Carl Freudenberg KG v. See PrivacyGuardian.org
Claim Number: FA2010001917357
Complainant: Carl Freudenberg KG of Weinheim, Germany.
Complainant Representative: Pascal Boehner of Munich, Germany.
Respondent: Privacy Guardian / See PrivacyGuardian.org of Phoenix, Arizona, US.
REGISTRIES and REGISTRARS
Registry: ShortDot SA
Registrar: NameSilo, 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 Examiner in this proceeding.
Alan L. Limbury, as Examiner.
Complaint submitted: October 18, 2020
Commencement: October 19, 2020
Default Date: November 3, 2020
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.
Complainant is a German-based company specializing in performance material, known as “PM”. It owns the registered trademark FREUDENBERG and its website is at “www.freudenberg-pm.com”. The disputed domain name is being used to send emails to Complainant’s customers seeking payments intended for Complainant to be made into Respondent’s bank account.
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 Complainant
Complainant is the owner of European Community Trademark No. 007580376 FREUDENBERG, registered on March 29, 2010. Complainant exhibits screenshots of its website showing that the mark is in current use. The disputed domain name <freudenberg-pm.icu> is confusingly similar to Complainant’s FREUDENBERG mark since it contains the mark in its entirety and the addition of “-pm” does nothing to distinguish the domain name from the mark. The gTLD “.icu” may be disregarded when considering this element.
[URS 1.2.6.2] Registrant has no legitimate right or interest to the domain name.
Determined: Finding for Complainant
Complainant asserts that it has not authorized Respondent to register or use the disputed domain name and Respondent is not commonly known by the domain name. The Examiner finds that the disputed domain name is being used for fraudulent purposes and spam emails. These circumstances establish that the Registrant does not have a legitimate right or interest to the <freudenberg-pm.icu> domain name.
[URS 1.2.6.3] The domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith.
Determined: Finding for Complainant
The Examiner finds that Respondent must have had knowledge of Complainant´s trademark when registering the disputed domain name and did so in bad faith in order to masquerade as Complainant for fraudulent purposes. Therefore the disputed domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith.
DETERMINATION
After reviewing Complainant’s submissions, the Examiner determines that
Complainant has demonstrated all three elements of the URS by a standard of clear and convincing evidence. The Examiner hereby Orders the following domain name be SUSPENDED for the duration of the registration:
<freudenberg-pm.icu>.
Alan L. Limbury, Examiner
Dated: November 04, 2020
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