DECISION

Targacept, Inc. v. Personal Use

Claim Number: FA0208000123891

PARTIES

Complainant is Targacept, Inc., Winston-Salem, NC (“Complainant”) represented by Maury M. Tepper, of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC.  Respondent is Personal Use, Mont Clare, PA (“Respondent”).

REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME 

The domain name at issue is <inversine.com>, registered with Bulkregister.com, Inc.

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.

The Honorable Charles K. McCotter, Jr. (Ret.) as Panelist.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum (the “Forum”) electronically on August 27, 2002; the Forum received a hard copy of the Complaint on August 30, 2002.

On August 29, 2002, Bulkregister.com, Inc. confirmed by e-mail to the Forum that the domain name <inversine.com> is registered with Bulkregister.com, Inc. and that Respondent is the current registrant of the name.  Bulkregister.com, Inc. has verified that Respondent is bound by the Bulkregister.com, Inc. 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 30, 2002, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the “Commencement Notification”), setting a deadline of September 19, 2002 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@inversine.com by e-mail.

Having received no Response from Respondent, using the same contact details and methods as were used for the Commencement Notification, the Forum transmitted to the parties a Notification of Respondent Default.

On October 7, 2002, pursuant to Complainant’s request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the Forum appointed the Honorable Charles K. McCotter, Jr. (Ret.) as Panelist.

Having reviewed the communications records, the Administrative Panel (the “Panel”) finds that the 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.”  Therefore, the Panel may issue its decision based on the documents submitted and in accordance with the ICANN Policy, ICANN Rules, the 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

The <inversine.com> domain name is identical to Complainant's INVERSINE mark.

Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name.

Respondent registered and used the disputed domain name in bad faith.

B. Respondent

Respondent did not submit a Response.

FINDINGS

Complainant has used the INVERSINE mark since 1956 in relation to its pharmaceutical product that is a “medicinal preparation for use as a hypotensive agent.”  Complainant has registered the mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office as Registration Number 626,116.  Complainant’s mark is well known in the healthcare industry among healthcare professionals, pharmacists, and patients.

Respondent registered the disputed domain name on June 11, 2002.  Respondent has not constructed a website at the disputed domain name.  Respondent does not have a license from Complainant to use the INVERSINE mark.  When Complainant asked Respondent if it was willing to sell the disputed domain name, Respondent replied that the price for the domain name would start at “the high end of $20,000.”  Respondent also informed Complainant that it had sold other domain names for amounts in excess of $25,000.

DISCUSSION

Paragraph 15(a) of 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.”

In view of Respondent's failure to submit a Response, the Panel shall decide this administrative proceeding on the basis of the Complainant's undisputed representations pursuant to paragraphs 5(e), 14(a) and 15(a) of the Rules and draw such inferences it considers appropriate pursuant to paragraph 14(b) of the Rules.

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 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.

Identical and/or Confusingly Similar

Complainant has established that it has rights in the INVERSINE mark through registration and continuous use.

Respondent’s <inversine.com> domain name is identical to Complainant’s mark because it incorporates Complainant’s entire mark and merely adds the generic top-level domain “.com.”  The addition of “.com” to the end of a domain name is irrelevant when determining whether or not a domain name is identical because the generic top-level domain is a required feature of every domain name.  In fact, without the “.com” or any other generic top-level domain, the domain name would not be a domain name at all.  Therefore, the addition of “.com” does not overcome a Policy ¶ 4(a)(i) identical analysis.  See Pomellato S.p.A v. Tonetti, D2000-0493 (WIPO July 7, 2000) (finding <pomellato.com> identical to Complainant’s mark because the generic top-level domain (gTLD) “.com” after the name POMELLATO is not relevant); see also Entrepreneur Media, Inc. v. Smith, [2002] USCA9 115; 279 F.3d 1135, 1146 (9th Cir. Feb. 11, 2002) (“Internet users searching for a company’s [w]ebsite . . . assume, as a rule of thumb, that the domain name of a particular company will be the company name [or trademark] followed by ‘.com.’”).

The Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(i) has been satisfied.

Rights or Legitimate Interests

Respondent has failed to respond, therefore it is assumed that Respondent lacks rights and legitimate interests in the disputed domain name.  When Complainant asserts a prima facie case against Respondent, the burden of proof shifts to Respondent to show that it has rights or legitimate interests pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii).  See Do The Hustle, LLC v. Tropic Web, D2000-0624 (WIPO Aug. 21, 2000) (finding that once Complainant asserts that Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain, the burden shifts to Respondent to provide credible evidence that substantiates its claim of rights and legitimate interests in the domain name); see also Parfums Christian Dior v. QTR Corp., D2000-0023 (WIPO Mar. 9, 2000) (finding that by not submitting a Response, Respondent has failed to invoke any circumstance which could demonstrate any rights or legitimate interests in the domain name).

