JUUL Labs, Inc. v. Katherine Dommar
Claim Number: FA1809001806413
Complainant is JUUL Labs, Inc. (“Complainant”), represented by Alyssa M. Worsham of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, California, USA. Respondent is Katherine Dommar (“Respondent”), Florida, USA.
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAMES
The domain names at issue are <juulvaporvenezuela.com> and <juulvaporvzla.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.
Darryl C. Wilson, as Panelist.
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the Forum electronically on September 17, 2018; the Forum received payment on September 17, 2018.
On September 19, 2018, GoDaddy.com, LLC confirmed by e-mail to the Forum that the <juulvaporvenezuela.com> and <juulvaporvzla.com> domain names are registered with GoDaddy.com, LLC and that Respondent is the current registrant of the names. 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 September 19, 2018, the Forum served the Complaint and all Annexes, including a Written Notice of the Complaint, setting a deadline of October 9, 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@juulvaporvenezuela.com, postmaster@juulvaporvzla.com. Also on September 19, 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.
Respondent submitted a Response on October 5, 2018.
On October 11, 2018, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the Forum appointed Darryl C. Wilson, as Panelist.
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 any response from Respondent.
Complainant requests that the domain names be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.
A. Complainant
Complainant, JUUL Labs Inc., is one of the world’s leaders in vaporizers and accessories. Complainant has rights in the JUUL mark based upon its registration of the mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) (e.g., Reg. No. 4,898,257, registered Feb. 9, 2016). Respondent’s <juulvaporvenezuela.com> and <juulvaporvzla.com> domain names are confusingly similar to Complainant’s mark because they both wholly incorporate Complainant’s JUUL mark, and are differentiated by the addition geographic terms.
Respondent lacks rights and legitimate interests in the <juulvaporvenezuela.com> and <juulvaporvzla.com> domain names. Respondent is not authorized to use Complainant’s JUUL mark and is not commonly known by the disputed domain name. Additionally, Respondent fails to use the disputed domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods and services or for a legitimate noncommercial or fair use. Instead, Respondent attempts to pass off as Complainant at the disputed domain names to sell counterfeit versions of Complainant’s product in furtherance of a phishing scheme.
Respondent registered and uses the <juulvaporvenezuela.com> and <juulvaporvzla.com> domain names in bad faith. Respondent attempts to disrupt Complainant’s business and attract, for commercial gain, users to the disputed domain names where it passes off as Complainant to sell counterfeit products and collect users’ personal information. Furthermore, Respondent had actual and constructive knowledge of Complainant’s rights in the JUUL mark prior to registering the disputed domain name.
B. Respondent
Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding.
Complainant is JUUL Labs, Inc. (“Complainant”), of San Francisco, California, USA. Complainant is the owner of domestic and international registrations for the mark JUUL and related marks, which it has continuously used since at least as early as 2015, in connection with its sale of vaporizer devices and accessories.
Respondent is Katherine Dommar, of Westin, Florida, USA. Respondent’s registrar’s address is listed as Sunnyvale, California, USA. The Panel notes the <juulvaporvenezuela.com> and <juulvaporvzla.com> domain names were created on or about September 5, 2018.
Preliminary Issue: Consent to Transfer
The Forum was copied on documentation submitted from Respondent to Complainant, which was identified in this proceeding as “Other Correspondence.” In these documents Respondent purports to consent to the transfer of the <juulvaporvenezuela.com> and <juulvaporvzla.com> domain names. The Panel notes that it is under no obligation to acknowledge any such documents.
Although Respondent stated her consent to transfer the <juulvaporvenezuela.com> and <juulvaporvzla.com> domain names to Complainant, the transfer did not place. After the initiation of this proceeding, GoDaddy.com, LLC placed a hold on Respondent’s account and therefore Respondent cannot transfer the disputed domain names while this proceeding is still pending. The Panel finds that because Respondent has not contested the transfer of the disputed domain names, but instead agrees to transfer the domain names in question to Complainant, it is not necessary for the Panel to proceed with the traditional UDRP analysis. Under the current circumstances the Panel finds that it may order an immediate transfer of the <juulvaporvenezuela.com> and <juulvaporvzla.com> domain names. See Boehringer Ingelheim Int’l GmbH v. Modern Ltd. – Cayman Web Dev., FA 133625 (Forum Jan. 9, 2003) (transferring the domain name registration where the respondent stipulated to the transfer); see also Malev Hungarian Airlines, Ltd. v. Vertical Axis Inc., FA 212653 (Forum Jan. 13, 2004) (“In this case, the parties have both asked for the domain name to be transferred to the Complainant . . . Since the requests of the parties in this case are identical, the Panel has no scope to do anything other than to recognize the common request, and it has no mandate to make findings of fact or of compliance (or not) with the Policy.”); see also Disney Enters., Inc. v. Morales, FA 475191 (Forum June 24, 2005) (“[U]nder such circumstances, where Respondent has agreed to comply with Complainant’s request, the Panel felt it to be expedient and judicial to forego the traditional UDRP analysis and order the transfer of the domain names.”).
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 response, the Panel shall decide this administrative proceeding on the basis of Complainant's undisputed representations pursuant to paragraphs 5(f), 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 (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.”).
Respondent has consented to transfer.
Respondent has consented to transfer.
Respondent has consented to transfer.
DECISION
As the Respondent has consented to transfer the domain names in dispute, it is Ordered that the <juulvaporvenezuela.com> and <juulvaporvzla.com> domain names be immediately TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.
Darryl C. Wilson, Panelist
Dated: Oct. 25, 2018
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