DECISION

 

American Academy of Dermatology v. AAD Meeting

Claim Number: FA2602002205879

 

PARTIES

Complainant is American Academy of Dermatology ("Complainant"), United States, represented by Melissa A. Vallone of Barnes & Thornburg LLP, United States. Respondent is AAD Meeting ("Respondent"), United Kingdom.

 

REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME

The domain name at issue is <aadmeeting.org>, registered with GoDaddy.com, LLC.

 

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.

 

David E. Sorkin as Panelist.

 

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Complainant submitted a Complaint to Forum electronically on February 17, 2026; Forum received payment on February 17, 2026.

 

On February 18, 2026, GoDaddy.com, LLC confirmed by email to Forum that the <aadmeeting.org> 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 February 19, 2026, Forum served the Complaint and all Annexes, including a Written Notice of the Complaint, setting a deadline of March 11, 2026 by which Respondent could file a Response to the Complaint, via email to all entities and persons listed on Respondent's registration as technical, administrative, and billing contacts, and to postmaster@aadmeeting.org. Also on February 19, 2026, the Written Notice of the Complaint, notifying Respondent of the email 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.

 

On March 12, 2026, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, Forum appointed David E. Sorkin 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 name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.

 

PARTIES' CONTENTIONS

A. Complainant

Complainant is an association with a membership of more than 21,000 physicians worldwide. Complainant has used the marks AMERICAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY and AAD in connection with its services since at least as early as 1957. Complainant asserts common law rights in these marks arising from longstanding use and promotion. Complainant also owns United States trademark registrations for AMERICAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY in standard character form and for a design mark composed of the letters AAD surrounded by a circle of round dots.

 

The disputed domain name <aadmeeting.org> was registered in February 2026. The name is registered in the name of a privacy registration service on behalf of Respondent. The domain name is being used for a website composed of pay-per-click links. In addition, individuals seeking to register for Complainant's upcoming annual meeting have reported receiving email messages that use the disputed domain name to impersonate Complainant in an effort to obtain private information and payments. Complainant states that Respondent is not commonly known by the domain name, is not associated with Complainant, and is not authorized to use Complainant's marks.

 

Complainant contends on the above grounds that the disputed domain name <aadmeeting.org> is confusingly similar to its AMERICAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY and AAD marks; that Respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name; and that the disputed domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith.

 

B. Respondent

Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding.

 

FINDINGS

The Panel finds that the disputed domain name is confusingly similar to a mark in which Complainant has rights; that Respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name; and that the disputed domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith.

 

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 Overview of WIPO Panel Views on Select UDRP Questions, § 4.3 (version 3.1, 2026), available at https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/overview; UDRP Perspectives on Recent Jurisprudence, §§ 0.2, 0.8 (updated June 2, 2025), available at https://udrpperspectives.org/; see also eGalaxy Multimedia Inc. v. ON HOLD By Owner Ready To Expire, FA 157287 (Forum June 26, 2003) (dismissing complaint where complainant failed to "produce clear evidence to support its subjective allegations").

 

Identical and/or Confusingly Similar

As this Panel noted in a previous proceeding involving the same Complainant, a similar domain name, and what the Panel suspects may be the same Respondent under another alias, Complainant owns trademark registrations for an AAD design mark and has provided evidence of common law rights in AAD. See American Academy of Dermatology v. AAD Conference, FA 2196160 (Forum Jan. 21, 2026) (finding <aadmeetings.org> confusingly similar to AAD). The disputed domain name in this proceeding, <aadmeeting.org>, adds the generic term "meeting" and the ".org" top-level domain to Complainant's AAD mark, and the Panel considers it to be confusingly similar to that mark.

 

Rights or Legitimate Interests

For substantially the same reasons as those set forth in American Academy of Dermatology v. AAD Conference, FA 2196160, supra, the Panel finds that Respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name.

 

Registration and Use in Bad Faith

The Panel notes that the underlying registration information for Respondent supplied by the registrar appears to be at least partially invalid; that the disputed domain name was used in connection with fraudulent activity similar or identical to that described in American Academy of Dermatology v. AAD Conference, FA 2196160, supra; and that the domain name was registered shortly after the decision in that proceeding was released. For substantially the same reasons as those set forth in that decision, the Panel finds that Respondent registered and is using the disputed domain name in bad faith.

 

DECISION

Having considered the three elements required under the ICANN Policy, the Panel concludes that relief shall be GRANTED.

 

Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <aadmeeting.org> domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.

 

 

 

David E. Sorkin, Panelist

Dated: March 12, 2026