Deutsche Lufthansa AG v. mbi et al.
Claim Number: FA1406001566236
Complainant: Deutsche Lufthansa AG of Frankfurt, Germany.
Complainant Representative: Rauschhofer Rechtsanwälte of Wiesbaden, Germany.
Respondent: mbi of ariana, International, TN.
mbi of ariana, International, Tunisia.
REGISTRIES and REGISTRARS
Registries: Foggy Hollow, LLC
Registrars: Blue Razor Domains, LLC
The undersigned certifies that he or she has acted independently and impartially and to the best of his or her knowledge has no known conflict in serving as Examiner in this proceeding.
Omar Haydar, as Examiner.
Complainant submitted: June 24, 2014
Commencement: June 24, 2014
Response Date: July 12, 2014
Having reviewed the communications records, the Examiner finds that the National Arbitration Forum has discharged its responsibility under URS Procedure Paragraphs 3 and 4 and Rule 4 of the Rules for the Uniform Rapid Suspension System (the "Rules").
Complainant requests that the domain name be suspended for the life of the registration.
Clear and convincing evidence.
The complaint and findings relate to one domain <staralliance.cards>. There is one Complainant and one Respondent, and no domain names were dismissed from this complaint.
The Respondent has registered the domain name <staralliance.cards>.
Complainant, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, is the owner of trademark STAR ALLIANCE, which has been registered in various countries. Further, Complainant has provided evidence of current use of the trademark with a screen capture of the website <staralliance.com>, which Examiner has confirmed is currently in use as at the date of this determination.
Complainant has claimed that the domain name in question is identical to their protected word or mark.
Respondent has claimed the purchase of the domain in good faith based on an “automated domain search and appraisal algorithm” and that there was no legal or trademark registration in Tunisia at the time of the purchase. Further, Respondent claims to intend to use this and other domains as web blogs to review the services offered by this business. The domain as at the date of this determination was used for pay per click links, with a sales offer on top “Interested in this domain?” and contains no information about or related to Star Alliance.
URS Procedure 1.2.6, requires Complainant to prove, by clear and convincing evidence, each of the following three elements to obtain an order that a domain name should be suspended:
1. The registered domain name(s) is/are identical or confusingly similar to a word or mark for which the Complainant holds a valid national or regional registration and that is in current use.
2. Respondent has no legitimate right or interest to the domain name.
3. The domain name(s) was/were registered and are being used in bad faith.
The Examiner finds that Complainant has proven that the domain name is identical through evidence of the trademark registration and evidence of the current use of the trademark.
The Examiner further finds that Complainant has proven and the Respondent has failed to disprove that Respondent has no legitimate right or interest to the domain name.
The Examiner finds that the evidence proves the domain names were registered and are being used in bad faith. The Examiner finds the current use of the website contrary to Respondent’s assertions, especially with the indication of it being available for sale. Further, Respondent’s asserted proposed use of the website as a web blog to review the services of this business undermines his assertion of a lack of trademark, especially considering the clear indication of a trademark evidenced in the logo of Star Alliance and associated legal disclosures on the domain <staralliance.com>.
After reviewing the parties’ submissions, the Examiner determines that the Complainant has demonstrated all three elements of the URS by a standard of clear and convincing evidence; the Examiner hereby Orders the following domain names be SUSPENDED for the duration of the registration.
<STARALLIANCE.CARDS>
Omar Haydar, Examiner
Dated: July 16, 2014
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