DECISION

 

Paul Mulholland v. Tony Castro / Tony S. Castro / Tony Castro Inc / Registration Private / Domains By Proxy, LLC

Claim Number: FA2601002200233

 

PARTIES

Complainant is Paul Mulholland ("Complainant"), represented by Roberto Ledesma of Lewis & Lin, LLC, New York, USA. Respondent is Tony Castro / Tony S. Castro / Tony Castro Inc / Registration Private / Domains By Proxy, LLC ("Respondent"), Wisconsin, USA.

 

REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAMES 

The domain names at issue are <paulmulholland.com>, <paulmulholland.net>, <paulmulholland.org>, <paulmulholland.biz>, <paulmulholland.info>, <paulm989medium.com>, <paulmulhollandfacialabuse.com> and <paulmulhollandjournalist.com> (the "Domain Names"), registered with CNOBIN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LIMITED.

 

PANEL

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.

 

Alan L. Limbury, as Panelist.

 

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Complainant submitted a Complaint to Forum electronically on January 16, 2026. Forum received payment on January 16, 2026.

 

On January 20, 2026, CNOBIN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LIMITED confirmed by e-mail to Forum that the Domain Names are registered with CNOBIN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LIMITED and that Respondent is the current registrant of the names. CNOBIN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LIMITED has verified that Respondent is bound by the CNOBIN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LIMITED 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 January 26, 2026, Forum served the Complaint and all Annexes, including a Written Notice of the Complaint, setting a deadline of February 17, 2026 by which Respondent could file a Response to the Complaint, via e-mail to all entities and persons listed on Respondent's registrations as technical, administrative, and billing contacts, and to postmaster@paulmulholland.com, postmaster@paulmulholland.net, postmaster@paulmulholland.org, postmaster@paulmulholland.biz, postmaster@paulmulholland.info, postmaster@paulm989medium.com, postmaster@paulmulhollandfacialabuse.com, and postmaster@paulmulhollandjournalist.com. Also on January 26, 2026, 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 registrations as technical, administrative and billing contacts.

 

Having received no response from Respondent, Forum transmitted to the parties a Notification of Respondent Default.

 

On February 18, 2026, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, Forum appointed Alan L. Limbury 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.

 

RELIEF SOUGHT

Complainant requests that the Domain Names be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.

 

PRELIMINARY ISSUE: MULTIPLE RESPONDENTS

Paragraph 3(c) of the Rules provides that a "complaint may relate to more than one domain name, provided that the domain names are registered by the same domain name holder". Paragraph 1(d) of Forum's Supplemental Rules defines "The Holder of a domain name Registration" as "the single person or entity listed in the registration information, as verified by the Registrar, at the time of commencement" and sub-paragraph 1(d)(i) provides that a Complainant wishing to make an argument for a single Respondent having multiple aliases must comply with Supplemental Rules 4(c) and 17(a)(i).

 

Complainant has shown that the Domain Names are effectively controlled by the same person and/or entity, which is operating under several aliases.

 

Hence this decision refers to Tony Castro / Tony S. Castro / Tony Castro Inc / Registration Private / Domains By Proxy, LLC as "Respondent". 

 

PARTIES' CONTENTIONS

A. Complainant

Complainant, Paul Mulholland, says he is a highly regarded reporter, writer and journalist. He has written extensively on various subjects in numerous fields. He is the owner of common law trademark rights in the name PAUL MULHOLLAND and has used his personal name extensively as a reporter, writer, blogger, videographer and journalist since at least as early as 2017. He posts many of his freelance articles on his "Medium" website at https://paulm989.medium.com/.

 

Complainant states that, in 2021, he began investigating D&E Media, LLC, a pornography studio based in New Jersey. The eventual article exposed how the company ignores female performer consent withdrawals, injures its female models, and harasses and intimidates its critics. During the course of his reporting in 2022, a director at D&E Media, whom Complainant interviewed for his article about the company's practices, published (or "doxxed") Complainant's mother's street address as well as her first name and that of his sister on an adult content forum. This was done in order to harass and intimidate Complainant from writing and publishing an article about the company.

 

Directors and/or agents of D&E Media, who are the Respondent in this proceeding, then registered the <paulmulholland.com>, <paulmulholland.net>, <paulmulholland.org>, <paulmulholland.biz> and <paulmulholland.info> domain names in April, 2022 and used them to post false and defamatory information about Complainant in an effort to damage his credibility and discourage potential sources from speaking with him for his article, which was eventually published on July 5, 2023.

