Louis Vuitton Malletier
Claim Number: FA0804001178961
Complainant is Louis Vuitton Malletier S.A., L.L.C. (“Complainant”), represented by J.
Andrew Coombs, of J. Andrew Coombs, A Professional
Corporation,
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN
NAME
The domain name at issue is <louis-vuitton-replicas.net>, registered with Register.com, Inc.
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.
James A. Carmody, Esq., as Panelist.
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum electronically on April 18, 2008; the National Arbitration Forum received a hard copy of the Complaint on April 21, 2008.
On April 18, 2008, Register.com, Inc. confirmed by e-mail to the National Arbitration Forum that the <louis-vuitton-replicas.net> domain name is registered with Register.com, Inc. and that Respondent is the current registrant of the name. Register.com, Inc. has verified that Respondent is bound by the Register.com, 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
22, 2008, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative
Proceeding (the "Commencement Notification"), setting a deadline of
May 12, 2008
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@louis-vuitton-replicas.net by e-mail.
Having received no response from Respondent, the National Arbitration Forum transmitted to the parties a Notification of Respondent Default.
On
Having reviewed the communications records, the Administrative Panel (the "Panel") finds that the National Arbitration 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 National Arbitration 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. Respondent’s <louis-vuitton-replicas.net> domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s LOUIS VUITTON mark.
2. Respondent does not have any rights or legitimate interests in the <louis-vuitton-replicas.net> domain name.
3. Respondent registered and used the <louis-vuitton-replicas.net> domain name in bad faith.
B. Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding.
Complainant, Louis Vuitton Malletier S.A., is a leading designer and producer of clothing and accessories. Complainant owns several trademark registrations for the LOUIS VUITTON mark, including a number of trademark registrations with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) (i.e. 1,045,932 issued August 10, 1976).
Respondent registered the <louis-vuitton-replicas.net> domain name on December 24, 2007. Respondent’s disputed domain name resolves to a website offering counterfeit merchandise of Complainant’s original designs for sale.
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. 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 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.
Complainant has registered the LOUIS VUITTON mark with the
USPTO, and thus has established rights to the mark pursuant to Policy ¶
4(a)(i). See Men’s Wearhouse, Inc. v. Wick, FA 117861 (Nat. Arb.
Forum Sept. 16, 2002) (“Under
Complainant asserts that Respondent’s <louis-vuitton-replicas.net> domain name is confusingly
similar to Complainant’s LOUIS VUITTON mark pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(a)(i). Respondent’s disputed domain name contains
Complainant’s mark, adds the generic descriptive term “replicas,” adds hyphens,
and adds the generic top-level domain (“gTLD”) “.net.” The Panel finds that a disputed domain that
contains a complainant’s mark and adds a generic descriptive term is
confusingly similar to the complainant’s mark pursuant to Policy ¶
4(a)(i). See Novell, Inc. v. Taeho Kim, FA 167964 (Nat. Arb.
Forum Oct. 24, 2003) (finding the <novellsolutions.com> domain name
confusingly similar to the NOVELL mark despite the addition of the descriptive
term “solutions” because even though “the word ‘solutions’ is descriptive when
used for software, Respondent has used this word paired with Complainant's
trademark NOVELL”); see also Am.
Online, Inc. v. Anytime Online Traffic Sch., FA 146930 (Nat. Arb. Forum
Apr. 11, 2003) (finding that the respondent’s domain names, which incorporated the complainant’s entire mark
and merely added the descriptive terms “traffic school,” “defensive driving,”
and “driver improvement” did not add any distinctive features capable of
overcoming a claim of confusing similarity).
In addition, the Panel finds that the addition of hyphens and a gTLD are
irrelevant in distinguishing a disputed domain name from a mark. See
Innomed Techs., Inc. v. DRP Servs., FA 221171 (Nat. Arb. Forum
Feb. 18, 2004) (finding that hyphens and top-level domains are irrelevant for
purposes of the Policy); see also Busy Body, Inc. v. Fitness Outlet Inc.,
D2000-0127 (WIPO Apr. 22, 2000) ("[T]he addition of the generic top-level
domain (gTLD) name ‘.com’ is . . . without legal
significance since use of a gTLD is required of domain name registrants . . .
."). Therefore, pursuant to Policy
¶ 4(a)(i), Respondent’s <louis-vuitton-replicas.net> domain name is confusingly
similar to Complainant’s LOUIS VUITTON mark.
The Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(i) has been satisfied.
