DR. SEUSS ENTERPRISES, L.P. v. WhoisGuard, Inc.
Claim Number: FA2102001932240
Complainant: DR. SEUSS ENTERPRISES, L.P. of San Diego, California, United States of America.
Complainant Representative: DLA Piper LLP (US) of Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America.
Respondent: WhoisGuard, Inc. / WhoisGuard Protected of Panama, Panama, Respondent Representative: None appearing
REGISTRAR: CentralNic Group PLC
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.
Charles A. Kuechenmeister, Examiner.
Complainant submitted: February 16, 2021
Commencement: February 17, 2021
Default Date: March 4, 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.
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.
· 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 currently in effect and that was in effect at the time the URS Complaint was filed; and
· Registrant has no legitimate right or interest to the domain name; and
· the domain was registered and is being used in bad faith.
The Examiner finds as follows:
There is no genuine issue of any material fact.
The LORAX mark was registered to Complainant with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) (Registration No. 2,072,896) on June 17, 1997 (USPTO Registration Certificate submitted with Complaint). Complainant is currently using that mark in connection with its business operations (Proof of Use screenshot submitted with Complaint). Complainant thus holds a valid national registration of its mark, and the mark is in current use. Further, the domain name is identical or confusingly similar to Complainant’s mark.
The registrar lists the Registrant as “WhoisGuard Protected / WhoisGuard, Inc.” Neither of these names bears any resemblance to the domain name, and there is no evidence that the Registrant has been commonly known by the domain name. The Complainant states that Registrant is not affiliated with it and that Complainant has not authorized Registrant to use its DR. SEUSS mark. Further, the URS Site Screenshot submitted with the Complaint is a screenshot of the web site resolving from the domain name. Its content consists exclusively of links such as “Pitch Recognition,” “Motorola,” “Dentist In,” “Coloring Sheet” and the like. The site is a typical pay-per-click site from which the Registrant derives remuneration when a site visitor clicks on one or more of the links appearing there. This evidence demonstrates that the Registrant has no legitimate right or interest to the domain name.
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.
lorax.design
Charles A. Kuechenmeister, Examiner
Dated: March 5, 2021
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