Vanguard Trademark Holdings USA LLC v. Shuai Wei Xu / Xu Shuai Wei
Claim Number: FA1804001784238
Complainant is Vanguard Trademark Holdings USA LLC (“Complainant”), represented by David R. Haarz of Harness, Dickey & Pierce, PLC., Virginia, USA. Respondent is Shuai Wei Xu / Xu Shuai Wei (“Respondent”), China.
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAMES
The domain names at issue are <nnationalcarrental.com>, <nationallcarrental.com>, <nattionalcarrental.com>, <nationalcarrenntal.com>, <nationalccarrental.com>, and <natioonalcarrental.com>, registered with Chengdu West Dimension Digital Technology Co., Ltd.
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.
Kenneth L. Port as Panelist.
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the Forum electronically on April 30, 2018; the Forum received payment on April 30, 2018. The Complaint was submitted in both Chinese and English.
On May 1, 2018; May 8, 2018, Chengdu West Dimension Digital Technology Co., Ltd. confirmed by e-mail to the Forum that the <nnationalcarrental.com>, <nationallcarrental.com>, <nattionalcarrental.com>, <nationalcarrenntal.com>, <nationalccarrental.com>, and <natioonalcarrental.com> domain names are registered with Chengdu West Dimension Digital Technology Co., Ltd. and that Respondent is the current registrant of the names. Chengdu West Dimension Digital Technology Co., Ltd. has verified that Respondent is bound by the Chengdu West Dimension Digital Technology Co., Ltd. registration agreement and has thereby agreed to resolve domain disputes brought by third parties in accordance with ICANN’s Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the “Policy”).
On May 9, 2018, the Forum served the Complaint and all Annexes, including a Chinese language Written Notice of the Complaint, setting a deadline of May 29, 2018 by which Respondent could file a Response to the Complaint, via e-mail to all entities and persons listed on Respondent’s registration as technical, administrative, and billing contacts, and to postmaster@nnationalcarrental.com, postmaster@nationallcarrental.com, postmaster@nattionalcarrental.com, postmaster@nationalcarrenntal.com, postmaster@nationalccarrental.com, postmaster@natioonalcarrental.com. Also on May 9, 2018, the Chinese language Written Notice of the Complaint, notifying Respondent of the e-mail addresses served and the deadline for a Response, was transmitted to Respondent via post and fax, to all entities and persons listed on Respondent’s registration as technical, administrative and billing contacts.
Having received no response from Respondent, the Forum transmitted to the parties a Notification of Respondent Default.
On June 1, 2018, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the Forum appointed Kenneth L. Port as Panelist.
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 for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Rules") "to employ reasonably available means calculated to achieve actual notice to Respondent" through submission of Electronic and Written Notices, as defined in Rule 1 and Rule 2. Therefore, the Panel may issue its decision based on the documents submitted and in accordance with the ICANN Policy, ICANN 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.
Complainant requests that the domain names be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.
A. Complainant
Complainant, Vanguard Trademark Holdings USA LLC, is a premium, internationally recognized brand serving the daily rental needs of the frequent airport business traveler throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Latin America, Asia, and the Pacific Rim. Complainant owns a registration for the NATIONAL CAR RENTAL mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) (Reg. No. 1,540,913 registered May 23, 1989), and owns registrations for the same mark with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (“EUIPO”) (e.g., CTM Reg. No. 000190439, registered Mar. 12, 2003). Respondent’s disputed domain names are confusingly similar to Complainant’s mark as each domain name consists of a typo of the NATIONAL CAR RENTAL mark.
Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain names. Further, Respondent is not authorized to use Complainant’s NATIONAL CAR RENTAL mark and is not commonly known by the domain name as the WHOIS information of record lists registrant of each disputed domain name as “Shuai Wei Xu / Xu Shuai Wei.” Respondent does not use the disputed domain names in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services, or a legitimate noncommercial or fair use. Instead, Respondent uses the disputed domain names to promote products and services in competition with Complainant via pay-per-click hyperlinks, and to drive internet traffic to Respondent’s web sites when Internet users are trying to reach Complainant.
Respondent registered and used the disputed domain names in bad faith as the domain names disrupt Complainant’s business, and are used to attract Internet users to Respondent’s website by creating a likelihood of confusion with Complainant’s mark in order to trade upon the goodwill associated with Complainant’s mark. Lastly, Respondent is engaged in typosquatting with the disputed domain names.