 

In February 2025, Respondent registered the domain name <paulm989medium.com>, which mimics the URL for Complainant's account on Medium at <paulm989.medium.com>, where Complainant's article about D&E Media is published and viewable. Respondent has effectively copied Complainant's URL in a domain name to steer potential visitors away from Complainant's article to a website that instead smears Complainant.

 

In April 2025, Respondent registered the domain name <paulmulhollandjournalist.com>, which merely adds "journalist" to the PAUL MULHOLLAND mark, and in May 2025, Respondent registered <paulmulhollandfacialabuse.com>. "Facial Abuse" is the D&E Media brand that is the subject of Complainant's article.

 

The Domain Names are identical and confusingly similar to the PAUL MULHOLLAND mark and Complainant's personal name.

 

Respondent should be considered to have no rights or legitimate interests in the Domain Names. Respondent was not commonly known by the Domain Names; is not licensed or authorized to register or use a domain name incorporating Complainant's name and mark; has not used the Domain Names in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services; and has not made legitimate noncommercial or fair use of the Domain Names.

 

Instead, Respondent is using the Domain Names to impersonate Complainant and to try to discredit Complainant's journalism and damage his reputation by diverting traffic to purported gripe sites containing the PAUL MULHOLLAND name and mark along with images of Complainant with false and defamatory content. As is evident in the text and images appearing on the websites at the Domain Names, and the fact that Complainant was investigating Respondent before the Domain Names were registered, Respondent registered the Domain Names aware of Complainant's name and trademark. 

 

The purchase and use of the Domain Names in the face of Complainant's name and mark, and after Complainant began investigating Respondent over its alleged dehumanizing and abusive treatment of women, should be considered to have been registered and used in bad faith because Respondent deliberately targeted Complainant's name and mark, diverting users from seeking information about Complainant to Respondent's websites, in order to tarnish and damage Complainant and his reputation and professional activities.

 

B. Respondent

Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding.

 

FINDINGS

Complainant has established all the elements entitling it to relief.

 

DISCUSSION

Paragraph 15(a) of the Rules instructs this Panel to "decide a complaint on the basis of the statements and documents submitted and in accordance with the Policy, these Rules and any rules and principles of law that it deems applicable."

 

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.

 

In view of Respondent's failure to submit a response, the Panel shall decide this administrative proceeding on the basis of Complainant's undisputed representations pursuant to paragraphs 5(f), 14(a) and 15(a) of the Rules and draw such inferences it considers appropriate pursuant to paragraph 14(b) of the Rules.  The Panel is entitled to accept all reasonable allegations set forth in a complaint; however, the Panel may deny relief where a complaint contains mere conclusory or unsubstantiated arguments. See WIPO Jurisprudential Overview 3.0 at ¶ 4.3; see also eGalaxy Multimedia Inc. v. ON HOLD By Owner Ready To Expire, FA 157287 (Forum June 26, 2003) ("Because Complainant did not produce clear evidence to support its subjective allegations [. . .] the Panel finds it appropriate to dismiss the Complaint").

 

Identical and/or Confusingly Similar

It is well accepted that the first element functions primarily as a standing requirement. The standing (or threshold) test for confusing similarity involves a reasoned but relatively straightforward comparison between the complainant's trademark and the disputed domain name. WIPO Overview of WIPO Panel Views on Selected UDRP Questions, Third Edition, ("WIPO Overview 3.1"), section 1.7.

 

The UDRP does not explicitly provide standing for personal names which are not registered or otherwise protected as trademarks. In situations however where a personal name is being used as a trademark-like identifier in trade or commerce, the complainant may be able to establish unregistered or common law rights in that name for purposes of standing to file a UDRP case where the name in question is used in commerce as a distinctive identifier of the complainant's goods or services. WIPO Overview 3.1, section 1.5.2.

 

It has long been recognized in cases under the Policy that unregistered trademark rights may be established for Policy purposes in a personal name by a successful author publishing books under such name. See, for

example, Dr. Michael Crichton v. In Stealth Mode, WIPO Case No. D2002-0874.

 

Here, Complainant has shown that, through extensive use and public recognition in the United States since 2017, he has acquired common law rights in his personal name PAUL MULHOLLAND in the field of journalism. 

