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Generic Top Level Domain Name (gTLD) Decisions |
Avery Dennison Corporation v. Inffinity
Claim
Number: FA0403000248962
Complainant is Avery Dennison Corporation (“Complainant”),
represented by David J. Steele of Christie Parker & Hale LLP, 3501 Jamboree Road, Suite 6000, Newport Beach, CA, 92660. Respondent is Inffinity (“Respondent”), C/Penascales 56, Madrid, AL 28028.
REGISTRAR
AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME
The
domain name at issue is <avery-dennison.com>, registered with Blue
Razor Domains, Inc.
The
undersigned certifies that she has acted independently and impartially and that
to the best of her knowledge she has no known
conflict in serving as Panelist
in this proceeding. Hon. Carolyn Marks Johnson sits as Panelist.
Complainant
submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum (the "Forum")
electronically March 24, 2004; the Forum
received a hard copy of the Complaint March
25, 2004.
On
March 25, 2004, Blue Razor Domains, Inc. confirmed by e-mail to the Forum that
the domain name <avery-dennison.com> is registered with Blue Razor
Domains, Inc. and that Respondent is the current registrant of the name. Blue
Razor Domains, Inc. verified
that Respondent is bound by the Blue Razor
Domains, Inc. registration agreement and has agreed thereby 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, 2004, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative
Proceeding (the "Commencement Notification"),
setting a deadline of
April 22, 2004, 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@avery-dennison.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 30, 2004, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided
by a single-member Panel, the Forum appointed Hon.
Carolyn Marks Johnson as
Panelist.
Having
reviewed the communications records, the Administrative Panel (the
"Panel") finds that the Forum 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.
Complainant
requests that the domain name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.
A. Complainant makes the following assertions:
1. The domain name registered by Respondent,
<avery-dennison.com>, is identical to or confusingly similar to
Complainant’s AVERY DENNISON mark.
2. Respondent has no rights to or legitimate
interests in the <avery-dennison.com> domain name.
3. Respondent registered and used the <avery-dennison.com>
domain name in bad faith.
B. Respondent failed to submit a Response in
this proceeding.
Complainant,
Avery Dennison Corporation, manufactures labels and label materials, including
computer software labels and labeling
materials. Complainant registered the AVERY DENNISON mark with the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) July 30, 2002 (Reg. No. 2,600,895).
Respondent
registered the <avery-dennison.com> domain name January 28,
2004. Respondent is using the domain
name to direct users to a computer software sales website.
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
will draw such inferences as the Panel considers
appropriate pursuant to
paragraph 14(b) of the Rules.
Paragraph 4(a)
of the Policy requires Complainant to 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 to or legitimate
interests in respect of the domain name; and
(3) the domain name has been registered and
is being used in bad faith.
Complainant
established with extrinsic proof in this proceeding that it has rights to the AVERY
DENNISON mark as evidenced by its
registration with the USPTO. See Men’s Wearhouse, Inc. v. Wick, FA
117861 (Nat. Arb. Forum Sept. 16, 2002) (“Under U.S. trademark law, registered
marks hold a presumption that they are inherently
distinctive and have acquired
secondary meaning.”); see also Janus
Int’l Holding Co. v. Rademacher, D2002-0201 (WIPO Mar. 5, 2002) (finding
that Panel decisions have held that registration of a mark is prima facie evidence of validity, which
creates a rebuttable presumption that the mark is inherently distinctive. Respondent has the burden of refuting this
assumption).
The domain name
registered by Respondent, <avery-dennison.com>, is identical to
Complainant’s AVERY DENNISON mark because the only difference between the two
is the addition of a hyphen in the
domain name. The hyphen does not significantly distinguish the domain name
from the mark. See InfoSpace.com v. Tenenbaum Ofer,
D2000-0075 (WIPO Apr. 27, 2000) (“The domain name ‘info-space.com’ is identical
to Complainant’s INFOSPACE trademark. The addition
of a hyphen and .com are not
distinguishing features”); see also Easyjet Airline Co. Ltd. v. Harding,
D2000-0398 (WIPO June 22, 2000) (finding it obvious that the domain name
<easy-jet.net> was virtually identical to Complainant's EASYJET
mark and therefore that they are confusingly similar).
