DECISION

Albertson's, Inc. v. Ginsberg and Associates

Claim Number: FA0203000108062

PARTIES

Complainant is Albertson's Inc., Boise, ID (“Complainant”) represented by David J. Steele, of Christie, Parker & Hale LLP.  Respondent is Ginsberg and Associates, West Hills, CA (“Respondent”).

REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME 

The domain name at issue is <savoninsurance.com>, registered with Network Solutions, 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 March 28, 2002; the Forum received a hard copy of the Complaint on April 1, 2002.

On April 2, 2002, Network Solutions, Inc. confirmed by e-mail to the Forum that the domain name <savoninsurance.com> is registered with Network Solutions, Inc. and that Respondent is the current registrant of the name.  Network Solutions, Inc. has verified that Respondent is bound by the Network Solutions, 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 April 2, 2002, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the “Commencement Notification”), setting a deadline of April 22, 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@savoninsurance.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 May 2, 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

1. The disputed domain name <savoninsurance.com> is confusingly similar to Complainant common law SAV-ON mark.

2. Because Respondent has not made an active use of the website in connection with the disputed domain name and since Respondent is not commonly known as <savoninsurance.com>, Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests to the disputed domain name.

3. Respondent’s constructive knowledge that Complainant held rights to the SAV-ON mark and Respondent’s passive use of the disputed domain name are evidence that Respondent has registered and used <savoninsurance.com> in bad faith.

B. Respondent

No Response was submitted.

FINDINGS

Complainant and its predecessors have been using the SAV-ON mark continuously for more than fifty-five years, for its drug stores and pharmacies.  Complainant is closely connected with the health care and health insurance industries.  As a result of this extensive use, it has generated tremendous goodwill and grown to almost 800 stores, including at least 15 stores within ten miles of Respondent’s home of West Hills, California.  Complainant is also the registrant of the domain names <savon.com>, <sav‑ondrugs.com>, <savonhealth.com>, and <savonhealthinsurace.com>, whose web sites provide further details on the goods and services offered by SAV-ON drug stores.

Respondent registered <savoninsurance.com> April 6, 1999.  Complainant has not authorized Respondent to use its SAV-ON trademark.  According to the Complaint, Respondent has not made an active use of the website associated with the disputed domain name.

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 the Respondent is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the Complainant has rights; and

(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

By using the SAV-ON mark for the past fifty-five years, and by using the mark in connection with around 800 stores in the United States, Complainant has established its rights to the SAV-ON mark.  It has been held that when a party can establish that it has been using the mark for a long period of time in connection with its business, registration is not necessary to establish that it has rights to the mark.  See British Broadcasting Corp. v. Renteria, D2000-0050 (WIPO Mar. 23, 2000) (noting that the UDRP “does not distinguish between registered and unregistered trademarks and service marks in the context of abusive registration of domain names” and applying the UDRP to “unregistered trademarks and service marks”); see also Sunkist Growers, Inc. v. S G & Delmonte-Asia.com, D2001-0432 (WIPO May 22, 2001) (finding that the domain names <sunkistgrowers.org> and <sunkistgrowers.net> are identical to Complainant’s common law SUNKIST GROWERS mark); see also Down East Enter. Inc. v. Countywide Communications, FA 96613 (Nat. Arb. Forum Apr. 5, 2001) (finding the domain name <downeastmagazine.com> confusingly similar to Complainant’s common law mark DOWN EAST, THE MAGAZINE OF MAINE).

The disputed domain <savoninsurance.com> is confusingly similar to Complainant’s SAV-ON mark.  First, the omission of the hyphen in the disputed domain name does not distinguish the domain name from the mark.  See Nat’l Cable Satellite Corp. v. Black Sun Surf Co., FA 94738  (Nat. Arb. Forum June 19, 2000) (holding that the domain name <cspan.net>, which omitted the hyphen from the trademark spelling, C-SPAN, is confusingly similar to Complainant's mark); see also Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. v. Club Car Executive, D2000-0611 (WIPO Sept. 18, 2000) (finding that removing a hyphen in the domain names is not sufficient to differentiate the domain names from the mark).  Second, the dominate term in the disputed domain name is “savon” and the addition of the generic term “insurance” does not create the distinction necessary to overcome the confusing similarity between the disputed domain name and Complainant’s mark.  See Arthur Guinness Son & Co. (Dublin) Ltd.  v. Healy/BOSTH, D2001-0026 (WIPO Mar. 23, 2001) (finding confusing similarity where the domain name in dispute contains the identical mark of the Complainant combined with a generic word or term); see also Sony Kabushiki Kaisha v. Inja, Kil, D2000-1409 (WIPO Dec. 9, 2000) (finding that “[n]either the addition of an ordinary descriptive word…nor the suffix ‘.com’ detract from the overall impression of the dominant part of the name in each case, namely the trademark SONY” and thus Policy ¶ 4(a)(i) is satisfied).  Finally, since Complainant’s SAV-ON mark is closely connected with the health insurance industry, the confusing similarity between the mark and the disputed domain name becomes even more apparent.  See Marriott Int’l v. Café au lait, FA 93670, (Nat. Arb. Forum Mar. 13, 2000) (finding that the Respondent’s domain name <marriott-hotel.com> is confusingly similar to Complainant’s MARRIOTT mark); see also Space Imaging LLC v. Brownwell, AF-0298 (eResolution Sept. 22, 2000) (finding confusing similarity where the Respondent’s domain name combines the Complainant’s mark with a generic term that has an obvious relationship to the Complainant’s business)

