Duck Bites Holdings, LLC v. Christopher Gatley
Claim Number: FA1404001555616
Complainant: Duck Bites Holdings, LLC of Phoenix, Arizona, United States of America.
Complainant Representative:
Complainant Representative: Jaburg & Wilk, P.C. of Phoenix, Arizona, United States of America.
Respondent: Christopher Gatley of Brookline, Missouri, US.
Respondent Representative: «cFirstName» «cMiddle» «cLastName»
REGISTRIES and REGISTRARS
Registries: LINK Registry
Registrars: 101domain, Inc.
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.
James Bridgeman, as Examiner.
Complainant submitted: April 23, 2014
Commencement: April 25, 2014
Default Date: May 12, 2014
Having reviewed the communications records, the Examiner finds that the National Arbitration 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.
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.
Findings of Fact
Complainant is the holder of two United States Patent & Trademark Office registrations for Ripoff Report, registration number 4360560 and Rip-off Report, registration number 2958949.
Legal Findings
1. The registered domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a word or mark [URS 1.2.6.1] for which the Complainant holds a valid national or regional registration and that is in current use.
Complainant is the owner of the above registrations for the RIPOFF REPORT trademark.
The RIPOFF REPORT trademark is in current use by Complainant's exclusive licensee, Xcentric Ventures, LLC, which has operated a website to which the domain name <ripoffreport.com> resolves for over sixteen years. The website at the <ripoffreport.com> address ranks 842 in the United States according to Alexa ratings and 3,640 globally. Over 20,000 websites link in to<ripoffreport.com> and it is often mentioned in the news and on social media.
The disputed domain name <ripoffreport.link> is identical to Complainant’s RIPOFF REPORT trademark. The gTLD <.link> extension may be ignored for the purpose of the comparison.
2. Registrant has no legitimate right or interest to the domain name [URS 1.2.6.2].
Complainant has made out a prima facie case that it has rights in the RIPOFF REPORT trademark. Registrant has not responded to the Complaint and has failed to discharge the burden of proof that it has any legitimate right or interest to the domain name. The domain name is currently parked. Registrant registered the domain name in bad faith and hopes to divert Complainant’s traffic and trade off of the good will that Complainant has acquired.
3. The domain name(s) was/were registered and are being used in bad faith [URS 1.2.6.3]
Given the distinctive character of Complainant’s trademark and in particular the unusual and unique combination of the words “ripoff” and “report” it is most probable that Respondent had knowledge of the reputation and goodwill of Complainant and its exclusive licensee when the disputed domain name was chosen and registered. It is most probable that Respondent chose and registered the disputed domain name to take predatory advantage of said reputation and goodwill. This Examiner is further convinced in reaching this decision by the fact that Respondent is engaged in passive holding of the domain name which in the circumstances is an indicator of bad faith registration and use.
There is no evidence that the Complaint was brought in an abuse of this proceeding or that it contained material falsehoods.
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: <ripoffreport.link>.
James Bridgeman, Examiner
Dated: May 13, 2014
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