The Panel finds
that Complainant fulfilled Policy ¶ 4(a)(i).
Complainant
established with extrinsic proof in this proceeding that Complainant has rights
to and legitimate interests in the mark
contained in its entirety in the domain
name that Respondent registered.
Respondent did not file a Response.
Therefore, the Panel may accept any reasonable assertions by Complainant
as true. See Desotec N.V. v. Jacobi Carbons AB,
D2000-1398 (WIPO Dec. 21, 2000) (finding that failing to respond allows a
presumption that Complainant’s allegations are true unless
clearly contradicted
by the evidence); 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 is
wholly appproriating Complainat’s mark to advertise a software product. The Panel finds that this use of a domain
name that is identical to Complainant’s mark is not a bona fide offering of
goods or services,
pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c)(i) and it is not a legitimate
noncommercial or fair use of the domain name, pursuant to Policy ¶
4(c)(iii). See MSNBC Cable, LLC v. Tysys.com,
D2000-1204 (WIPO Dec. 8, 2000) (finding no rights or legitimate interests in
the famous MSNBC mark where Respondent attempted to
profit using Complainant’s
mark by redirecting Internet traffic to its own website); see also Am. Online, Inc. v. Tencent Comm. Corp.,
FA 93668 (Nat. Arb. Forum Mar. 21, 2000) (finding that use of Complainant’s
mark “as a portal to suck surfers into a site sponsored
by Respondent hardly
seems legitimate”).
Nothing in the
record, including the WHOIS domain name registration information, suggests that
Respondent is known by the domain name
or by Complainant’s mark, pursuant to
Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii). See Tercent Inc.
v. Yi, FA 139720 (Nat. Arb. Forum Feb. 10, 2003) (stating “nothing in
Respondent’s WHOIS information implies that Respondent is ‘commonly
known by’
the disputed domain name” as one factor in determining that Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii)
does not apply); see also 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).
The Panel finds
that Complainant has fulfilled Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii).
Respondent is
using the disputed domain name to advertise a software product. Complainant’s business is related to
software. The Panel finds that, by
creating confusion around Complainant’s mark, Respondent is attempting to
disrupt the business of a competitor.
Respondent’s use of Complainant’s mark to sell goods similar to
Complainant’s goods and services is evidence of bad faith registration
and use
pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(iii). See S. Exposure v.
S. Exposure, Inc., FA 94864 (Nat. Arb. Forum July 18, 2000) (finding
Respondent acted in bad faith by attracting Internet users to a website that
competes with Complainant’s business); see
also SR Motorsports v. Rotary
Performance, FA 95859 (Nat. Arb. Forum Jan. 4, 2001) (finding it
"obvious" that the domain names were registered for the primary
purpose
of disrupting the competitor's business when the parties are part of
the same, highly specialized field).
Respondent is
wholly appropriating Complainant’s mark to lead Complainant’s customers to
advertising for a software product. The
Panel finds that Respondent is intentionally creating a likelihood of confusion
to attract Internet users for Respondent’s commercial
gain, pursuant to Policy
¶ 4(b)(iv). See G.D. Searle &
Co. v. Celebrex Drugstore, FA 123933 (Nat. Arb. Forum Nov. 21, 2002)
(finding that Respondent registered and used the domain name in bad faith
pursuant to
Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv) because Respondent was using the confusingly
similar domain name to attract Internet users to its commercial website);
see
also Am. Online, Inc. v. Tencent
Comm. Corp., FA 93668 (Nat. Arb. Forum Mar. 21, 2000) (finding bad faith
where Respondent registered and used an infringing domain name to attract
users
to a website sponsored by Respondent).
The Panel finds
that Complainant fulfilled Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii).
Having
established all three elements required under the ICANN Policy, the Panel
concludes that relief shall be GRANTED.
Accordingly, it
is Ordered that the <avery-dennison.com> domain name be TRANSFERRED
from Respondent to Complainant.
Hon. Carolyn Marks Johnson, Panelist
Dated:
May 14, 2004
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