 

The Panel finds Respondent's <paulmulholland.com>, <paulmulholland.net>, <paulmulholland.org>, <paulmulholland.biz> and <paulmulholland.info> domain names to be identical to Complainant's PAUL MULHOLLAND mark because the inconsequential ".com", ".net", "org", "biz" and "info" generic top-level domains ("gTLDs") may be ignored under this element. See Rollerblade, Inc. v. Chris McCrady, D2000-0429 (WIPO June 25, 2000).

 

The Panel finds Respondent's <paulm989medium.com> domain name to be confusingly similar to Complainant's PAUL MULHOLLAND mark, only differing by the use of the abbreviation of the mark "paulm" and the addition of the number "989" and the word "medium"; and finds Respondent's <paulmulhollandfacialabuse.com> and <paulmulhollandjournalist.com> domain names to be confusingly similar to Complainant's mark, only differing by the addition of the dictionary words "facial abuse" and "journalist". The differences are insufficient to distinguish those three  domain names from Complainant's mark.

 

Complainant has established this element.

 

Rights or Legitimate Interests

Paragraph 4(c) of the Policy provides that any of the following circumstances, in particular but without limitation, if found by the Panel to be proved based on its evaluation of all evidence presented, shall demonstrate Respondent's rights or legitimate interests to a domain name for purposes of Paragraph 4(a)(ii):

 

(i)                      before any notice to Respondent of the dispute, the use by Respondent of, or demonstrable preparations to use, the domain name or a name corresponding to the domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services; or

 

(ii)                      Respondent (as an individual, business or other organization) has been commonly known by the domain name, even if Respondent has acquired no trademark or service mark rights; or

 

(iii)        Respondent is making a legitimate noncommercial or fair use of the domain name, without intent for commercial gain to misleadingly divert customers or to tarnish the trademark or service mark at issue.

 

The domain names <paulmulholland.com>, <paulmulholland.net>, <paulmulholland.org>, <paulmulholland.biz> and <paulmulholland.info> were registered on April 23, 2022;   <paulm989medium.com> on February 20, 2025; <paulmulhollandjournalist.com> on April 7, 2025 and <paulmulhollandfacialabuse.com> on May 2, 2025. All the Domain Names were registered long after Complainant has shown that he had acquired common law rights in the PAUL MULHOLLAND mark. They resolve to websites containing the PAUL MULHOLLAND name and mark, images of Complainant and content defamatory of Complainant.

 

These circumstances, together with Complainant's assertions, are sufficient to constitute a prima facie showing of absence of rights or legitimate interests in respect of the Domain Names on the part of Respondent. The evidentiary burden therefore shifts to Respondent to show that it does have rights or legitimate interests in the Domain Names. See JUUL Labs, Inc. v. Dryx Emerson / KMF Events LTD, FA 1849706 (Forum July 17, 2019). Respondent has made no attempt to do so.

 

The Panel finds that Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the Domain Names.

 

Complainant has established this element.

 

Registration and Use in Bad Faith

Paragraph 4(b) of the Policy sets out some circumstances which shall be evidence of the registration and use of a domain name in bad faith for purposes of paragraph 4(a)(iii) of the Policy. As noted in the WIPO Overview 3.1, Section 3.1, those circumstances are not exclusive and a complainant may demonstrate bad faith under paragraph 4(a)(iii) by showing that a respondent seeks to take unfair advantage of, abuse, or otherwise engage in behavior detrimental to the complainant's trademark.

 

The circumstances set out above in relation to the second element satisfy the Panel that Respondent was fully aware of Complainant, his  PAUL MULHOLLAND mark and <paulm989.medium.com> domain name when Respondent registered the Domain Names and that Respondent has used the Domain Names to target and abuse Complainant's mark by hosting defamatory content about Complainant.

 

Complainant has established this element.

 

DECISION

Complainant having established all three elements required under the ICANN Policy, the Panel concludes that relief shall be GRANTED.

 

Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <paulmulholland.com>, <paulmulholland.net>, <paulmulholland.org>, <paulmulholland.biz>, <paulmulholland.info>, <paulm989medium.com>, <paulmulhollandfacialabuse.com> and <paulmulhollandjournalist.com> Domain Names be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.

 

 

 

Alan L. Limbury, Panelist

Dated: February 25, 2026