B. Respondent
Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding. The disputed domain names, <nnationalcarrental.com>, <nationallcarrental.com>, <nattionalcarrental.com>, <nationalcarrenntal.com>, <nationalccarrental.com>, and <natioonalcarrental.com> were registered on March 11, 2018.
The Panel finds that, pursuant to Rule 11(a), the language requirement has been satisfied through the Chinese language Complaint and Commencement Notification, and, absent a Response, determines that the remainder of the proceedings may be conducted in English.
The Panel further finds that the disputed domain names are confusingly similar with Complainant’s valid and subsisting trademark, that Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in or to the dispute domain names; and that Respondent has engaged in bad faith use and registration of the disputed domain names.
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."
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.
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(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 (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.”).
The Panel finds that the disputed domain names are confusingly similar to Complainant’s valid and subsisting trademark, NATIONAL CAR RENTAL. Complainant has adequately plead its rights and interests in and to this trademark. Respondent arrives at each of the disputed domain names by merely misspelling each of the disputed domain names and adding the gTLD “.com.” This is insufficient to distinguish the disputed domain names from Complainant’s trademark.
As such, the Panel finds that each of the disputed domain names is confusingly similar to Complainant’s trademark.
The Panel further finds that Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in or to the disputed domain names. Respondent has no right, permission or license to register the disputed domain names. Respondent is not commonly known by the disputed domain name. Furthermore, Respondent does not use the disputed domain names in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services, or a legitimate noncommercial or fair use. Instead, Respondent apparently uses the disputed domain names to promote products and services in competition with Complainant via pay-per-click hyperlinks and to drive internet traffic to Respondent’s web sites when Internet users are trying to reach Complainant.
As such, the Panel finds that Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in or to the disputed domain names.
The Panel further finds that Respondent has engaged in bad faith use and registration of the disputed domain names. Complainant argues the disputed domain names disrupt Complainant’s business and are used to attract Internet users to Respondent’s website by creating a likelihood of confusion with Complainant’s mark in order to trade upon the goodwill associated with Complainant’s mark for Respondent’s commercial gain via pay-per-click hyperlinks. Such uses can demonstrate bad faith per Policy ¶¶ 4(b)(iv). See American Council on Education and GED Testing Service LLC v. Anthony Williams, FA1760954 (Forum Jan. 8, 2018) (“Respondent’s hosting of links to Complainant’s competitors demonstrates bad faith registration and use of the <geddiploma.org> domain name pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv)”). Here, Complainant argues that all but one of Respondent’s webpages associated with the disputed domain names resolve to websites hosting pay-per-click links to competitors of Complainant for Respondent’s presumed commercial gain. See Compl. Ex. 7.
Accordingly, the Panel finds that Respondent registered and used the disputed domain names in bad faith per Policy ¶¶ 4(b)(iii) and (iv).
Complainant further asserts that Respondent’s registration of the disputed domain names demonstrates typosquatting. The registration and use of domain names that appropriate third-party marks with intentional typographical errors can demonstrate bad faith per Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii). See Homer TLC, Inc. v. Artem Ponomarev, FA1506001623825 (Forum July 20, 2015) (“Finally, under this head of the Policy, it is evident that the <homededpot.com> domain name is an instance of typosquatting, which is the deliberate misspelling of the mark of another in a domain name, done to take advantage of common typing errors made by Internet users in entering into a web browser the name of an enterprise with which they would like to do business online. Typosquatting is independent evidence of bad faith in the registration and use of a domain name.”). Here, Respondent has appropriated the NATIONAL CAR RENTAL mark, removed the spaces, then introduced and registered variations of the misspelled mark.
As such, the Panel finds that Respondent has engaged in typosquatting with the disputed domain names which represents bad faith per Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii).
Finally, the Panel finds that given the fame of Complainant’s mark and the totality of the circumstances, Respondent had actual notice of Complainant’s prior rights and interests in and to the trademark NATIONAL CAR RENTAL.
As such, the Panel finds that Respondent has engaged in bad faith use and registration of the disputed domain names.
Having established all three elements required under the ICANN Policy, the Panel concludes that relief shall be granted.
Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <nnationalcarrental.com>, <nationallcarrental.com>, <nattionalcarrental.com>, <nationalcarrenntal.com>, <nationalccarrental.com>, and <natioonalcarrental.com> domain names be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.
Kenneth L. Port, Panelist
Dated: June 1, 2018
Click Here to return to the main Domain Decisions Page.
Click Here to return to our Home Page