BBY Solutions, Inc. v. Domains By Proxy, LLC
Claim Number: FA1903001833952
Complainant: BBY Solutions, Inc. of Richfield, Minnesota, United States of America.
Complainant Representative: /
Respondent: Tushar goyal of Uttar Pradesh, India,
Respondent Representative: /
REGISTRIES and REGISTRARS
Registries: XYZ.COM LLC
Registrars: GoDaddy.com, LLC
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.
Bart Van Besien, as Examiner.
Complainant submitted: March 18, 2019
Commencement: March 18, 2019
Default Date: April 2, 2019
Having reviewed the communications records, the Examiner finds that the 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.
The Complainant, BBY Solutions, Inc., is the owner of several GEEK SQUAD trademarks, including the US word trademark GEEK SQUAD with registration number 4477358, registered for several sub-classes in the classes 9, 36, 37, and 42 (software, technical support services, computer software consulting services, etc.) since 2 April 2014.
The Complainant submitted evidence of these GEEK SQUAD trademarks. The Complainant submitted evidence of its use of these trademarks.
The Complainant asserts that its trademarks are well-known and distinctive.
The Complainant asserts hat the Respondent incorporated its trademark(s) in the domain name and uses these trademarks on the website available through this domain name to divert customers seeking Complainant’s services and to trade on the fame and goodwill of the Complainant (the services offered by the Respondent seem to compete with the Complainant’s services).
These claims are not refuted by the Respondent.
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.
[URS 1.2.6.1] The registered domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a word mark:
(i) for which the Complainant holds a valid national or regional registration and that is in current use; or
(ii) that has been validated through court proceedings; or
(iii) that is specifically protected by a statute or treaty in effect at the time the URS complaint is filed.
Determined: Finding for the Complainant
URS 1.2.6.1 (i) covers the domain name at issue in this case. The domain name consists of Complainant’s registered word mark (taken in its entirety), paired with the generic top level domain “.xyz”. The addition of the letters “s” (i.e. the use of the plural form GEEKS SQUADS) is not sufficient to distinguish the disputed domain name from the Complainant’s registered word mark GEEK SQUAD.
The Complainant submitted sufficient evidence of its earlier “GEEK SQUAD” word mark and submitted sufficient evidence of actual use of its mark.
[URS 1.2.6.2] Registrant has no legitimate right or interest to the domain name.
Determined: Finding for the Complainant
The Complainant claims that the Respondent does not have rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name.
The Complainant claims that the Respondent has no relationship, affiliation, connection, endorsement or association with the Complainant. The Complainant claims that the Respondent has never requested or received any authorization, permission or license from the Complainant to use the GEEK SQUAD mark(s) in any way.
The Examiner notes that the Respondent did not refute the Complainant’s claims. The Respondent did not provide evidence of legitimate rights or interests in the disputed domain name. There is no evidence of any rights or legitimate interests of the Respondent in the disputed domain name. There is no evidence of any similar or identical trademarks owned by the Respondent. There is no indication of any authorization to use the Complainant’s trademark. There is no indication that the Respondent is otherwise related to the Complainant’s business. There is no evidence of the Respondent being commonly known as “GEEK SQUAD” or “GEEKS SQUADS” or “GEEKSSQUADS” prior to the registration of the disputed domain name. For all of the above reasons, the Examiner determines that the Respondent does not have legitimate rights or interests to the domain name.
[URS 1.2.6.3] The domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith.
Determined: Finding for the Complainant.
The Complainant argues that its GEEK SQUAD marks are well-known and famous.
The Complainant asserts that the Respondent is using its trademark(s) in a confusingly similar domain name to commercially profit from the Complainant’s registered mark(s) and to misleadingly divert consumers to the commercial website <geeksquads.xyz>.
The Complainant asserts that the Respondent is offering nearly identical technical support services, as shown on the Respondent’s website's homepage. According to the Complainant, the use of the Complainant's mark on the Respondent's website creates the false appearance of being a website operated by the Complainant. The Complainant argues that the Respondent tries to trade on the fame and goodwill of the Complainant, create confusion and divert customers seeking the Complainant's GEEK SQUAD services.
The Respondent did not refute the Complainant’s claims. In general terms, there are no circumstances known to the Examiner that refute the claim of bad faith registration or bad faith use.
The Examiner finds that the use of the words “GEEK SQUAD” on the website available through the domain name, combined with the use of the domain name for selling services that compete with the services offered by the Complainant, is evidence of the Respondent’s bad faith use and registration of the domain name. The Examiner points to the fact that the Complainant has submitted a screenshot of the website of the Respondent, which proves that the Respondent is indeed offering services that are competing with the Complainant’s services (or that are at least covered by the Complainant’s trademark registrations).
The Examiner determines that URS 1.2.6.3 (c) and (d) are applicable in this case:
· Registrant registered the domain name primarily for the purpose of disrupting the business of a competitor; and
· By using the domain name Registrant has intentionally attempted to attract for commercial gain, Internet users to Registrant’s web site or other online location, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the complainant’s mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of Registrant’s web site or location or of a product or service on that web site or location.
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.
< geeksquads.xyz>.
Bart Van Besien, Examiner
Dated: April 02, 2019
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