Furthermore, because Respondent has not submitted a Response, it is appropriate for the Panel to accept all reasonable allegations and inferences in the Complaint as true.  See Vertical Solutions Mgmt., Inc. v. webnet-marketing, inc., FA 95095 (Nat. Arb. Forum July 31, 2000) (failure to respond allows all reasonable inferences of fact in the allegations of Complainant to be deemed true); see also Charles Jourdan Holding AG v. AAIM, D2000-0403 (WIPO June 27, 2000) (finding it appropriate for the Panel to draw adverse inferences from Respondent’s failure to reply to the Complaint).

Respondent has made no use of the disputed domain name other than to offer it to Complainant for a price in excess of $20,000.  Respondent has not created a website at <inversine.com>, and based on the price offered to Complainant, Respondent knows that use of the domain name would be very valuable to Complainant.  Therefore, it can be inferred that Respondent registered the disputed domain name with the intent to sell its rights to Complainant.  If Respondent’s only use of a domain name is to sell the registration, or attempt to sell it to Complainant, Respondent is not considered to be using the domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c)(i), or a legitimate, noncommercial or fair use pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c)(iii).  See J. Paul Getty Trust v. Domain 4 Sale & Co., FA 95262 (Nat. Arb. Forum Sept. 7, 2000) (finding rights or legitimate interests do not exist when one has made no use of the websites that are located at the domain names at issue, other than to sell the domain names for profit); see also Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Stork, D2000-0628 (WIPO Aug. 11, 2000) (finding Respondent’s conduct purporting to sell the domain name suggests it has no legitimate use).

Furthermore, Respondent has not come forward with a Response, or any evidence suggesting that it is commonly known as <inversine.com> or INVERSINE.  Therefore, Respondent has failed to establish that it has rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii).  See Gallup Inc. v. Amish Country Store, FA 96209 (Nat. Arb. Forum Jan. 23, 2001) (finding that Respondent does not have rights in a domain name when Respondent is not known by the mark); see also Compagnie de Saint Gobain v. Com-Union Corp., D2000-0020 (WIPO Mar. 14, 2000) (finding no rights or legitimate interest where Respondent was not commonly known by the mark and never applied for a license or permission from Complainant to use the trademarked name).

The Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii) has been satisfied.

Registration and Use in Bad Faith

Based on the fact that Respondent has made no use of the disputed domain name and has offered it for sale to Complainant in excess of $20,000, it can be inferred that Respondent registered the disputed domain name with the intent of selling its rights to Complainant.  Registration of a domain name primarily for sale, rent, or transfer is evidence of bad faith use and registration pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(i).  See Matmut v. Tweed, D2000-1183 (WIPO Nov. 27, 2000) (finding bad faith under Policy paragraph 4(b)(i) where Respondent stated in communication with Complainant, “if you are interested in buying this domain name, we would be ready to sell it for $10,000”); see also Wembley Nat’l Stadium Ltd. v. Thomson, D2000-1233 (WIPO Nov. 16, 2000) (finding bad faith based on the apparent willingness of Respondent to sell the domain name in issue from the outset, albeit not at a price reflecting only the costs of registering and maintaining the name).

Furthermore, based on the fact that Complainant’s INVERSINE mark is fanciful, and has been used exclusively by Complainant since 1956 in relation to its pharmaceutical product, Respondent’s registration of <inversine.com>, taken in conjunction with its offer of sale to Complainant, can only be viewed as an opportunistic attempt to monetarily benefit in some way from the use of Complainant’s mark.  Policy paragraph 4(b) is not an exhaustive list of all forms of bad faith use and registration, other forms of bad faith behavior do exist.  Respondent’s opportunistic registration of a domain name identical to Complainant’s mark in this instance, is one of these situations.  Based on the totality of circumstances it can be inferred that Respondent’s behavior is evidence of bad faith registration and use.  See Home Interiors & Gifts, Inc. v. Home Interiors, D2000-0010 (WIPO Mar. 7, 2000) (“[J]ust because Respondent’s conduct does not fall within the ‘particular’ circumstances set out in ¶4(b), does not mean that the domain names at issue were not registered in and are not being used in bad faith”); see also Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. v. Risser, FA 93761 (Nat. Arb. Forum May 18, 2000) (finding that in determining if a domain name has been registered in bad faith, the Panel must look at the “totality of circumstances”).

The Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii) has been satisfied.

DECISION

Having established all three elements required under the ICANN Policy, the Panel concludes that the requested relief shall be hereby granted.

Accordingly, it is Ordered that the domain name <inversine.com> be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.

The Honorable Charles K. McCotter, Jr. (Ret.), Panelist

Dated: October 14, 2002

---

WorldLII: Copyright Policy | Disclaimers | Privacy Policy | Feedback
URL: http://www.worldlii.org/int/other/GENDND/2002/1443.html