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Generic Top Level Domain Name (gTLD) Decisions |
DECISION
Suburban
Ostomy Supply Co., Inc. v. Frederic Tremblay
Claim
Number: FA0301000140639
PARTIES
Complainant is Suburban Ostomy Supply Co., Inc., Holliston, MA USA (“Complainant”) represented by Bradford J. Patrick, of
Mansour, Gavin, Gerlack & Manos Co. LPA. Respondent is Frederic Tremblay, Montreal, PQ,
CANADA (“Respondent”).
REGISTRAR
AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME
The
domain name at issue is <suburbanostomy.com>,
registered with Iholdings.com, Inc.
d/b/a Dotregistrar.com.
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.
Hon.
Ralph Yachnin as Panelist.
PROCEDURAL
HISTORY
Complainant
submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum (the "Forum")
electronically on January 9, 2003; the
Forum received a hard copy of the
Complaint on January 13, 2003.
On
January 23, 2003, Iholdings.com, Inc. d/b/a Dotregistrar.com confirmed by
e-mail to the Forum that the domain name <suburbanostomy.com>
is registered with Iholdings.com, Inc. d/b/a Dotregistrar.com and that
Respondent is the current registrant of the name. Iholdings.com,
Inc. d/b/a
Dotregistrar.com has verified that Respondent is bound by the Iholdings.com,
Inc. d/b/a Dotregistrar.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
January 24, 2003, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of
Administrative Proceeding (the "Commencement Notification"),
setting
a deadline of February 13, 2003 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@suburbanostomy.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
February 20, 2003, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute
decided by a single-member Panel, the Forum appointed
<<EnterArbitratorNameHere>> 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 makes the following assertions:
1. Respondent’s <suburbanostomy.com> domain name is identical to
Complainant’s SUBURBAN OSTAMY mark.
2. Respondent does not have any rights or
legitimate interests in the <suburbanostomy.com>
domain name.
3. Respondent registered and used the <suburbanostomy.com> domain name
in bad faith.
B. Respondent failed to submit a Response in
this proceeding.
FINDINGS
Complainant has used
the SUBURBAN OSTAMY mark in commerce since as early as 1997. Complainant
registered as a for-profit corporation
in 1997 with the Massachusetts Secretary
of State as “Suburban Ostomy Supply Co., Inc.” Complainant uses the mark in
relation to
its medical products distribution services.
Respondent registered
the <suburbanostomy.com>
domain name on August 17, 2002. Respondent is using the disputed domain name to
redirect Internet traffic to pornographic websites.
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 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 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
The ICANN dispute
resolution policy is “broad in scope” in that “the reference to a trademark or
service mark ‘in which the complainant
has rights’ means that ownership of a
registered mark is not required-unregistered or common law trademark or service
mark rights
will suffice” to support a domain name Complaint under the Policy. McCarthy
on Trademarks and Unfair Competition, § 25:74.2, Vol. 4 (2000). See British Broadcasting Corp. v. Renteria,
D2000-0050 (WIPO Mar. 23, 2000) (noting that the Policy “does not distinguish
between registered and unregistered trademarks and
service marks in the context
of abusive registration of domain names” and applying the Policy to
“unregistered trademarks and service
marks”); see also Great Plains Metromall, LLC v. Creach, FA 97044 (Nat. Arb.
Forum May 18, 2001) (finding that the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution
Policy does not require “that a
trademark be registered by a governmental
authority for such rights to exist”).
Complainant has
established that it has rights in the SUBURBAN OSTAMY mark through continuous
use in commerce since 1997. Moreover,
Complainant held the <suburbanostomy.com> domain name prior to Respondent’s
registration of the domain name. Complainant’s continuous use in commerce and
its prior registration
of the domain name provide strong evidence that
Complainant has rights in the SUBURBAN OSTAMY mark pursuant to Policy 4(a)(i). See Tuxedos By Rose v. Nunez, FA 95248
(Nat. Arb. Forum Aug. 17, 2000) (finding common law rights in a mark where its
use was continuous and ongoing, and secondary
meaning was established); see also American Anti-Vivisection Soc'y. v.
