For Your Ease Only, Inc. v. Curtis Jackson
Claim Number: FA2303002035099
Complainant is For Your Ease Only, Inc. (“Complainant”), represented by William Schultz of Merchant & Gould, P.C., Minnesota, USA. Respondent is Curtis Jackson (“Respondent”), Texas, USA.
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAMES
The domain names at issue are <thelorigreinerclub.com> and <lorigreinerclub.com>, 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.
Richard Hill as Panelist.
Complainant submitted a Complaint to Forum electronically on March 9, 2023; Forum received payment on March 9, 2023.
On March 13, 2023, GoDaddy.com, LLC confirmed by e-mail to Forum that the <thelorigreinerclub.com> and <lorigreinerclub.com> domain names are registered with GoDaddy.com, LLC and that Respondent is the current registrant of the names. 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 March 16, 2023, Forum served the Complaint and all Annexes, including a Written Notice of the Complaint, setting a deadline of April 5, 2023 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@thelorigreinerclub.com, postmaster@lorigreinerclub.com. Also on March 16, 2023, 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, Forum transmitted to the parties a Notification of Respondent Default. Respondent did however send an email to the Forum, see below.
On April 11, 2023, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, Forum appointed Richard Hill as Panelist.
Having reviewed the communications records, the Administrative Panel (the "Panel") finds that 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, 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 names be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.
A. Complainant
Complainant states it was founded in 1996 by entrepreneur Lori Greiner. Ms. Greiner, the President and CEO of Complainant, has created/invented more than 1000 products and holds over 120 United States and international patents. In 1996, Ms. Lori Greiner invented her first product, a clear plastic jewelry organizer that was sold in J.C. Penny stores and on the Home Shopping Network. That product was an instant success, making over a million dollars in sales. Numerous other on-line stores now carry the LORI GREINER brand products designed by Lori Greiner. Known as “The Warm Blooded Shark” on ABC’s television show Shark Tank, Lori Greiner is widely known and respected as an inventor and entrepreneur. Complainant has rights in the LORI GREINER mark through its registration of the mark in the United States in 2009.
Complainant alleges that the disputed domain names are identical or confusingly similar to its LORI GREINER mark as they incorporate the mark in its entirety and merely add the generic terms “the” and/or “club” and the “.com” generic top-level-domain name ("gTLD").
According to Complainant, Respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain names. Respondent is not commonly known by the disputed domain names, nor has Respondent been authorized by Complainant to use the LORI GREINER mark. Respondent has not used the disputed domain names in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services as Respondent has failed to make active use of the disputed domain names.
Further, says Complainant, Respondent registered and uses the disputed domain names in bad faith. Respondent fails to make active use of the disputed domain names. Respondent had actual knowledge of Complainant’s rights in the LORI GRIENER mark prior to registration of the disputed domain names.
B. Respondent
Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding. In its email to the Forum, Respondent states, in pertinent part: “I have been in touch with Godaddy trying to cancel out that domain name …. I have NOT used the domains in any way at all and NEVER will. Below you will see the correspondence I’m communicating with Godadddy.” In the cited correspondence with Godaddy, Respondent states, in pertinent part: “I have received a letter of dispute from FOURM and they are in dispute of the domain names I purchased being: <theloriegreinerclub.com> and <lorigreinerclub.com> that I bought. They are trying to take legal actions because of trademark issues. I called godaddy and the customer service lady said she could not cancel them due to their (Forum) dispute that's been filed, so please cancel/nullify/void those domains for me and send me confirmation of the cancellations please.”
For the reasons set forth below, the Panel will not make any findings of fact.
Paragraph 4(a) of the Policy requires that Complainant must prove each of the following three elements to obtain an order that a domain name should be cancelled or transferred:
(1) the domain name registered by Respondent is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which Complainant has rights; and
(2) Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; and
(3) the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.
Paragraph 15(a) of the Rules instructs this Panel to "decide a complaint on the basis of the statements and documents submitted in accordance with the Policy, these Rules and any rules and principles of law that it deems applicable."
The Panel interprets Respondent’s email to the Forum as consent to transfer the disputed domain names. Thus, in the present case, the parties have both asked for the domain name to be transferred to the Complainant. In accordance with a general legal principle governing arbitrations as well as national court proceedings, this Panel holds that it cannot act nec ultra petita nec infra petita, that is, that it cannot issue a decision that would be either less than requested, nor more than requested by the parties. 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 Malev Hungarian Airlines, Ltd. v. Vertical Axis Inc., FA 212653 (Forum Jan. 13, 2004); see also 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 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.”).
For the reasons set forth above, the Panel will not analyze this element of the Policy.
For the reasons set forth above, the Panel will not analyze this element of the Policy.
For the reasons set forth above, the Panel will not analyze this element of the Policy.
Given the common request of the Parties, it is Ordered that the <thelorigreinerclub.com> and <lorigreinerclub.com> domain names be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.
Richard Hill, Panelist
Dated: April 11, 2023
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