Pure Realty, Inc. v. The PURE Realty Team
Claim Number: FA0906001268952
Complainant is Pure
Realty, Inc. (“Complainant”), represented by Marvin H. Kleinberg, of Kleinberg & Lerner, LLP.,
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN
NAME
The domain name at issue is <purerealty.net>, registered with Wild West Domains, 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.
Honorable Karl V. Fink (Ret.) as Panelist.
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum electronically on June 17, 2009; the National Arbitration Forum received a hard copy of the Complaint on June 22, 2009.
On June 18, 2009, Wild West Domains, Inc. confirmed by e-mail to the National Arbitration Forum that the <purerealty.net> domain name is registered with Wild West Domains, Inc. and that Respondent is the current registrant of the name. Wild West Domains, Inc. has verified that Respondent is bound by the Wild West Domains, 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 July 2, 2009, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the "Commencement Notification"), setting a deadline of July 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@purerealty.net by e-mail.
Having received no response from Respondent, the National Arbitration Forum transmitted to the parties a Notification of Respondent Default.
On July 24, 2009, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the National Arbitration Forum appointed Honorable Karl V. Fink (Ret.) as Panelist.
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 <purerealty.net> domain name is identical to Complainant’s PURE REALTY mark.
2. Respondent does not have any rights or legitimate interests in the <purerealty.net> domain name.
3. Respondent registered and used the <purerealty.net> domain name in bad faith.
B. Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding.
Complainant, Pure Realty, Inc., provides real estate
services in the
Respondent registered the <purerealty.net> domain name on June 12, 2007. The disputed domain name resolved to Respondent’s website. Respondent is a competitor of Complainant and WHOIS information lists Respondent as in the same state as Complainant.
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.
While trademark registration is one way to demonstrate
rights in a mark, governmental trademark registration is not necessary to
establish rights under Policy ¶ 4(a)(i).
Previous panels have determined that a federal registration is not
required so long as the Complainant can establish common law rights through
proof of sufficient secondary meaning associated with the mark. See Artistic Pursuit LLC v.
calcuttawebdevelopers.com,
FA 894477 (Nat. Arb. Forum Mar. 8, 2007) (finding that
Policy ¶ 4(a)(i) does not require a trademark registration if a complainant can
establish common law rights in its mark); see also British
Broad. 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”).
Complainant has
filed a trademark registration with the USPTO but does not currently hold a
trademark registration. Complainant
began using the PURE REALTY mark in 1993, and offers evidence of its continuous
and extensive use of the mark since 1993.
The Panel finds that Complainant has established common law rights in
the PURE REALTY mark through continuous and extensive commercial use predating Respondent’s
registration of the disputed domain name under Policy ¶ 4(a)(i). See Ass’n of Tex. Prof’l Educators, Inc. v.
Salvia Corp., FA 685104 (Nat. Arb. Forum May 31, 2006) (holding that
the complainant had demonstrated common law rights in the ATPE mark through
continuous use of the mark in connection with educational services for over
twenty-five years); see also Toyota
Sunnyvale v. Adfero Publ’g Co., FA
921194 (Nat. Arb. Forum Apr. 10, 2007) (concluding that the complainant’s
TOYOTA SUNNYVALE mark had acquired secondary meaning sufficient for it to
establish common law rights in the mark through continuous and extensive use of
the mark since 2003 in connection with a car dealership under that mark).
Complainant contends that Respondent’s <purerealty.net>
domain name is identical to Complainant’s PURE REALTY mark. The disputed domain name simply removes a
space and adds the generic top-level domain “.net.” The Panel finds the removal of a space and
the addition of a gTLD is irrelevant under a Policy ¶ 4(a)(i) analysis. Therefore, the Panel finds the disputed
domain name is identical to Complainant’s PURE REALTY mark. See
The Panel finds that Complainant has satisfied Policy ¶ 4(a)(i).
