State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company v. Inspire a Nation Business Mentoring c/o Billy Williams
Claim Number: FA1502001603772
Complainant is State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (“Complainant”), represented by Sherri Dunbar of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, Illinois, USA. Respondent is Inspire a Nation Business Mentoring c/o Billy Williams (“Respondent”), Illinois, USA.
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME
The domain name at issue is <statefarminsuranceagenttraining.com>, registered with GODADDY.COM, LLC.
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.
David E. Sorkin as Panelist.
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the Forum electronically on February 6, 2015; the Forum received payment on February 6, 2015.
On February 6, 2015, GODADDY.COM, LLC confirmed by email to the Forum that the <statefarminsuranceagenttraining.com> domain name is registered with GODADDY.COM, LLC and that Respondent is the current registrant of the name. GODADDY.COM, LLC has verified that Respondent is bound by the GODADDY.COM, LLC 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 February 6, 2015, the Forum served the Complaint and all Annexes, including a Written Notice of the Complaint, setting a deadline of February 26, 2015 by which Respondent could file a Response to the Complaint, via email to all entities and persons listed on Respondent’s registration as technical, administrative, and billing contacts, and to postmaster@statefarminsuranceagenttraining.com. Also on February 6, 2015, the Written Notice of the Complaint, notifying Respondent of the email 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 March 9, 2015, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the Forum appointed David E. Sorkin as Panelist.
Also on March 9, 2015, the Forum received email correspondence from Respondent, stating as follows: “Hello. I thought this was a spam email series which is why I never responded to it. How does State Farm want to resolve this? I have no problem selling this domain to State Farm.”
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 a formal response from Respondent.
Complainant requests that the domain name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.
A. Complainant
Complainant is a nationally known company engaged in the insurance and financial services industries. Complainant began using the STATE FARM mark in 1930. Complainant’s marks registered in the United States include STATE FARM (registered in 1996), STATE FARM INSURANCE (registered in 1979), and others.
Complainant contends that the disputed domain name <statefarminsuranceagenttraining.com>, registered by Respondent in 2014, is confusingly similar to Complainant’s marks. Complainant contends further that Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name, and that the domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith. In support thereof, Complainant states that it has no association with Respondent, that it has not authorized Respondent to use its mark, and that Respondent has never been known by the domain name. The disputed domain name redirects to a website for Respondent’s business, Inspire a Nation Business Mentoring.
B. Respondent
Respondent failed to submit a formal Response in this proceeding.
The Panel finds that the disputed domain name is confusingly similar to a mark in which Complainant has rights; that Respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name; and that the disputed domain name was registered and has been used in bad faith.
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 formal Response, the Panel shall decide this administrative proceeding on the basis of Complainant's undisputed representations pursuant to paragraphs 5(e), 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 and inferences set forth in the Complaint as true unless the evidence is clearly contradictory. See Vertical Solutions Mgmt., Inc. v. webnet-marketing, inc., FA 95095 (Nat. Arb. Forum July 31, 2000) (holding that the respondent’s failure to respond allows all reasonable inferences of fact in the allegations of the complaint to be deemed true); see also Talk City, Inc. v. Robertson, D2000-0009 (WIPO Feb. 29, 2000) (“In the absence of a response, it is appropriate to accept as true all allegations of the Complaint.”).
The disputed domain name is comprised of the Complainant’s registered STATE FARM INSURANCE mark, the generic terms “agent” and “training,” and the “.com” top-level domain suffix. None of these additions substantially diminish the similarity between the domain name and Complainant’s mark. See, e.g., State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Chicago Board Up c/o Office Board Up, FA 1356250 (Nat. Arb. Forum Dec. 16, 2010) (finding <statefarminsuranceclaimsadjusting.com> confusingly similar to STATE FARM). The Panel therefore considers the domain name to be confusingly similar to a mark in which Complainant has rights.
Under the Policy, the Complainant must first make a prima facie case that the Respondent lacks rights and legitimate interests in the disputed domain name, and then the burden shifts to the Respondent to come forward with concrete evidence of such rights or legitimate interests. See Hanna-Barbera Prods., Inc. v. Entm’t Commentaries, FA 741828 (Nat. Arb. Forum Aug. 18, 2006).
The disputed domain name incorporates Complainant’s mark without authorization, and is being used to redirect Internet users to an unrelated website that promotes Respondent’s business, which appears to be aimed at insurance agencies. See State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Tryon Enterprises, LLC, FA 1495913 (Nat. Arb. Forum June 5, 2013) (finding that use of domain name incorporating STATE FARM trademark to redirect Internet users to website of unrelated business does not give rise to rights or legitimate interests). Complainant has made a prima facie case that Respondent lacks rights and legitimate interests in the domain name, and Respondent has failed to come forward with any evidence of such rights or interests. Accordingly, the Panel finds that Complainant has sustained its burden of proving that Respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name.
Finally, Complainant must show that the disputed domain name was registered and has been used in bad faith. Under paragraph 4(b)(i) of the Policy, bad faith may be shown by evidence that the domain name was acquired “primarily for the purpose of selling, renting, or otherwise transferring the domain name registration to the complainant who is the owner of the trademark or service mark or to a competitor of that complainant, for valuable consideration in excess of [Respondent’s] documented out-of-pocket costs directly related to the domain name.” Under paragraph 4(b)(iv) of the Policy, bad faith may be shown by evidence that “by using the domain name, [Respondent] intentionally attempted to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to [Respondent’s] 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 [Respondent’s] web site or location or of a product or service on [Respondent’s] web site or location.”
Respondent’s registration of a domain name that combines Complainant’s well-known mark with generic terms, together with the use of the domain name to profit from confusion with Complainant’s mark by redirecting users to an unrelated business website, is indicative of bad faith registration and use under paragraph 4(b)(iv) of the Policy. See, e.g., State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Master Plumbing, FA 1466938 (Nat. Arb. Forum Oct. 30, 2012). The reference to a possible sale of the domain name in Respondent’s email to the Forum is also suggestive of bad faith, under paragraph 4(b)(i). Accordingly, the Panel finds that the disputed domain name was registered and has been used in bad faith.
Having considered the three elements required under the ICANN Policy, the Panel concludes that relief shall be GRANTED.
Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <statefarminsuranceagenttraining.com> domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.
David E. Sorkin, Panelist
Dated: March 10, 2015
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