"Infa dot Net" Web Serv., FA 95685 (Nat. Arb. Forum Nov. 6, 2000)
(finding that the fact that the Complainant held the domain name prior to the
Respondent’s
registration, and also held a pending trademark application in the
mark, evidences rights in the domain name and the mark therein
contained).
Respondent’s <suburbanostomy.com> domain name
is plainly identical to Complainant’s mark because the disputed domain name
merely removes the space between the two
words and adds the generic top-level
domain (gTLD) “.com” to the end of the mark. These minor discrepancies are not
sufficient to
distinguish Respondent’s domain name from Complainant’s mark. 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
Wembley Nat’l Stadium Ltd. v. Thomson, D2000-1233 (WIPO Nov. 16, 2000)
(finding that the domain name <wembleystadium.net> is identical to the
WEMBLEY STADIUM mark).
The Panel finds that
Policy ¶ 4(a)(i) has been satisfied.
Rights or Legitimate Interests
Respondent has not
submitted a Response in this proceeding. Therefore, the Panel is permitted 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) (holding
that Respondent’s failure to respond allows all reasonable inferences of fact
in
the allegations of Complainant to be deemed true); see also 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”).
Furthermore, Respondent
has failed to invoke any circumstances that could demonstrate rights or
legitimate interests in the disputed
domain name. When Complainant has asserted
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 with
respect to 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).
Respondent is using
the <suburbanostomy.com>
domain name to divert Internet users to pornographic websites. This practice is
not a use in connection with a bona fide offering
of goods or services pursuant
to Policy ¶ 4(c)(i), nor a legitimate noncommercial or fair use pursuant to
Policy ¶ 4(c)(iii). See Nat’l Football
League Prop., Inc. v. One Sex Entm’t Co., D2000-0118 (WIPO Apr. 17, 2000)
(finding that the Respondent had no rights or legitimate interests in the
domain names <chargergirls.com>
and <chargergirls.net> where the
Respondent linked these domain names to its pornographic website); see also Brown & Bigelow, Inc. v. Rodela,
FA 96466 (Nat. Arb. Forum Mar. 5, 2001) (finding that infringing on another's
well-known mark to provide a link to a pornographic
site is not a legitimate or
fair use).
Respondent has not
presented any evidence to establish that it is commonly known by either
SUBURBAN OSTOMY or <suburbanostomy.com>.
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 Great S. Wood Pres., Inc. v. TFA
Assocs., FA 95169 (Nat. Arb. Forum Aug. 5, 2000) (finding that Respondent
was not commonly known by the domain name <greatsouthernwood.com>
where
Respondent linked the domain name to <bestoftheweb.com>).
The Panel finds that
Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii) has been satisfied.
Registration and Use in Bad Faith
Respondent is using
the <suburbanostomy.com>
domain name to redirect Internet traffic to pornographic websites, which has
been consistently held to be evidence of bad faith registration
and use
pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii). See Brown
& Bigelow, Inc. v. Rodela, FA 96466 (Nat. Arb. Forum Mar. 5, 2001) (use
of another's well-known mark to provide a link to a pornographic site is
evidence of
bad faith registration and use); see also Ty, Inc. v. O.Z. Names, D2000-0370 (WIPO June 27, 2000)
(finding that absent contrary evidence, linking the domain names in question to
graphic, adult-oriented
websites is evidence of bad faith).
The Panel finds that
Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii) has been satisfied.
DECISION
Having established all
three elements required under ICANN Policy, the Panel concludes that relief
shall be GRANTED.
Accordingly, it is
Ordered that the <suburbanostomy.com>
domain name be TRANSFERRED from
Respondent to Complainant.
Hon.
Ralph Yachnin, Panelist
Justice,
Supreme Court, NY (Ret.)
Dated: February 24, 2003
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