Respondent registered and used the <qw.net> and <mlmd.com> domain names in bad faith.
B. Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding.
Wei Yau registered the <qw.net>
domain name on November 18, 1998, and the <mlmd.com>
domain name on August 19, 2002. Until
recently, RegisterFly was the registrar for both domain names. RegisterFly has encountered business
complications in recent months, and on
Recently, Wei Yau learned that the registrar changed from RegisterFly to Direct Information Pvt Ltd d/b/a Publicdomainregistry.com; according to the record, Wei Yau does not know how this happened. Wei Yau states that it no longer has control over the account information or the <qw.net> and <mlmd.com> domain names, and has therefore filed this dispute against itself under the UDRP so that it may have the disputed domain names transferred back to it.
In the meantime, in violation of ICANN Rule 8(b), Wei Yau transferred the registrations for the domain names in dispute from Direct Information Pvt Ltd d/b/a Publicdomainregistry.com to GoDaddy after filing this Complaint. ICANN Rule 8(b) states that a domain name registrant cannot transfer a domain name registration to another registrar during a pending administrative proceeding until fifteen days after a decision has been made. The National Arbitration Forum has verified with GoDaddy that it is now the registrar for the <qw.net> and <mlmd.com> domain names. This also may potentially violate the registrar’s agreement with ICANN to lock domain names in dispute.
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." However, in this case, the dispute does not fall within the parameters of the UDRP. Wei Yau does not provide any evidence of what rights it holds in any marks and does not claim that the disputed domain names are confusingly similar to these marks. There are also no signs of bad faith registration and use, because Wei Yau brought this proceeding against itself as registrant of the disputed domain names.
While the Panel is sensitive to the plight of Wei Yau and the numerous other individuals and entities who may encounter problems with their domain name registrations as a result of ICANN terminating RegisterFly’s accreditation, Wei Yau has not sought out the proper forum for resolving this dispute. Wei Yau’s situation is probably better suited for the Transfer Dispute Resolution Policy (“TDRP”), which involves inter-registrar disputes, or a court of law. It also appears that ICANN is taking steps to make sure domain name registrants retain their domain name registrations throughout this situation, so Wei Yau may be able to solve this dispute without resorting to the legal process at all. The facts Wei Yau has provided indicate, however, that it cannot meet the requirements for a transfer of the domain names under the UDRP.
Having failed to establish all three elements required under the ICANN Policy, the Panel concludes that relief shall be DENIED.
Bruce E. Meyerson, Panelist
Dated:
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