Complainant has alleged that Respondent does not have any rights or legitimate interests in any of the <purerealty.net> domain name. The burden shifts to Respondent to prove it does have rights or legitimate interests when Complainant makes a prima facie case in support of its allegations under Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii). The Panel finds Complainant made a sufficient prima facie case. Respondent’s failure to respond to the Complaint allows the Panel to infer that Respondent does not have rights or legitimate interests in the <purerealty.net> domain name. However, the Panel will examine the record to determine whether Respondent has rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name under Policy ¶ 4(c). See Document Techs., Inc. v. Int’l Elec. Commc’ns Inc., D2000-0270 (WIPO June 6, 2000) (“Although Paragraph 4(a) of the Policy requires that the Complainant prove the presence of this element (along with the other two), once a Complainant makes out a prima facie showing, the burden of production on this factor shifts to the Respondent to rebut the showing by providing concrete evidence that it has rights to or legitimate interests in the Domain Name.”); see also Euromarket Designs, Inc. v. Domain For Sale VMI, D2000-1195 (WIPO Oct. 26, 2000) (“In the absence of direct evidence, the complainant and the panel must resort to reasonable inferences from whatever evidence is in the record. In addition . . . Paragraph 14(b) of the Rules [authorizes] a panel to draw such inferences from respondent’s failure to respond ‘as it considers appropriate.’”).
Respondent’s <purerealty.net> domain name resolved to Respondent’s competing website. The Panel finds that Respondent’s identical disputed domain name for this purpose is not a bona fide offering of goods or services pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c)(i) or a legitimate noncommercial or fair use of the disputed domain name under Policy ¶ 4(c)(iii). See Clear Channel Commc’ns, Inc. v. Beaty Enters., FA 135008 (Nat. Arb. Forum Jan. 2, 2003) (finding that the respondent, as a competitor of the complainant, had no rights or legitimate interests in a domain name that utilized the complainant’s mark for its competing website); see also Am. Tool & Machining, Inc. v. EZ Hitch Inc., FA 113961 (Nat. Arb. Forum July 16, 2002) (holding that Respondent lacks rights and legitimate interests in the domain name because “Respondent is competing in the same industry as Complainant, selling a product that is arguably identical to Complainant's product and under the same name”).
The WHOIS information identifies Respondent as “The PURE
Realty Team.” However, Respondent has
offered no evidence, and there is no evidence on the record, further suggesting
that Respondent is commonly known by the <purerealty.net> domain
name. Moreover, Complainant asserts that
Respondent is not authorized to use the <purerealty.net> domain
name. Therefore, the Panel finds that
Respondent is not commonly known by the <purerealty.net> domain
name pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii). See
Nature’s Path Foods Inc. v. Natures Path, Inc., FA 237452 (Nat. Arb.
Forum Apr. 2, 2004) (“In its WHOIS contact information, Respondent lists its
name and its administrative contact as ‘Natures Path, Inc.’ However, since
Respondent failed to respond to the Complaint, there has not been any
affirmative evidence provided to the Panel showing that Respondent was commonly
known by the disputed domain name prior to its registration of the domain
name.”); see also AOL LLC v.
AIM Profiles, FA 964479 (Nat.
Arb. Forum May 20, 2007) (finding that although the respondent listed itself as
“AIM Profiles” in the WHOIS contact information, there was no other evidence in
the record to suggest that the respondent was actually commonly known by that
domain name).
The Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii) has been satisfied.
Complainant alleges Respondent’s <purerealty.net>
domain name resolved to Respondent’s competing website. The Panel finds that such use constitutes
disruption of Complainant’s business and bad faith registration and use under
Policy ¶ 4(b)(iii).
See
The Panel presumes Respondent profited from the redirection
of Internet users looking for Complainant to Respondent’s website. The Panel infers Respondent profited from
Internet users’ confusion as to Complainant’s affiliation with the resolving
website. The Panel finds that this use constitutes and faith registration and
use under Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv). See Drs.
Foster & Smith, Inc. v. Lalli, FA 95284 (Nat. Arb. Forum Aug. 21, 2000)
(finding bad faith where the respondent directed Internet users seeking the
complainant’s site to its own website for commercial gain); see also
Am. Online, Inc. v. Tencent Commc’ns
Corp., FA 93668 (Nat. Arb. Forum Mar. 21, 2000) (finding bad faith where the
respondent registered and used a domain name confusingly similar to the
complainant’s mark to attract users to a website sponsored by the respondent).
The Panel finds that 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 <purerealty.net> domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.
Honorable Karl V. Fink (Ret.), Panelist
Dated: August 7, 2009
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