Skechers U.S.A., Inc. II v. Lorrie Hampton, et al.
Claim Number: FA2102001932060
Complainant: Skechers U.S.A., Inc. II, California, United States of America
Complainant Representative: Kleinberg & Lerner, LLP, California, United States of America
Respondent: Lorrie Hampton, Georgia, United States of America
REGISTRIES and REGISTRARS
NameCheap, Inc.
The undersigned certifies that he has acted independently and impartially, and, to the best of his knowledge, has no conflict of interests in serving as Examiner in this proceeding.
Terry F. Peppard, as Examiner
Complaint submitted: February 12, 2021
Commencement: February 16, 2021
Default Date: March 3, 2021
Having reviewed the pertinent communication records, the Examiner finds that the Forum has discharged its responsibility under usRS Procedure Paragraphs 3 and 4 and Rule 4 of the Rules for the .usTLD Rapid Suspension System (the "Rules") to give to Respondent notice of the commencement of this proceeding and an opportunity to answer and defend against the Complaint filed herein.
Complainant requests that the domain name be suspended for the life of its registration.
Clear and convincing evidence
Notwithstanding that Respondent has defaulted, usRS Procedure 1.2.6, requires Complainant to make a prima facie showing, by clear and convincing evidence, for each of the following three elements of the Procedure in order to obtain a determination that a domain name should be suspended:
i. that the registered domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a word mark for which the Complainant holds a valid national or regional registration and that it is in current use;
ii. that the registrant (Respondent) has no right to or legitimate interest in the domain name; and
iii. that the domain name was registered or is being used by the registrant (Respondent) in bad faith.
IDENTITY OR CONFUSING SIMILARITY
In its Complaint, Complainant shows that it holds a valid registration for the trademark SKECHERS, which is on file with the United States Patent and Trademark Office as Registry No. 1,851,977, first registered August 30, 1994, and most recently renewed as of February 14, 2014, in International Class 25 [footwear, etc.], and that the same mark is in current use. Respondent does not dispute any of this.
The pertinent WHOIS information shows that Respondent registered the domain name <skecherssneakers.us> on January 16, 2021, and Respondent does not deny this assertion.
The domain name incorporates Complainant’s SKECHERS mark in its entirety, with only the addition of the United States Top Level Domain (“usTLD”) “.us” and the generic term “sneakers,” a reference to the business of Complainant, which contributes to confusing similarity between the domain name and the mark.
Respondent’s addition of the “.us” usTLD to Complainant’s mark in forming the domain name is of no consequence to our analysis because every domain name is required to have a TLD.
For these reasons, we find that the <skecherssneakers.us> domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s SKECHERS mark and that Complainant has met its obligations of proof under this head of the Procedure.
REGISTRANT’S RIGHTS OR INTERESTS
We begin our assessment of the question whether Respondent has rights to or legitimate interests in the contested <skecherssneakers.us> domain name by noting that Complainant secured trademark protection for its SKECHERS mark in 1994, while Respondent registered its domain name much later, in 2021. As a consequence, Complainant’s rights in its mark are senior in time to any claim Respondent might have made for rights to or legitimate interests in the contested domain name.
We next observe that there is no evidence showing that Respondent is the owner or beneficiary of a trademark or service mark that is identical to the challenged domain name.
Likewise, there is nothing in the record before us suggesting that Respondent is affiliated with Complainant, but the record does reflect that Complainant asserts that it has not authorized Respondent to use the SKECHERS mark, whether in a domain name or otherwise. Beyond this, Respondent is identified in the relevant WHOIS record only as “Lorrie Hampton,” and there is no evidence indicating that Respondent has been commonly known by its domain name.
The Complaint adds to this that the use to which Respondent puts the domain name is that it redirects Internet users to a website controlled by Respondent at which what appear to be counterfeit specimens of Complainant’s products are offered for sale, and that Respondent profits from the confusion thus caused among Internet users attempting to do business with Complainant online. These contentions, to which Respondent makes no response, establish both that Respondent is not making either a bona fide offering of goods or services by means of the domain name and that Respondent’s employment of the domain name does not qualify as a legitimate noncommercial or fair use.
In light of these considerations, we conclude that Respondent has neither rights to nor legitimate interests in the <skecherssneakers.us> domain name.
BAD FAITH REGISTRATION OR USE
Under the Policy, essentially the same considerations, described above, which make it clear that Respondent has no rights to or legitimate interests in the <skecherssneakers.us> domain name are also pertinent to a determination of the question whether the domain name has been registered or is being used in bad faith. We may, in addition, take into account that it is evident from the facts before us that Respondent knew of Complainant and its rights in the SKECHERS trademark when Respondent registered the domain name. Accordingly, we find that Respondent’s use of the domain name disrupts Complainant’s business and that Respondent both registered and now uses the domain name in bad faith.
We find from a review of the record that the Complaint was not brought in abuse of this proceeding and that it does not contain material falsehoods.
Upon review of Complainant’s submissions, we find that Complainant has adequately proven all three elements of the usRS to a standard of clear and convincing evidence. It is, therefore, ORDERED that the domain name <skecherssneakers.us> be SUSPENDED for the duration of its registration.
Terry F. Peppard, Examiner
Dated: March 3, 2021
Click Here to return to the main Domain Decisions Page.
Click Here to return to our Home Page