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

Rights or Legitimate Interests

Respondent has not filed a Response.  Thus, the Panel presumes that Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in <savoninsurance.com>.  See Pavillion Agency, Inc. v. Greenhouse Agency Ltd., D2000-1221 (WIPO Dec. 4, 2000) (finding that Respondents’ failure to respond can be construed as an admission that they have no legitimate interest in the domain names).  Because a Response was not filed, the Panel presumes that all allegations in the Complaint are true.  See Talk City, Inc. v. Robertson, D2000-0009 (WIPO Feb. 29, 2000) (“In the absence of a response, it is appropriate to accept as true all allegations of the Complaint”).

Respondent has registered a domain name that is confusingly similar to Complainant’s mark.  According to Complainant, Respondent has not made an actual use of the disputed domain name.  Therefore, the Panel finds that Respondent has not made a bona fide offering of goods and services in connection with the disputed domain name pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c)(i).  See Pharmacia & Upjohn AB v. Romero, D2000-1273 (WIPO Nov. 13, 2000) (finding no rights or legitimate interests where Respondent failed to submit a Response to the Complaint and had made no use of the domain name in question); see also Vestel Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret AS v. Mehmet Kahveci, D2000-1244 (WIPO Nov. 11, 2000) (finding that “…merely registering the domain name is not sufficient to establish rights or legitimate interests for purposes of paragraph 4(a)(ii) of the Policy”).

According to the evidence presented, Respondent is not commonly known as <savoninsurance.com> and thus does not have a right ior legitimate interest in the disputed domain name pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii).  See 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); see also Hartford Fire Ins. Co. v. Webdeal.com, Inc., FA 95162 (Nat. Arb. Forum Aug. 29, 2000) (finding that Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in domain names because it is not commonly known by Complainant’s marks and Respondent has not used the domain names in connection with a bona fide offering of goods and services or for a legitimate noncommercial or fair use).

According to the Complaint, Respondent has not made an actual use of the disputed domain name.  Respondent has not answered the Complaint.  The Panel may presume that Respondent is holding the disputed domain name passively.  Respondent’s passive holding of the disputed domain name does not demonstrate a legitimate, noncommercial or fair use pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c)(iii).  See Am. Home Prod. Corp. v. Malgioglio, D2000-1602 (WIPO Feb. 19, 2001) (finding no rights or legitimate interests in the domain name <solgarvitamins.com> where Respondent merely passively held the domain name); see Bloomberg L.P. v. Sandhu, FA 96261 (Nat. Arb. Forum Feb. 12, 2001) (finding that no rights or legitimate interest can be found when Respondent fails to use disputed domain names in any way).

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

Registration and Use in Bad Faith

Complainant uses its mark in connection with at least fifteen drug stores within ten miles of Respondent’s hometown.  Based on the concentration of stores near Respondent’s home address, it may be inferred that prior to registering the disputed domain name, Respondent either knew of Complainant’s mark or should have known of Complainant’s mark.  Thus, Respondent registered the disputed domain name in bad faith.  See Entrepreneur Media, Inc. v. Smith, [2002] USCA9 115; 279 F.3d 1135, 1148 (9th Cir. Feb. 11, 2002) (finding that "[ w]here an alleged infringer chooses a mark he knows to be similar to another, one can infer an intent to confuse"); see also Samsonite Corp. v. Colony Holding, FA 94313 (Nat. Arb. Forum Apr. 17, 2000) (finding that evidence of bad faith includes actual or constructive knowledge of a commonly known mark at the time of registration).

Respondent’s passive holding of a domain name that is confusingly similar to a mark that Respondent knew or should have known was connected with Complainant is evidence that Respondent has used the disputed domain name in bad faith.  See DCI S.A. v. Link Commercial Corp., D2000-1232 (WIPO Dec. 7, 2000) (concluding that the Respondent’s passive holding of the domain name satisfies the requirement of ¶ 4(a)(iii) of the Policy); see also Alitalia –Linee Aeree Italiane S.p.A v. Colour Digital, D2000-1260 (WIPO Nov. 23, 2000) (finding bad faith where the Respondent made no use of the domain name in question and there are no other indications that the Respondent could have registered and used the domain name in question for any non-infringing purpose); see also Body Shop Int’l PLC v. CPIC NET & Hussain, D2000-1214 (Nov. 26, 2000) (finding bad faith where (1) Respondent failed to use the domain name and (2) it is clear that Respondent registered the domain name as an opportunistic attempt to gain from the goodwill of the Complainant).

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 should be hereby granted.

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

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

Dated: May 9, 2002

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