DECISION

Junior Players Golf Association, Inc. v. James D. Hansen d/b/a IIBS

Claim Number: FA0108000099380

PARTIES

Complainant is Junior Players Golf Association, Inc., Reno, NV (“Complainant”) represented by Kurt A. Franke.  Respondent is James D. Hansen IIBS, Sparks, NV (“Respondent”).

REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAMES 

The domain names at issue are <jpga.com> and <jpga.org>, registered with Network Solutions, Inc.

PANEL

The undersigned certifies that she has acted independently and impartially and to the best of her knowledge, has no known conflict in serving as Panelist in this proceeding.

Sandra Franklin as Panelist.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum (“the Forum”) electronically on August 20, 2001; the Forum received a hard copy of the Complaint on August 20, 2001.

On August 22, 2001, Network Solutions, Inc. confirmed by e-mail to the Forum that the domain names <jpga.com> and <jpga.org> are registered with Network Solutions, Inc. and that the Respondent is the current registrant of the name.  Network Solutions, Inc. has verified that Respondent is bound by the Network Solutions, Inc. 5.0 registration agreement and has thereby agreed to resolve domain-name disputes brought by third parties in accordance with ICANN’s Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the “Policy”).

On August 27, 2001, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the “Commencement Notification”), setting a deadline of September 17, 2001 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@jpga.com, postmaster@jpga.org by e-mail.

A timely response was received and determined to be complete on September 17, 2001.

On October 8, 2001, pursuant to Complainant’s request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the Forum appointed Sandra Franklin as Panelist.

RELIEF SOUGHT

Complainant requests that the domain name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.

PARTIES’ CONTENTIONS

A. Complainant, the Junior Players Golf Association, contends that Respondent was asked to register the domain names, <jpga.com> and <jpga.org>, on behalf of Complainant.  Complainant understood that the charge would be $90 per domain name.  Respondent then tried to charge $60,000 for the registration of three domain names for Complainant.

B. Respondent states that it is in the business of registering domain names for fees, and that it was working with Complainant on one or more projects.  Respondent contends that the domain names <jpga.com> and <jpga.org> could have been used for another business.

FINDINGS

The Panel finds that the Complainant has met all three requirements for having the domain names transferred from Respondent 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 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.

Identical and/or Confusingly Similar

The domain names registered by the Respondent are identical to a trademark and service mark of Complainant.

Rights or Legitimate Interests

Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the domain names, as it never intended to do business under those names, it is not commonly known by the domain names and it is not making any noncommercial fair use of the domain names.  Respondent was asked to register the names for Complainant’s business use.  See Vestel Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret AS v. Kahveci, D2000-1244 (WIPO Nov. 11, 2000) (“…merely registering the domain name is not sufficient to establish rights or legitimate interests for purposes of paragraph 4(a)(ii) of the Policy”).

Registration and Use in Bad Faith

Respondent is holding the domain names in bad faith, having no intention of using the names itself, but instead holding them for the ransom of $60,000.  See Little Six, Inc v. Domain For Sale, FA 96967 (Nat. Arb. Forum Apr. 30, 2001) (finding Respondent's offer to sell the domain name at issue to Complainant was evidence of bad faith).

DECISION

The domain names <jpga.com> and <jpga.org> shall be transferred to Complainant.

Sandra Franklin, Panelist

Dated: October 19, 2001

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