Generic Top Level Domain Name (gTLD) Decisions

The Complainant is Dollar Financial Group, Inc., Berwyn, PA, USA ("Complainant"). The Respondent is The Diapers, La Jolla, CA, USA ("Respondent").

The domain names at issue are "euroloanmart.com" and "euloanmart.com", registered with Tucows.com, Inc.

The Panelist 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 the panelist in this proceeding.

Honorable Paul A. Dorf (Ret.) as Panelist.

Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum ("The Forum") electronically on 08/16/2000; The Forum received a hard copy of the Complaint on 8/15/2000.

On 8/17/2000, Tucows.com, Inc. confirmed by e-mail to The Forum that the domain name(s) " euroloanmart.com" and "euloanmart.com" are registered with Tucows.com, Inc. and that the Respondent is the current registrant of the names.

On 08/23/2000, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the "Commencement Notification"), setting a deadline of 9/12/2000 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@euroloanmart.com and postmaster@euloanmart.com by e-mail.

On September 15, 2000 pursuant to Complainant’s request to have the dispute decided by a Single Member panel, The Forum appointed Honorable Paul A. Dorf (Ret.) as Panelist.

The Complainant requests that the domain name(s) be transferred from the Respondent to the Complainant.

A. Complainant

Complainant contends that Respondent ‘s second-level domain names EUROLOANMART.COM and EU-LOANMART.COM are confusingly similar to Complainant’s registered service mark and confusingly similar to Complainant’s own registered domain names which incorporate said mark. The Complainant also contends that the Respondent has no legitimate interest in the domain names and registered same in bad faith.

B. Respondent

Respondent contends that the domain names are not confusingly similar to the Complainant’s registered service mark. Respondent also contends that he has spent thousands of dollars and four years looking for the perfect European Loan domain names for its future ebusiness websites. Further, Respondent states that the domain names were not registered in bad faith.

Complainant has been continuously using the mark LOAN MART® in interstate commerce since 1997. The Complainant's mark was granted registration by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on September 29, 1998 under serial number 75/342,261 and registration number 2,192,247, for consumer lending services.

The Complainant has spent millions of dollars advertising its consumer financial services. Complainant offers its services through its stores bearing the LOAN MART® mark, as well as online at its various websites including those incorporating the mark that is the subject of this Complainant.

Complainant has significant operations in Europe and in the European Union, creating the likelihood of confusion with an Internet domain that offers to provide LOAN MART® services in Europe or the European Union.

Paragraph 4(a) of the ICANN Uniform Domain Name Dispute Policy ("Policy") requires that the 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 the Respondent is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the Complainant has rights;

(2) the 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.

The Complainant's registered service mark LOAN MART® and its domain names loanmart.org and loanmart.net are confusingly similar to the domain name registered by the Respondent. The Respondent merely added an "E" in front of the mark and inserted a hyphen (-) between the words "loan" and "mart", which leaves the Complainant’s mark the main focus of the domain name. See Quixtar Investments, Inc. v. Smithberger and QUIXTAR-IBO, D2000-0138 (WIPO Apr. 19, 2000) (finding that because the domain name <quixtar-sign-up.com> incorporates in its entirety the Complainant’s distinctive mark, <QUIXTAR>, the domain name is confusingly similar).

The Respondent is not generally known by the mark "ELOAN-MART", has made no commercial use of the mark, and has sold no goods or services under the mark . Claimant conducted an extensive search and discovered no evidence of the use of the mark by Respondent in any trade or business. Further, the Respondent is not in any way connected to the Complainant ans has no authorization to use its registered mark. See The Caravan Club v. Mrgsale, FA 95314 (Nat. Arb. Forum Aug. 30, 2000) (finding that the Respondent had no rights or legitimate interests in the domain name).

The Respondent should have been aware of complainant’s registered service mark and could have ascertained the status of such mark from a trademark search. See Deutsche Bank AG v. Diego-Arturo Bruckner, D2000-0277 (WIPO May 30, 2000) (holding that the Respondent should have known of the Complainant’s marks at the time of registration given the widespread use and fame of the Complainant’s "Deutsche Bank" mark).

The Respondent has not developed the website at the domain names since their registration in June, 2000. See Telstra Corp. v. Nuclear Marshmallows, D2000-0003 (WIPO Feb. 18, 2000) ("[I]t is possible, in certain circumstances, for inactivity by the Respondent to amount to the domain name being used in bad faith").

Finally, the Respondent has offered both domain names for sale at "Great Domains" a website that offers domain names for sale at auction. See The Step2 Co. v. Softastic.com Corp., D2000-0393 (WIPO June 26, 2000) (finding that the Respondent’s attempt to sell the domain name in question on <greatdomains.com>, a domain name auction site, for $100,000 constitutes bad faith).

As all three elements required by the ICANN Policy Rule 4(a) have been satisfied, it is the decision of this panelist that the requested relief be granted. Accordingly, for all of the foregoing reasons, it is ordered that the domain names EUROLOANMART.COM AND EULOANMART.COM be transferred from the Respondent to the Complainant.