DR. SEUSS ENTERPRISES, L.P. v. Daniel L. Devoe
Claim Number: FA2101001927077
Complainant: DR. SEUSS ENTERPRISES, L.P. of San Diego, California, United States of America.
Complainant Representative: DLA Piper LLP of Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America.
Respondent: Daniel L Devoe of Needham, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Whois Privacy / Private by Design, LLC of Sanford, North Carolina, US.
REGISTRIES and REGISTRARS
Registries: Binky Moon, LLC
Registrars: Porkbun 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.
James Bridgeman, as Examiner.
Complainant submitted: January 4, 2021
Commencement: January 5, 2021
Response Date: January 6, 2021
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.
URS Procedure 1.2.6, requires Complainant to prove, by clear and convincing evidence, each of the following three elements to obtain an order that a domain name should be suspended.
Complainant is the publisher of children’s books and related products and services. Complainant is the owner of United States registered trademark WHOVILLE registration number 4,772,912, registered on the principal register on July 14, 2015 for goods in international Class 25.
The disputed domain name is identical to the WHOVILLE trademark in which Complainant holds registered trademark rights.
The generic Top Level Domain extension <.city> may be ignored for the purposes of comparison as the balance of probabilities it would be regarded as a necessary technical element in a domain name.
Respondent has replied to this application: “Didn't realize that "WhoVille" was a trademark. I am a big Dr. Seuss fan & didn't intend any harm.”; “Please delete domain or transfer/push to Dr. Seuss Enterprises”; and “Did not mean to cause confusion - as mentioned, I am a big Dr. Seuss fan. I donated to the Dr. Seuss
museum in Springfield, MA & am also pre-registered to receive a Dr. Seuss license plate in Massachusetts. Did not intend to use domain in bad faith.”
It follows that Respondent does not contest Complainant allegation that here she has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name.
Respondents defense that he or she was not aware that WHOVILLE is a trademark is implausible.
The disputed domain name resolves to a website which has been adduced in evidence in an annex to the Complaint upon which is posted the notice “[t]he domain name WhoVille.city is for Sale”. Respondent has admitted that here she was aware of the association of “whoville” with Complainant about registering the disputed domain name and offering it for sale clearly intended to take predatory advantage of the goodwill belonging to Complainant for his/her own profit. The registration of the disputed domain name in those circumstances in combination with the general offer for sale to the public prove on the balance of probabilities that the disputed domain name was intentionally chosen and registered and is being used in bad faith.
The facts are therefore inconsistent with Respondent’s claim that he or she did not intend to create confusion or intend to use the disputed domain name in bad faith.
In reaching this conclusion this Panel Is further convinced that the defence is implausible by the fact that Respondent avails of a privacy service to protect his or her identity.
This Panel finds therefore that the disputed domain name is identical to the WHOVILLE market which Complainant has rights; that Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name; and that the disputed domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith.
After reviewing the Parties’ 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 name be SUSPENDED for the duration of the registration:
<whoville.city>
James Bridgeman SC
Examiner
Dated: January 06, 2021
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