Crocs, Inc. v. [Registrant]
Claim Number: FA0707001043196
PARTIES
Complainant is Crocs, Inc. (“Complainant”), represented by Deborah
Shinbein, of Faegre & Benson, LLP, 1700 Lincoln St.,
Suite 3200, Denver, CO 80203-4532.
Respondent is [Registrant] (“Respondent”), of
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME
The domain name at issue is <crocsshoes.us>, registered with Enom, 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.
Judge Ralph Yachnin as Panelist.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum
(the “Forum”) electronically on
On
On July 27, 2007, a Notification
of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the “Commencement
Notification”), setting a deadline of August 16, 2007 by which Respondent could
file a Response to the Complaint, was transmitted to Respondent in compliance
with Paragraph 2(a) of the Rules for usTLD Dispute Resolution Policy (the
“Rules”).
Having received no Response from Respondent, the Forum transmitted to
the parties a Notification of Respondent Default.
On
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. Therefore,
the Panel may issue its decision based on the documents submitted and in
accordance with the Policy, the 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. Respondent’s <crocsshoes.us> domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s CROCS mark.
2.
Respondent does not have any rights or
legitimate interests in the <crocsshoes.us>
domain name.
3.
Respondent registered and used the <crocsshoes.us> domain name in bad
faith.
B. Respondent failed to submit a response in this proceeding.
FINDINGS
Complainant, Crocs, Inc., designs,
manufactures, and sells high quality, comfortable footwear throughout the
world. Complainant has conducted
business under the CROCS mark since 2002 and currently sells its shoes at a
variety of retail locations as well as online at the <crocs.com> domain
name. Complainant holds trademark
registrations for the CROCS mark with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office
(“CIPO”) (Reg. No. TMA675,686) and the Australian
Trademark Authority (Reg. No. 885,028).
Complainant also has a pending trademark application with the United
States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) (App. No. 78/857,086).
Respondent registered the <crocsshoes.us> domain name on
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(f), 14(a) and 15(a) of the Rules and
draw such inferences it considers appropriate pursuant to Paragraph 14(b) of
the Rules. The Panel is entitled
to accept all reasonable allegations and inferences set forth in the Complaint
as true unless the evidence is clearly contradictory. See Vertical
Solutions Mgmt., Inc. v. webnet-marketing, inc., FA 95095 (Nat. Arb.
Forum July 31, 2000) (holding that the respondent’s failure to respond allows
all reasonable inferences of fact in the allegations of the complaint 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.”).
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 or is
being used in bad faith.
Given the similarity between the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution
Policy (“UDRP”) and the usTLD Policy, the Panel will draw upon UDRP precedent
as applicable in rendering its decision.
Identical and/or Confusingly Similar
The Panel finds that Complainant’s registration of the CROCS mark with the CIPO and the Australian Trademark Authority, along with its pending trademark application with the USPTO sufficiently establishes its rights in the mark under Policy ¶ 4(a)(i). See Vivendi Universal Games v. XBNetVentures Inc., FA 198803 (Nat. Arb. Forum Nov. 11, 2003) (“Complainant's federal trademark registrations establish Complainant's rights in the BLIZZARD mark.”); see also Janus Int’l Holding Co. v. Rademacher, D2002-0201 (WIPO Mar. 5, 2002) ("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’s <crocsshoes.us> domain name is
confusingly similar to Complainant’s CROCS mark, as it includes the entire mark
and merely adds the generic term “shoes” onto the mark, which is descriptive of
Complainant’s products. Under the
Policy, the addition of a descriptive term onto a mark does not negate any
confusing similarity between the mark and a corresponding disputed domain
name. Respondent’s disputed domain name
also differs from the CROCS mark in that it includes the country code top-level
domain (“ccTLD”) “.us.” However, the
addition of a ccTLD is irrelevant to the Policy ¶ 4(a)(i)
analysis, as a top-level domain is required of all domain names. Therefore, the Panel finds that the <crocsshoes.us> domain name is
confusingly similar to Complainant’s CROCS mark pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(a)(i). See Space
Imaging LLC v. Brownell, 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); see also Am. Int’l Group, Inc. v. Ling Shun Shing,
FA 206399 (Nat. Arb. Forum Dec. 15, 2003) (finding that the addition of the
term “assurance,” to the complainant’s AIG mark failed to sufficiently
differentiate the name from the mark under [UDRP] ¶ 4(a)(i) because the
appended term related directly to the complainant’s business); see also Gardline Surveys Ltd. v. Domain Fin. Ltd., FA 153545 (Nat.
Arb. Forum May 27, 2003) (“The addition of a top-level domain is irrelevant
when establishing whether or not a mark is identical or confusingly similar,
because top-level domains are a required element of every domain name.”); see also Isleworth Land Co. v. Lost in Space, SA, FA 117330 (Nat.
Arb. Forum
The Panel finds
that Policy ¶ 4(a)(i) has been satisfied.
