Home Depot Product Authority, LLC v. Carolina Rodrigues / Fundacion Comercio Electronico
Claim Number: FA2008001909015
Complainant is Home Depot Product Authority, LLC (“Complainant”), represented by Richard J. Groos of King & Spalding LLP, Texas, USA. Respondent is Carolina Rodrigues / Fundacion Comercio Electronico (“Respondent”), Panama.
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME
The domain name at issue is <homedeqpot.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.
The Honorable Charles K. McCotter, Jr. (Ret.) as Panelist.
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the Forum electronically on August 19, 2020; the Forum received payment on August 19, 2020.
On August 20, 2020, GoDaddy.com, LLC confirmed by e-mail to the Forum that the <homedeqpot.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 August 21, 2020, the Forum served the Complaint and all Annexes, including a Written Notice of the Complaint, setting a deadline of September 10, 2020 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@homedeqpot.com. Also on August 21, 2020, 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 September 14, 2020, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the Forum appointed the Honorable Charles K. McCotter, Jr. (Ret.) 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 name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.
A. Complainant
Complainant, Home Depot Product Authority, LLC, provides home improvement retail store services under the “Home Depot” brand. Complainant has rights in the HOME DEPOT mark based on registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) (e.g., Reg. No. 2,314,081, registered Feb. 1, 2000). Respondent’s <homedeqpot.com> domain name is confusingly similar and nearly identical to Complainant’s HOME DEPOT mark as it merely adds the letter “q” and the “.com” generic top level domain (“gTLD”) to the mark.
Respondent does not have rights or legitimate interests in the <homedeqpot.com> domain name. Respondent is not commonly known by the disputed domain name and Complainant has not authorized Respondent to use the HOME DEPOT mark. Respondent does not use the disputed domain for any bona fide offering of goods or services or legitimate noncommercial or fair use. Instead, Respondent uses the disputed domain name to host third-party hyperlinks to competing websites.
Respondent registered and uses the <homedeqpot.com> domain name in bad faith. Respondent uses the disputed domain to host competing third-party hyperlinks from which Respondent presumably receives some commercial gain. Additionally, Respondent engages in typosquatting which is further evidence of bad faith.
B. Respondent
Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding.
Complainant provides home improvement retail store services under the “Home Depot” brand. Complainant has rights in the HOME DEPOT mark based on registration with the USPTO (e.g., Reg. No. 2,314,081, registered Feb. 1, 2000). Respondent’s <homedeqpot.com> domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s HOME DEPOT mark.
Respondent registered the <homedeqpot.com> domain name on July 17, 2020.
Respondent does not have rights or legitimate interests in the <homedeqpot.com> domain name. Respondent uses the disputed domain name to host third-party hyperlinks to competing websites.
Respondent registered and uses the <homedeqpot.com> domain name 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 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 set forth in a complaint; however, the Panel may deny relief where a complaint contains mere conclusory or unsubstantiated arguments. See WIPO Jurisprudential Overview 3.0 at ¶ 4.3; see also eGalaxy Multimedia Inc. v. ON HOLD By Owner Ready To Expire, FA 157287 (Forum June 26, 2003) (“Because Complainant did not produce clear evidence to support its subjective allegations [. . .] the Panel finds it appropriate to dismiss the Complaint”).
Complainant has rights in the HOME DEPOT mark under Policy ¶ 4(a)(i) based on registration with the USPTO. See Home Depot Product Authority, LLC v. Samy Yosef / Express Transporting, FA 1738124 (Forum July 28, 2017) (finding that registration with the USPTO was sufficient to establish the complainant’s rights in the HOME DEPOT mark).
Respondent’s <homedeqpot.com> domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s HOME DEPOT mark because it merely adds the letter “q” and the “.com” gTLD to the mark.
Respondent does not have rights or legitimate interests in the <homedeqpot.com> domain name because Respondent is not commonly known by the disputed domain name and Complainant has not authorized Respondent to use the HOME DEPOT mark in any way. Here, the WHOIS information lists “Carolina Rodrigues / Fundacion Comercio Electronico” as the registrant of the domain name. See Google LLC v. Bhawana Chandel / Admission Virus, FA 1799694 (Forum Sep. 4, 2018) (concluding that Respondent was not commonly known by the disputed domain name where “the WHOIS of record identifies the Respondent as “Bhawana Chandel,” and no information in the record shows that Respondent was authorized to use Complainant’s mark in any way.”).
Respondent does not use the disputed domain name for any bona fide offering of goods or services or legitimate noncommercial or fair use. Instead, Respondent uses the domain to host third-party hyperlinks to competing websites from which Respondent likely receives some commercial gain. See CheapCaribbean.com, Inc. v. Moniker Privacy Services, FA1411001589962 (Forum Jan. 1, 2015) (“The Panel finds that Respondent’s use of the <cheepcaribbean.com> name to promote links in competition with Complainant’s travel agency services does not fall within Policy ¶ 4(c)(i)’s bona fide offering of goods or services, nor does it amount to a legitimate noncommercial or fair use described in Policy ¶ 4(c)(iii).”).
Respondent registered and uses the <homedeqpot.com> domain name in bad faith because Respondent uses the disputed domain to host third-party links to websites that compete with Complainant. The use of a disputed domain name to host third-party links to competing websites shows bad faith disruption of business under Policy ¶ 4(b)(iii) and bad faith attraction for commercial gain under Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv). See Transamerica Corporation v. Carolina Rodrigues / Fundacion Comercio Electronico, FA 1798316 (Forum Aug. 20, 2018) (“Respondent's use of the domain name to link to competitors of Complainant, presumably generating pay-per-click or referral fees for Respondent, is indicative of bad faith under paragraphs 4(b)(iii) and 4(b)(iv).”).
Respondent also engages in typosquatting which is evidence of bad faith under Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii). See Homer TLC, Inc. v. Artem Ponomarev, FA1506001623825 (Forum July 20, 2015) (“Finally, under this head of the Policy, it is evident that the <homededpot.com> domain name is an instance of typosquatting, which is the deliberate misspelling of the mark of another in a domain name, done to take advantage of common typing errors made by Internet users in entering into a web browser the name of an enterprise with which they would like to do business online. Typosquatting is independent evidence of bad faith in the registration and use of a domain name.”).
Complainant having established all three elements required under the ICANN Policy, the Panel concludes that relief shall be GRANTED.
Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <homedeqpot.com> domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.
The Honorable Charles K. McCotter, Jr. (Ret.), Panelist
Dated: September 21, 2020
Click Here to return to the main Domain Decisions Page.
Click Here to return to our Home Page