Roku, Inc. v. Domain Admin / Whois Privacy Corp.
Claim Number: FA1807001799006
Complainant is Roku, Inc. (“Complainant”), represented by Monica Riva Talley of Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox PLLC, District of Columbia, USA. Respondent is Domain Admin / Whois Privacy Corp. (“Respondent”), Bahamas.
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME
The domain name at issue is <rokuuniverse.com>, registered with Internet Domain Service BS Corp.
The undersigned certifies that he has acted independently and impartially, and, to the best of his knowledge, has no conflict of interests in serving as Panelist in this proceeding.
Terry F. Peppard as Panelist.
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the Forum electronically on July 28, 2018; the Forum received payment on July 28, 2018.
On July 31, 2018, Internet Domain Service BS Corp confirmed by e-mail to the Forum that the <rokuuniverse.com> domain name is registered with Internet Domain Service BS Corp and that Respondent is the current registrant of the name. Internet Domain Service BS Corp has verified that Respondent is bound by the Internet Domain Service BS Corp 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 August 6, 2018, the Forum served the Complaint and all Annexes, including a Written Notice of the Complaint, setting a deadline of August 27, 2018 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@rokuuniverse.com. Also on August 6, 2018, 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 August 28, 2018, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the Forum appointed Terry F. Peppard as sole Panelist in this proceeding.
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 response from Respondent.
Complainant requests that the domain name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.
A. Complainant
Complainant, operating under the ROKU mark, manufactures and markets a variety of digital media devices that allow customers to access Internet-streamed video and audio services through their television sets.
Complainant holds a registration for the ROKU trademark, which is on file with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) as Registry No. 3,177,666, registered November 28, 2006.
Respondent registered the domain name <rokuuniverse.com> on or about February 27, 2017.
The domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s ROKU mark.
Complainant has not licensed or otherwise authorized Respondent to use its ROKU mark in any fashion.
Respondent has not been commonly known by the domain name.
Respondent is not using the domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services or a legitimate noncommercial or fair use.
Instead, Respondent uses the domain name to resolve to a website offering streaming services that directly compete with Complainant’s business.
Moreover, Respondent attempts to pass itself off as Complainant at the resolving website.
Additionally, Respondent’s inclusion of a disclaimer on the <rokuuniverse.com> website fails to mitigate confusion between the domain name and Complainant.
Respondent does not have rights to or legitimate interests in the domain name.
Respondent has engaged in a pattern of bad faith registration and use by registering multiple domain names that infringe on Complainant’s rights in the ROKU mark.
Respondent also employs the domain name to disrupt Complainant’s business by diverting Internet users to a website offering competing products and services.
Further, Respondent uses the domain name to create among Internet users confusion with Complainant’s ROKU mark for Respondent’s commercial gain.
Respondent registered and is using the domain name in bad faith.
B. Respondent
Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding.
(1) the domain name registered by Respondent is confusingly similar to a trademark in which Complainant has rights; and
(2) Respondent has no rights to or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; and
(3) the same domain name was registered and is being used by Respondent 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:
ii. Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; and
iii. the domain name has been registered and is being used by Respondent in bad faith.
In view of Respondent's failure to submit a response, the Panel will, pursuant to paragraphs 5(f), 14(a) and 15(a) of the Rules, decide this proceeding on the basis of Complainant's undisputed representations, and, pursuant to paragraph 14(b) of the Rules, draw such inferences as it deems appropriate. The Panel is entitled to accept as true all reasonable allegations and inferences set out in the Complaint unless the evidence is clearly contradictory. See Vertical Solutions Mgmt., Inc. v. webnet-marketing, inc., FA 95095 (Forum July 31, 2000) (finding that a respondent’s failure to respond allows all reasonable inferences of fact in the allegations of a UDRP complaint to be deemed true). See also Talk City, Inc. v. Robertson, D2000-0009 (WIPO February 29, 2000): “In the absence of a response, it is appropriate to accept as true all allegations of the Complaint.”
Complainant has rights in the ROKU trademark sufficient for purposes of Policy ¶ 4(a)(i) by reason of its registration of the mark with a national trademark authority, the USPTO. See Haas Automation, Inc. v. Jim Fraser, FA 1627211 (Forum August 4, 2015) (finding that a UDRP complainant’s USPTO registrations for a mark sufficiently demonstrated its rights in that mark under Policy ¶ 4(a)(i)).
This is true without regard to whether Complainant’s rights in its mark arise from registration of the mark in a jurisdiction (here, the United States) other than that in which Respondent resides or does business (here, Bahamas). See, for example, W.W. Grainger, Inc. v. Above.com Domain Privacy, FA 1334458 (Forum August 24, 2010):
[T]he Panel finds that USPTO registration is sufficient to establish these [Policy ¶ 4(a)(i)] rights even when Respondent lives or operates in a different country.
Turning to the central question posed by Policy ¶ 4(a)(i), we conclude from a review of the record that Respondent’s <rokuuniverse.com> domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s ROKU trademark. The domain name contains the mark in its entirety, merely adding the generic term “universe,” which can be taken to imply that the website resolving from it is a source for all things relating to ROKU products and services, plus the generic Top Level Domain (“gTLD”) “.com.” These alterations of the mark, made in forming the domain name, do not save it from the realm of confusing similarity under the standards of the Policy. See, for example, Wiluna Holdings, LLC v. Edna Sherman, FA 1652781 (Forum January 22, 2016) (finding the addition of a generic term and a gTLD to the mark of another in creating a domain name was insufficient to distinguish one from the other under Policy ¶ 4(a)(i)).