Rights or Legitimate Interests
Complainant alleges that Respondent lacks rights and legitimate interests in the <crocsshoes.us> domain name. Under Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii), Complainant must first make a prima facie showing in support of this allegation, and the burden then shifts to Respondent to show that it does have rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. In the present case, the Panel finds that Complainant has established a prima facie case under the Policy. See Do The Hustle, LLC v. Tropic Web, D2000-0624 (WIPO Aug. 21, 2000) (holding that once the complainant asserts that the respondent has no rights or legitimate interests with respect to the domain, the burden shifts to the respondent to provide “concrete evidence that it has rights to or legitimate interests in the domain name at issue”); see also Clerical Med. Inv. Group Ltd. v. Clericalmedical.com, D2000-1228 (WIPO Nov. 28, 2000) (finding that, under certain circumstances, the mere assertion by the complainant that the respondent has no right or legitimate interest is sufficient to shift the burden of proof to the respondent to demonstrate that such a right or legitimate interest does exist).
Based on
Respondent’s failure to answer the Complaint, the Panel presumes that
Respondent lacks rights and legitimate interests in the <crocsshoes.us> domain name.
See Talk City, Inc. v. Robertson,
D2000-0009 (WIPO Feb. 29, 2000) (“Given Respondent’s failure to submit a
substantive answer in a timely fashion, the Panel accepts as true all of the
allegations of the complaint.”); see also
Am. Express Co. v. Fang
Suhendro, FA 129120 (Nat. Arb. Forum
As Complainant
has established rights to the CROCS mark and Respondent has not come forward
with any evidence showing it is the owner or beneficiary of a mark identical to
the <crocsshoes.us> domain
name, Complainant has satisfied Policy ¶ 4(c)(i). See Meow Media
Inc. v. Basil, FA 113280 (Nat.
Arb. Forum
Complainant asserts that Respondent is not authorized to use Complainant’s CROCS mark in any way and that Respondent is not associated with Complainant in any way. In addition, Respondent’s WHOIS information does not indicate, and there is no other evidence in the record to suggest, that Respondent is commonly known by the <crocsshoes.us> domain name. The Panel thus finds that Respondent lacks rights and legitimate interests in the disputed domain name under Policy ¶ 4(c)(iii). See Gallup, Inc. v. Amish Country Store, FA 96209 (Nat. Arb. Forum Jan. 23, 2001) (finding that the respondent does not have rights in a domain name when the 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 the respondent was not commonly known by the mark and never applied for a license or permission from the complainant to use the trademarked name).
In addition, Respondent’s <crocsshoes.us> domain name redirects Internet users to a commercial website purporting to sell Complainant’s products. The Panel infers that Respondent profits when users purchase items from this website. This does not constitute a bona fide offering of goods or services under Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii) or a legitimate noncommercial or fair use under Policy ¶ 4(c)(iv), and is further evidence of Respondent’s lack of rights and legitimate interests under Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii). See Nike, Inc. v. Dias, FA 135016 (Nat. Arb. Forum Jan. 7, 2002) (finding no bona fide offering of goods or services where the respondent used the complainant’s mark without authorization to attract Internet users to its website, which offered both the complainant’s products and those of the complainant’s competitors); see also MSNBC Cable, LLC v. Tysys.com, D2000-1204 (WIPO Dec. 8, 2000) (finding no rights or legitimate interests in the famous MSNBC mark where the respondent attempted to profit using the complainant’s mark by redirecting Internet traffic to its own website).
The Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii) has been satisfied.
Registration and Use in Bad Faith
Respondent is using the disputed domain name to redirect Internet
users, who are presumably seeking to purchase Complainant’s products, to
Respondent’s own website, without permission or authorization from Complainant. The Panel finds that such use constitutes a
disruption of Complainant’s business and is evidence of bad faith registration
and use under Policy ¶ 4(b)(iii). See S. Exposure v.
S. Exposure, Inc., FA 94864 (Nat. Arb. Forum
Furthermore, Respondent is using the <crocsshoes.us> domain name, which is confusingly similar to Complainant’s CROCS mark, to operate a commercial website from which the Panel presumes that Respondent benefits commercially. Respondent is therefore capitalizing on the likelihood that Internet users will be confused as to Complainant’s affiliation with the disputed domain name. This is further evidence that Respondent registered and is using the disputed domain name in bad faith pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv). See Perot Sys. Corp. v. Perot.net, FA 95312 (Nat. Arb. Forum Aug. 29, 2000) (finding bad faith where the domain name in question is obviously connected with the complainant’s well-known marks, thus creating a likelihood of confusion strictly for commercial gain); see also Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Ali, FA 353151 (Nat. Arb. Forum Dec. 13, 2004) (“Respondent [used “HP” in its domain name] to benefit from the goodwill associated with Complainant’s HP marks and us[ed] the <hpdubai.com> domain name, in part, to provide products similar to those of Complainant. Respondent’s practice of diversion, motivated by commercial gain, constitutes bad faith registration and use pursuant to [UDRP] ¶ 4(b)(iv).”).
The Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii) has been satisfied.
DECISION
Complainant having established all three
elements required under the usTLD Policy, the Panel concludes that relief shall
be GRANTED.
Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <crocsshoes.us> domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to
Complainant.
Hon. Ralph Yachnin, Panelist
Justice, Supreme Court, NY (Ret.)
Dated: September 2, 2007
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