General Motors LLC v. Xiaolei Wang
Claim Number: FA2106001951652
Complainant is General Motors LLC (“Complainant”), represented by Jennifer M. Hetu of Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP, Michigan, USA. Respondent is Xiaolei Wang (“Respondent”), China.
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME
The domain name at issue is <mycadillacreward.com>, registered with 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 Panelist in this proceeding.
Steven M. Levy, Esq. as Panelist.
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the Forum electronically on June 18, 2021; the Forum received payment on June 18, 2021.
On June 18, 2021, NameSilo, LLC confirmed by e-mail to the Forum that the <mycadillacreward.com> domain name is registered with NameSilo, LLC and that Respondent is the current registrant of the name. NameSilo, LLC has verified that Respondent is bound by the NameSilo, 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 June 22, 2021, the Forum served the Complaint and all Annexes, including a Written Notice of the Complaint, setting a deadline of July 12, 2021 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@mycadillacreward.com. Also on June 22, 2021, 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 July 19, 2021, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the Forum appointed Steven M. Levy, Esq. 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 is a well-known manufacturer of cars and trucks and is one of the world’s largest automakers. Complainant has rights in the trademarks CADILLAC and MYCADILLAC through its use in commerce since 1912 and its registration of the marks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) dating back to 1925. Respondent’s <mycadillacreward.com> domain name, registered on May 4, 2018, is identical or confusingly similar to Complainant’s mark, as Respondent merely adds the generic term “reward” and the “.com” generic top-level domain (“gTLD”).
Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the <mycadillacreward.com> domain name as Respondent is not commonly known by the disputed domain name nor has Respondent been licensed, authorized, or otherwise permitted by Complainant to use Complainant’s marks. Furthermore, Respondent’s use is not a bona fide offering of goods or services, nor a legitimate noncommercial or fair use, as Respondent is hosting a web page that displays competing pay-per-click hyperlinks.
Respondent registered and uses the <mycadillacreward.com> domain name in bad faith. Specifically, Respondent is attempting to attract Internet users for commercial gain and disrupt Complainant’s business by hosting competing pay-per-click hyperlinks. Furthermore, Respondent had constructive knowledge of Complainant’s rights in the GM marks.
B. Respondent
Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding. However, on June 23, 2021, the Forum received an email from the same address used by Respondent in the WHOIS record for the disputed domain name. The message states “I give up the ownership of this domain name.”
Respondent has consented to a transfer of the disputed domain name to Complainant.
PRELIMINARY ISSUE: RESPONDENT’S CONSENT TO TRANSFER
The Forum received an email from Respondent after having served it with the Complainant. In it, Respondent consents to voluntarily transfer the <mycadillacreward.com> domain name to Complainant. As a result, the Panel finds that in a circumstance such as this, where Respondent has not contested the transfer of the disputed domain name but instead agrees to transfer the domain name to Complainant, the Panel may decide to forego the traditional UDRP analysis and order an immediate transfer of the <mycadillacreward.com> domain name. See Boehringer Ingelheim Int’l GmbH v. Modern Ltd. – Cayman Web Dev., FA 133625 (Forum Jan. 9, 2003) (transferring the domain name registration where the respondent stipulated to the transfer); see also Malev Hungarian Airlines, Ltd. v. Vertical Axis Inc., FA 212653 (Forum Jan. 13, 2004) (“In this case, the parties have both asked for the domain name to be transferred to the Complainant . . . Since the requests of the parties in this case are identical, the Panel has no scope to do anything other than to recognize the common request, and it has no mandate to make findings of fact or of compliance (or not) with the Policy.”); see also Disney Enters., Inc. v. Morales, FA 475191 (Forum June 24, 2005) (“[U]nder such circumstances, where Respondent has agreed to comply with Complainant’s request, the Panel felt it to be expedient and judicial to forego the traditional UDRP analysis and order the transfer of the domain names.”).
In its June 23, 2021 email to the Forum, received from the same address used in the WHOIS record for the disputed domain name, Respondent states “I give up the ownership of this domain name.” Therefore, the Panel has determined that it is not necessary to analyze the present case under the elements of the UDRP and it is ordered that the disputed domain name be transferred to Complainant upon the Respondent’s voluntary consent.
The Panel concludes that relief shall be GRANTED.
Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <mycadillacreward.com> domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.
July 20, 2021, Panelist
Dated: Steven M. Levy, Esq.
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