URS DEFAULT DETERMINATION


General Electric Company v.
Claim Number: FA2205001995440


DOMAIN NAME

<generale.moscow>


PARTIES


   Complainant: General Electric Company of Schenectady, NY, United States of America
  
Complainant Representative: Enns & Archer LLP Rodrick J Enns of Winston-Salem, NC, United States of America

   Respondent: Protection of Private Person of II, RU
  

REGISTRIES and REGISTRARS


   Registries: Foundation for Assistance for Internet Technologies and Infrastructure Development (FAITID)
   Registrars: Limited Liability Company "Registrar of domain names REG.RU"

EXAMINER


   The undersigned certifies that he or she has acted independently and impartially and to the best of his or her knowledge has no known conflict in serving as Examiner in this proceeding.
   Ms. Kateryna Oliinyk, as Examiner

PROCEDURAL HISTORY


   Complainant Submitted: May 9, 2022
   Commencement: May 11, 2022
   Default Date: May 26, 2022
   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").

RELIEF SOUGHT


   Complainant requests that the domain name be suspended for the life of the registration.

STANDARD OF REVIEW


   Clear and convincing evidence.

FINDINGS and DISCUSSION



   Findings of Fact: The Complainant, General Electric Company, was founded in 1892 and has been manufacturing home appliances since the early 1900s. The Complainant is the registered holder of trademark registrations for the GENERAL ELECTRIC and GE trademarks which are used in connection with a wide variety of goods, including kitchen appliances, laundry machines and air conditioners. Among other trademark registrations, the Complainant is the holder of the United States Reg. No. 1,448,350 GENERAL ELECTRIC, registration date being July 21, 1987. The domain name <generale.moscow> was created on May 29, 2020 and resolves to the commercial website which displays the GENERAL ELECTRIC and GE trademarks and offering services of repair and maintenance of home appliances.

  

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.


[URS 1.2.6.1] The registered domain name(s) is/are 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 in effect at the time the URS complaint is filed.

Determined: Finding for Complainant 


The Complainant provided documentary evidence that it is the registered owner of the GENERAL ELECTRIC word mark protected by the national trademark registration, as well as documents to show that the trademark is in current use. The registered domain name fully incorporates the principal part of the GENERAL ELECTRIC trademark in its entirety, and the initial letter "e" representing the second element "electric" of the Complainant's trademark. The applicable Top Level Domain (“TLD”) ".moscow" in the registered domain name is viewed as a standard registration requirement and as such is disregarded under the first element confusing similarity test. The disputed domain name <generale.moscow> is confusingly similar to the Complainant’s GENERAL ELECTRIC trademark. Therefore, the Examiner finds that the Complaint meets URS requirement of 1.2.6.1.


[URS 1.2.6.2] Registrant has no legitimate right or interest to the domain name.

Determined: Finding for Complainant 


The Respondent is not a licensee of, or otherwise affiliated with, the Complainant, and has not been authorized by the Complainant to use its GENERAL ELECTRIC trademark. There is nothing to suggest that the Respondent is commonly known by the registered domain name or that it has trademark rights of its own. The website to which the registered domain name resolves does not accurately and prominently disclose the Respondent’s relationship with the Complainant. Instead, the website displays the GENERAL ELECTRIC and GE trademarks, text and images taken from the official Complainant's website, attempting to simulate a legitimate website of the official service provider of the Complainant. The Examiner establishes that the Respondent does not meet the cumulative requirements of the Oki Data test to prove a legitimate interest in the disputed domain name. In the Examiner's view, the use of the registered domain name by the Respondent does not constitute either bona fide use or a legitimate non-commercial or fair use of the disputed domain name, as it is clearly used to target the Complainant and trade off the goodwill of the GENERAL ELECTRIC trademark. Thus, the Examiner finds that the second element under URS Procedure 1.2.6.2 has been satisfied.


[URS 1.2.6.3] The domain name(s) was/were registered and is being used in bad faith.
  a. Registrant has registered or acquired the domain name primarily for the purpose of selling, renting or otherwise transferring the domain name registration to the complainant who is the owner of the trademark or service mark or to a competitor of that complainant, for valuable consideration in excess of documented out-of pocket costs directly related to the domain name; or
  b. Registrant has registered the domain name in order to prevent the trademark holder or service mark from reflecting the mark in a corresponding domain name, provided that Registrant has engaged in a pattern of such conduct; or
  c. Registrant registered the domain name primarily for the purpose of disrupting the business of a competitor; or
  d. By using the domain name Registrant has intentionally attempted to attract for commercial gain, Internet users to Registrant's web site or other on-line location, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the complainant's mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of Registrant's web site or location or of a product or service on that web site or location.

Determined: Finding for Complainant 


The Complainant’s GENERAL ELECTRIC and GE trademarks are being used by the Respondent in order to create the impression of being affiliated with the Complainant. The website to which the registered domain name resolves include misleading information whereby the Respondent represent itself as being endorsed or being affiliated with the Complainant. Hence, it is clear that the Respondent is using the GENERAL ELECTRIC trademark of the Complainant and its name in order to attract consumers to its services of repair and maintenance of home appliances. The Respondent has registered the domain name and is using it in bad faith in an attempt to confuse consumers and attract them through capitalizing and free-riding on the reputation of the Complainant and its trademarks. The Examiner finds that the third element of the policy under URS Procedure 1.2.6.3 has been satisfied.


FINDING OF ABUSE or MATERIAL FALSEHOOD


The Examiner may find that the Complaint was brought in an abuse of this proceeding or that it contained material falsehoods.

The Examiner finds as follows:


  1. The Complaint was neither abusive nor contained material falsehoods. 

DETERMINATION


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(s) be SUSPENDED for the duration of the registration:

  1. generale.moscow

 

Ms. Kateryna Oliinyk
Examiner
Dated: May 31, 2022

 

 

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