Under Policy 4(a)(ii), Complainant must make a prima facie showing that Respondent lacks rights to and legitimate interests in the <rokuuniverse.com> domain name, whereupon the burden shifts to Respondent to show that it does have such rights or interests. See Hanna-Barbera Prods., Inc. v. Entm’t Commentaries, FA 741828 (Forum August 18, 2006) (finding that a UDRP complainant must make a prima facie case that a respondent lacks rights to or legitimate interests in a disputed domain name under UDRP¶ 4(a)(ii) before the burden shifts to that respondent to show that it does have such rights or interests). See also AOL LLC v. Gerberg, FA 780200 (Forum September 25, 2006):
Complainant must … make a prima facie showing that Respondent does not have rights or legitimate interest in the subject domain names, which burden is light. If Complainant satisfies its burden, … the burden shifts to Respondent to show that it does have rights or legitimate interests in the subject domain names.
Complainant has made out a sufficient prima facie showing under this head of the Policy. Respondent’s failure to respond to the Complaint therefore permits us to infer that Respondent does not have rights to or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. See Desotec N.V. v. Jacobi Carbons AB, D2000-1398 (WIPO December 21, 2000) (finding that a respondent’s failure to respond to a UDRP complaint allows a presumption that a complainant’s allegations are true unless they are clearly contradicted by the evidence). Nonetheless, we will examine the record before us, in light of the several considerations set out in Policy ¶¶ 4(c) (i)-(iii), to determine whether there is in it any basis for concluding that Respondent has rights to or legitimate interests in the contested domain name that are cognizable under the Policy.
We begin by noting that Complainant contends, and Respondent does not deny, that Respondent has not been commonly known by the <rokuuniverse.com> domain name, and that Complainant has not licensed or otherwise authorized Respondent to use the ROKU mark in any fashion. Moreover, the pertinent WHOIS information identifies the registrant of the domain name only as “Domain Admin / Whois Privacy Corp.,” which does not resemble the domain name. On this record, we conclude that Respondent has not been commonly known by the disputed domain name so as to have acquired rights to or legitimate interests in it within the ambit of Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii). See Chevron Intellectual Property LLC v. Fred Wallace, FA1506001626022 (Forum July 27, 2015) (finding, under Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii), that a respondent was not commonly known by the <chevron-europe.com> domain name where the relevant WHOIS information identified its registrant only as “Fred Wallace.” See also Navistar International Corporation v. N Rahmany, FA1505001620789 (Forum June 8, 2015) (finding, under Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii), that a respondent was not commonly known by a disputed domain name where a UDRP complainant had not authorized that respondent to incorporate its mark in a domain name).
We next observe that Complainant asserts, without objection from Respondent, that Respondent uses the <rokuuniverse.com> domain name to resolve to a website offering streaming services that directly compete with Complainant’s business. This use is neither a bona fide offering of goods or services by means of the domain name under Policy ¶ 4(c)(i) nor a legitimate noncommercial or fair use of it under Policy ¶ 4(c)(iii) such as would confirm in Respondent rights to or legitimate interests in the domain name as provided in those subsections of the Policy. See General Motors LLC v. MIKE LEE, FA 1659965 (Forum March 10, 2016), finding that:
[U]se of a domain to sell products and/or services that compete directly with a complainant’s business does not constitute a bona fide offering of goods or services pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c)(i) or a legitimate noncommercial or fair use pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c)(iii).
The Panel therefore finds that Complainant has satisfied the proof requirements of Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii).
We are persuaded by the evidence that Respondent’s use of the challenged <rokuuniverse.com> domain name, as alleged in the Complaint, disrupts Complainant’s business. Under Policy ¶ 4(b)(iii), this stands as proof of Respondent’s bad faith in registering and using the domain name. See, for example, DatingDirect.com Ltd. v. Aston, FA 593977 (Forum December 28, 2005):
Respondent is appropriating Complainant’s mark to divert Complainant’s customers to Respondent’s competing business. The Panel finds this diversion is evidence of bad faith registration and use pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(iii).
We are also convinced by the evidence that Respondent uses the contested <rokuuniverse.com> domain name, which we have found to be confusingly similar to Complainant’s ROKU trademark, to attempt to profit from the confusion thus caused among Internet users as to the possibility of Complainant’s affiliation with the domain name and its resolving website. Under Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv), this further demonstrates Respondent’s bad faith in registering and using the domain name. See Xylem Inc. and Xylem IP Holdings LLC v. YinSi BaoHu YiKaiQi, FA1504001612750 (Forum May 13, 2015):
The Panel agrees that Respondent’s use of the website to display products similar to Complainant’s, imputes intent to attract Internet users for commercial gain, and finds bad faith per Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv).
The Panel thus finds that Complainant has met its obligations of proof under Policy ¶ 4(c)(iii).
Complainant having established all three elements required to be proven under the ICANN Policy, the Panel concludes that the relief requested must be, and it is hereby, GRANTED.
Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <rokuuniverse.com> domain name be TRANSFERRED forthwith from Respondent to Complainant.
Terry F. Peppard, Panelist
Dated: September 10, 2018
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