Margaritaville Enterprises, LLC v. Lisa Hudon
Claim Number: FA2107001954197
Complainant is Margaritaville Enterprises, LLC (“Complainant”), represented by Joel R. Feldman of Greenberg Traurig, LLP, Georgia, USA. Respondent is Lisa Hudon (“Respondent”), Illinois, USA.
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME
The domain name at issue is <parrotheadproductsforsale.com> (“Domain Name”), registered with GoDaddy.com, 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.
Nicholas J.T. Smith as Panelist.
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the Forum electronically on July 7, 2021; the Forum received payment on July 7, 2021.
On July 8, 2021, GoDaddy.com, LLC confirmed by e-mail to the Forum that the <parrotheadproductsforsale.com> domain name is registered with GoDaddy.com, LLC and that Respondent is the current registrant of the name. GoDaddy.com, LLC has verified that Respondent is bound by the GoDaddy.com, 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 July 9, 2021, the Forum served the Complaint and all Annexes, including a Written Notice of the Complaint, setting a deadline of July 29, 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@parrotheadproductsforsale.com. Also on July 9, 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.
The Forum received an informal communication from the Respondent on July 13, 2021, consenting to the transfer of the Domain Name, but Respondent did not file a formal response in this matter. Having received no formal response from Respondent, the Forum transmitted to the parties a Notification of Respondent Default.
On July 31, 2021, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the Forum appointed Nicholas J.T. Smith 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, Margaritaville Enterprises, LLC, is the successor-in-interest to Jimmy Buffett’s intellectual property rights encompassing the renowned singer, songwriter, recording artist and entertainer’s works. Complainant has rights in the PARROT HEAD mark based on registration of the mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) (e.g., Reg. No. 3,050,885, registered Jan. 24, 2006). Respondent’s <parrotheadproductsforsale.com> domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s mark since it incorporates Complainant’s mark in its entirety, differing only by the addition of the phrasing “products for sale” and the “.com” generic top-level domain (“gTLD”).
Respondent lacks rights and legitimate interests in the <parrotheadproductsforsale.com> domain name. Respondent is not commonly known by the Domain Name, nor has Complainant given permission for Respondent to use the PARROT HEAD mark. Additionally, Respondent does not use the Domain Name for any bona fide offering of goods or services, nor for any legitimate noncommercial or fair use because Respondent’s website displays links to Amazon.com pages which sells third party products relating to Jimmy Buffett that were not licensed by Complainant, for which Respondent likely receives a commission.
Respondent registered and uses the <parrotheadproductsforsale.com> domain name in bad faith because the Domain Name resolves to a website that displays links to Amazon.com pages which sell products which illegally compete with Complainant’s authentic Jimmy Buffett products, whereby Respondent is clearly profiting. Moreover, Respondent had actual and/or constructive knowledge of Complainant’s rights in the PARROT HEAD mark based on the well-known status of the mark and the fact that Respondent’s website links to websites which advertise products branded with the PARROT HEAD mark.
B. Respondent
Respondent failed to submit a formal Response in this proceeding but by e-mail dated July 13, 2021 indicates that it is ready and willing to transfer the Domain Name to the Complainant.
Respondent consents to transfer the <parrotheadproductsforsale.com> domain name to Complainant. However, after the initiation of this proceeding, GoDaddy.com, LLC. placed a hold on Respondent’s account and therefore Respondent cannot transfer the Domain Name while this proceeding is still pending.
In a circumstance such as this, where Respondent has not contested the transfer of the Domain Name, but instead agrees to transfer the Domain Name to Complainant, the Panel is authorized to forego the traditional UDRP analysis. This Panel, in recognition of the common request of the parties, in the interests of judicial expedience, and in the absence of any aggravating circumstances, has so decided to forego the traditional UDRP analysis and to order an immediate transfer of the <parrotheadproductsforsale.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.”).
As the remedy of the Complainant and the request of the Respondent both sought to transfer the Domain Name from the Respondent to the Complainant, the Panel concludes that such relief shall be GRANTED.
Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <parrotheadproductsforsale.com> domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.
Nicholas J.T. Smith, Panelist
Dated: August 2, 2021
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