Medline Industries, Inc. v. Ivan Valentinovich Gribov
Claim Number: FA0905001265196
Complainant is Medline Industries, Inc. (“Complainant”), represented by Janet
A. Marvel, of Pattishall, McAuliffe, Newbury, Hilliard
& Geraldson LLP,
REGISTRAR
The domain name at issue is <bestmedline.com>, registered with Directi Internet Solutions Pvt. Ltd. d/b/a Publicd.
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.
Bruce E. Meyerson as Panelist.
Complainant submitted a Complaint to
the National Arbitration Forum electronically on
On
On June 2, 2009, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the "Commencement Notification"), setting a deadline of June 22, 2009 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@bestmedline.com 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 <bestmedline.com> domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s MEDLINE mark.
2. Respondent does not have any rights or legitimate interests in the <bestmedline.com> domain name.
3. Respondent registered and used the <bestmedline.com> domain name in bad faith.
B. Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding.
Complainant, Medline Industries, Inc., is a manufacturer and distributor of healthcare supplies and services. Complainant has registered its MEDLINE mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") (Reg. No. 894,673 issued July 14, 1970).
Respondent registered the disputed domain name on
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 provided evidence of the registration of its
MEDLINE mark with the USPTO. The Panel
finds this evidence is sufficient to establish Complainant's rights in its
MEDLINE pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(a)(i). See Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v.
Bonds, FA 873143 (Nat. Arb. Forum
Respondent's disputed domain name contains Complainant's
MEDLINE mark with the additions of the generic term "best" and the
generic top-level domain ".com."
The Panel finds the addition of a generic term does not alleviate a
finding of confusing similarity and the addition of a generic top-level domain
name is irrelevant in a Policy ¶ 4(a)(i) analysis. Thus, the Panel finds Respondent's disputed
domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant's MEDLINE mark under Policy ¶
4(a)(i). See Arthur Guinness Son & Co. (Dublin) Ltd. v. Healy/BOSTH,
D2001-0026 (WIPO Mar. 23, 2001) (finding confusing similarity where the domain
name in dispute contains the identical mark of the complainant combined with a
generic word or term); see also American Express Co. v. MustNeed.com, FA 257901 (Nat. Arb. Forum
The Panel finds Complainant has satisfied Policy ¶ 4(a)(i).
Complainant has alleged Respondent does not have rights or
legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. Once Complainant presents a prima facie case outlining these
allegations, the burden shifts to Respondent to establish it does have rights
or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. The Panel finds Complainant has presented a
sufficient prima facie case to
support its allegations and Respondent failed to submit a response to these
proceedings. Therefore, the Panel may
assume Respondent does not have rights or legitimate interests in the disputed
domain name pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii).
However, the Panel will inspect the record and determine whether
Respondent has rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name
pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c). 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 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).
Respondent is using disputed domain name to sell prescription pharmaceuticals to consumers without requiring a prescription. Respondent’s use of a confusingly similar domain name to provide an illegal offering of goods does not represent a bona fide offering of goods or services under Policy ¶ 4(c)(i), or a legitimate noncommercial or fair use under Policy ¶ 4(c)(iii). See Nycomed Danmark ApS v. Diaz, D2006-0779 (WIPO Aug. 15, 2006) (concluding that the respondent’s use of a disputed domain name to operate a website promoting an illegal food supplement was not a bona fide offering of goods or services under Policy ¶ 4(c)(i) or a legitimate noncommercial or fair use under Policy ¶ 4(c)(iii)); see also G.D. Searle & Co. v. Mahony, FA 112559 (Nat. Arb. Forum June 12, 2002) (finding the respondent’s use of the disputed domain name to solicit pharmaceutical orders without a license or authorization from the complainant does not constitute a bona fide offering of goods or services under Policy ¶ 4(c)(i)).
There is no evidence in the record that Respondent is
commonly known by the disputed domain name. Thus, the Panel finds Respondent does
not have rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain names pursuant
to Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii). See Compagnie de Saint Gobain v. Com-Union Corp.,
D2000-0020 (WIPO Mar. 14, 2000) (finding no rights or legitimate interest where
Respondent was not commonly known by the mark and never applied for a license
or permission from Complainant to use the trademarked name); see also RMO,
Inc. v. Burbridge, FA 96949 (Nat. Arb. Forum
The Panel finds Complainant has satisfied Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii).
Respondent is using the disputed domain name to sell prescription pharmaceuticals without a prescription. The Panel finds Respondent is using a confusingly similar disputed domain name to attract Internet users to Respondent’s websites for commercial gain from an illegal offering of goods. The Panel finds that by attempting to profit from creating a likelihood of confusion as to Complainant’s affiliation with the resolving illegal website, Respondent has engaged in bad faith registration and use under 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 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).
The Panel finds Complainant has satisfied 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 <bestmedline.com> domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.
Bruce E. Meyerson, Panelist
Dated: July 2, 2009
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