Complainant contends that Respondent lacks all rights and legitimate interests in the <louis-vuitton-replicas.net> domain name. Once Complainant makes a prima facie case in support of its allegations, the burden shifts to Respondent to prove that it does have rights or legitimate interests pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii). The Panel finds in this case that Complainant has established a prima facie case. See G.D. Searle v. Martin Mktg., FA 118277 (Nat. Arb. Forum Oct. 1, 2002) (“Because Complainant’s Submission constitutes a prima facie case under the Policy, the burden effectively shifts to Respondent. Respondent’s failure to respond means that Respondent has not presented any circumstances that would promote its rights or legitimate interests in the subject domain name under Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii).”); see also Do The Hustle, LLC v. Tropic Web, D2000-0624 (WIPO Aug. 21, 2000) (holding that, where the complainant has asserted that the respondent has no rights or legitimate interests with respect to the domain name, it is incumbent on the respondent to come forward with concrete evidence rebutting this assertion because this information is “uniquely within the knowledge and control of the respondent”).
Due to Respondent’s failure to respond to the Complaint, the Panel may assume that Respondent does not have rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. See Desotec N.V. v. Jacobi Carbons AB, D2000-1398 (WIPO Dec. 21, 2000) (finding that failing to respond allows a presumption that the complainant’s allegations are true unless clearly contradicted by the evidence); see also 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.”). However, the Panel chooses to examine the evidence on record against the applicable Policy ¶ 4(c) elements before making a final determination with regards to Respondent’s rights and legitimate interests.
Respondent's WHOIS
information displays information identifying Complainant as “Lani Derdena,”
therefore providing no affirmative evidence that Respondent is commonly known
by the disputed domain name. The Panel
finds that without affirmative evidence of being commonly known by the disputed
domain name, Respondent lacks rights and legitimate interests in the disputed
domain name pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii).
See Am. W. Airlines, Inc. v. Paik, FA 206396 (Nat. Arb. Forum Dec. 22, 2003) (“Respondent
has registered the domain name under the name ‘Ilyoup Paik a/k/a David
Sanders.’ Given the WHOIS domain name
registration information, Respondent is not commonly known by the
[<awvacations.com>] domain name.”); see
also Wells Fargo & Co. v. Onlyne Corp.
Services11, Inc., FA 198969 (Nat. Arb.
Forum Nov. 17, 2003) (“Given the WHOIS contact information for the disputed
domain [name], one can infer that Respondent, Onlyne Corporate Services11, is
not commonly known by the name ‘welsfargo’ in any derivation.”).
Respondent is using the <louis-vuitton-replicas.net> domain name in order to sell
counterfeit merchandise using Complainant’s trademark. The Panel finds that using a confusingly
similar disputed domain name to sell counterfeit merchandise is neither a bona fide offering of goods and services
pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c)(i), nor a noncommercial or fair use pursuant to
Policy ¶ 4(c)(iii). See Caterpillar Inc. v. Huth, FA 169056 (Nat. Arb. Forum Sept. 2, 2003) (“Respondent
lacks rights in the disputed domain names because Respondent competes with
Complainant by selling Complainant's used parts without a license from
Complainant to do so.”); see also Ultimate
Elecs., Inc. v. Nichols, FA 195683 (Nat. Arb. Forum Oct. 27, 2003) (finding
that the respondent's “use of the domain name (and Complainant’s mark)
to sell products in competition with Complainant demonstrates neither a bona
fide offering of goods or services nor a legitimate noncommercial or fair use
of the name”).
The Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii) has been satisfied.
Complainant asserts that Respondent’s use of the <louis-vuitton-replicas.net> domain name in order to sell
couterfeit merchandise using Complainant’s trademark constitutes bad
faith. The Panel finds that the use of a
confusingly similar disputed domain name in order to commercially benefit is
evidence of bad faith registration and use pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv). See
Compaq Info. Techs. Group, L.P. v.
Waterlooplein Ltd., FA 109718 (Nat. Arb.
Forum May 29, 2002) (finding that the respondent’s use of the
<compaq-broker.com> domain name to sell the complainant’s products
“creates a likelihood of confusion with Complainant's COMPAQ mark as to the
source, sponsorship, or affiliation of the website and constituted bad faith
pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv)”); see also
Hunter Fan Co. v. MSS, FA 98067 (Nat. Arb. Forum Aug. 23, 2001) (finding
bad faith where the respondent used the disputed domain name to sell the
complainant’s products without permission and mislead Internet users by
implying that the respondent was affiliated with the complainant).
In addition, Respondent is
using the <louis-vuitton-replicas.net> domain name, which is
confusingly similar to Complainant’s LOUIS VUITTON mark, to sell unauthorized
and counterfeit products of Complainant.
The Panel finds that such use disrupts Complainant’s business and
constitutes bad faith registration and use pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(iii). See
G.D. Searle & Co. v. Celebrex Cox-2 Vioxx.com, FA 124508
(Nat. Arb. Forum
The Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii) has been satisfied.
Having established all three elements required under the ICANN Policy, the Panel concludes that relief shall be GRANTED.
Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <louis-vuitton-replicas.net> domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.
James A. Carmody, Esq., Panelist
Dated: May 29, 2008
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