Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc. v. Internet Revenue
Services, Inc.
Claim Number: FA0606000740324
PARTIES
Complainant is Pulitzer Newspapers, Inc. (“Complainant”), represented by Dana M. Craig of Lane & Waterman, LLP, 224 18th Street, Suite 500, Rock Island, IL, 61201. Respondent is Internet Revenue Services, Inc. (“Respondent”), represented by Robert C. Faber of Ostrolenk, Faber, Gerb & Soffen, LLP, 1180 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY, 10036.
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME
The domain name at issue is <flagstafflives.com>,
registered with Moniker Online Services,
Inc.
PANEL
The undersigned certifies that she has acted independently and
impartially and that to the best of his or her knowledge has no known conflict
in serving as Panelist in this proceeding. Hon. Carolyn Marks Johnson sits as
Panelist.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum
electronically June 27, 2006; the National Arbitration Forum received a hard
copy of the Complaint June 29, 2006.
On July 10, 2006, Moniker Online Services, Inc. confirmed by e-mail to
the National Arbitration Forum that the <flagstafflives.com>
domain name is registered with Moniker Online Services, Inc. and that the
Respondent is the current registrant of the name. Moniker Online Services, Inc. verified that Respondent is bound
by the Moniker Online Services, Inc. registration agreement and thereby has
agreed to resolve domain-name disputes brought by third parties in accordance
with ICANN’s Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the “Policy”).
On July 13, 2006, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of
Administrative Proceeding (the “Commencement Notification”), setting a deadline
of August 2, 2006, by which Respondent could file a Response to the Complaint,
was transmitted to Respondent via e-mail, post and fax, to all entities and
persons listed on Respondent’s registration as technical, administrative and
billing contacts, and to postmaster@flagstafflives.com by e-mail.
A timely Response was received and determined to be complete on August
2, 2006.
On August 7, 2006, pursuant to Complainant’s
request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the National
Arbitration Forum appointed Hon. Carolyn Marks Johnson as Panelist.
RELIEF SOUGHT
Complainant requests that the domain name be transferred from
Respondent to Complainant.
PARTIES’ CONTENTIONS
A. Complainant makes the following allegations
in this proceeding :
1.
Respondent
registered a domain name, <flagstafflives.com> that is identical to or
confusingly similar to a mark in which Complainant has protected rights.
2.
Respondent has
no rights to or legitimate interests in the domain name that contains
Complainant’s protected mark.
3.
Respondent
acted in bad faith in registering and holding the domain name in issue and in
transferring it to Respondent.
B. Respondent makes the following points in
response:
1.
Respondent does
not address the issue of confusing similarity.
2.
Respondent
concedes that it “does not now and never has claimed” rights to or legitimate
interests in the domain name in issue.
3.
Respondent
received the domain name registration without consent of Respondent.
4.
Respondent
consents to the transfer the domain name to Complainant.
DISCUSSION
Paragraph 15(a) of the Rules for Uniform Domain
Name Dispute Resolution Policy (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.”
Paragraph 4(a) of the Policy requires Complainant to 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 the Respondent is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark
or service mark in which the Complainant has rights;
(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.
FINDINGS
Complainant
made an offer of extrinsic evidence in this proceeding in order to satisfy the
burden of proof. It is not necessary
for the Panel to determine if Complainant’s showing satisfied Complainant’s
burden in view of Respondent’s consent to the transfer.
Respondent
provided a Response asserting that it is not the owner of the domain name and
has no interest in the domain name.
Respondent also claims that the domain name registration for the
disputed domain name was transferred to Respondent without Respondent’s
consent, and Respondent has no control over the domain name.
Respondent does not contest any of
Complainant’s allegations regarding the <flagstafflives.com> domain name.
The Panel finds that in a circumstance such as this, where Respondent has admitted that it does not have a present or future interest in the disputed domain name and has not contested Complainant’s assertions, that Respondent’s consent to transfer of the disputed domain name negates the need to make a traditional UDRP analysis.
The Panel finds that the domain
name should be transferred. See
Boehringer Ingelheim Int’l GmbH v. Modern Ltd. – Cayman Web Dev., FA 133625
(Nat. Arb. 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 (Nat Arb. 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 (Nat. Arb. 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.”).
DECISION
It is therefore ORDERED that relief shall be GRANTED.
Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <flagstafflives.com>
domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.
Hon. Carolyn Marks Johnson, Panelist
Dated: August 21, 2006.
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