DECISION

American Airlines, Inc. v. Registrate Co.

Claim Number: FA0203000105978

PARTIES

Complainant is American Airlines, Inc., Dallas, TX (“Complainant”) represented by Kay Lyn Schwartz, of Gardere, Wynne, Sewell, LLP.  Respondent is Registrate Co., Seoul (“Respondent”).

REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME 

The domain name at issue is <wwwaa.com>, registered with BulkRegister.com.

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 March 21, 2002; the Forum received a hard copy of the Complaint on March 25, 2002.

On March 22, 2002, BulkRegister.com confirmed by e-mail to the Forum that the domain name <wwwaa.com> is registered with BulkRegister.com and that Respondent is the current registrant of the name.  BulkRegister.com has verified that Respondent is bound by the BulkRegister.com 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 March 29, 2002, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the “Commencement Notification”), setting a deadline of April 18, 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@wwwaa.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 April 29, 2002, pursuant to Complainant’s request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the Forum appointed Sandra Franklin 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 disputed domain name <wwwaa.com> is confusingly similar to the registered AA mark, in which Complainant holds rights.

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

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

B. Respondent

Respondent did not submit a Response in this proceeding.

FINDINGS

American Airlines owns the marks “AA” and “AA.COM” used in connection with, among other things, air transportation and cargo services.  In addition, American Airlines owns various other trademarks and service marks employing the terms “AA” also used in connection with its air transportation and cargo services.

MARK	SERIAL/ REGISTRATION NO.	DESCRIPTION
AA (and design)	75397575	Promoting the goods, services and events of others by placing advertising on the radio, tv, newspapers, magazines, flyers, brochures, pamphlets, billboards and on a global computer network; Entertainment services, namely, providing an arena facility for sports, entertainment, trade shows, exhibitions and conventions.
AA and Scissor Eagle (and design)	2311305	Jewelry, namely, rings, bracelets and tietacs; watches; clocks; medallions, metal key chains.
AA.COM	2339639	Transportation of passengers and cargo by air.
AA (and design)	2292784	Clocks.
AA	2356861	Scale model airplanes made of metal, wood and plastic; scale model airplanes incorporating a coin bank.
AA (and design)	75773128	Clothing, namely, tee shirts, jackets, leather jackets, caps, hats, sweatshirts, sweatpants, shorts, skirts, socks, sweaters, sweat suits, and wind jackets.
AA (and design)	75773141	Promoting the goods, services and events of others by placing advertising on the radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, flyers, brochures, pamphlets, billboards and on a global computer network.
AAFUNDS.COM (and design)	2452892	Investment management services.
AAEVENTS.COM	75926204	Providing a website featuring information related to charitable services, namely, providing food, clothing, school supplies, household items, toys, computers and other non-financial items; providing a website featuring information relating to charitable fund raising events.
AA EVENTS (and design)	76083826	Charitable services, namely, American Airlines’ sponsored fund raising events.
AA Club American (and design)	76086171	Golf towels, umbrellas, golf tee markers and golf bag tags.
AA Credit Union	76343126	Financial services for credit union members.
AA (and design)	76343132	Providing an arena facility for sports, entertainment, trade shows, exhibitions and conventions.
AA (and design)	76090359	Canvas tote bags.
American AA (and design)	2346998	Providing transportation of passengers and cargo by air.
American	75582881	Model airplanes made of plastic, metal and wood; model airplanes incorporating a metal coin bank.
American Airlines	1845693	Clothing, namely, men’s, women’s, and children’s shirts, tee shirts, caps, pants, jackets, shorts, sweatpants and sweatshirts.
American Airlines (stylized)	0514294	Air transport of passengers and freight.

Respondent registered the infringing domain name on October 31, 2000.  Respondent uses the domain name <wwwaa.com> as a vehicle to draw Internet users to its commercial website <gito.com>, specifically to one of the site’s internal web pages addressing airline flights, hotel accommodations, and rental car information. 

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

Complainant has established its rights in the AA mark through registration with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and subsequent continuous use.

The disputed domain name incorporates Complainant’s AA mark and merely adds “www” and “.com” to it.  The disputed domain name is, thus, confusingly similar to Complainant’s mark.  See Bank of Am. Corp. v. InterMos, FA 95092 (Nat. Arb. Forum Aug. 1, 2000) (finding that the Respondent’s domain name <wwwbankofamerica.com> is confusingly similar to Complainant’s registered BANK OF AMERICA trademark because it “takes advantage of a typing error (eliminating the period between the www and the domain name) that users commonly make when searching on the Internet”); see also Rollerblade, Inc. v. McCrady, D2000-0429 (WIPO June 25, 2000) (finding that the top level of a domain name such as “.net” or “.com” does not affect the domain name for the purpose of determining whether it is identical or confusingly similar).

Accordingly, the Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(i) has been satisfied.

Rights or Legitimate Interests

Respondent has not demonstrated any rights to the domain name in question.  See Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce v. D3M Virtual Reality Inc. and D3M Domain Sales, AF-0336 (eResolution Sept. 23, 2000) (finding no rights or legitimate interest where no such right or interest is immediately apparent to the Panel and Respondent has not come forward to suggest any such right or interest that it may possess).

Redirecting the domain name to advertisements does not constitute a bona fide offering of goods and services under Policy ¶ 4(c)(i) nor is it a noncommercial or fair use of the domain name under Policy ¶ 4(c)(iii).  See Victoria's Secret  v. Personal, FA 96491 (Nat. Arb. Forum Feb. 27, 2001) (finding no rights or legitimate interests where Respondent used a domain name confusingly similar to Complainant’s mark and redirected Internet traffic to various websites for the profit of Respondent).

There is no evidence in the record, and Respondent has not come forward to establish that it is commonly known by the name “wwwaa” pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii).  See 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).

Therefore, Complainant has established that Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests with respect to the disputed domain name.  Accordingly, the Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii) has been satisfied.

Registration and Use in Bad Faith

By using Complainant’s mark in the disputed domain name, Respondent attempted to redirect Internet users to its commercial website who intended to visit <www.aa.com> but inadvertently omitted the period between “www” and “aa.”  This practice of “typosquatting” has been recognized as bad faith registration and use of a domain name under Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv).  See AltaVista Co. v. Stoneybrook, D2000-0886 (WIPO Oct. 26, 2000) (awarding <wwwalavista.com>, among other misspellings of altavista.com, to Complainant); see also Dow Jones & Co. & Dow Jones, L.P. v. Powerclick, Inc., D2000-1259 (WIPO Dec. 1, 2000) (awarding domain names <wwwdowjones.com>, <wwwwsj.com>, <wwwbarrons.com>, and <wwwbarronsmag.com> to Complainants).

Accordingly, 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 <wwwaa.com> domain name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.

Sandra Franklin, Panelist

Dated: May 10, 2002

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