Compaq Trademark B.V. v. International
Aggregate and Darrell Small
Claim
Number: FA0309000196024
Complainant is Compaq Trademark B.V., Palo Alto, CA
(“Complainant”) represented by Heather
C. Brunelli, of Thompson & Knight LLP. Respondent is International Aggregate and
Darrell Small, Scottsdale,
AZ, (“Respondent”).
REGISTRAR
AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME
The
domain names at issue are <compaqsparepartsstore.com> and <compaqpartsdirect.com>,
registered with Register.Com.
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.
The
Honorable Charles K. McCotter, Jr. (Ret.) as Panelist.
Complainant
submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum (the "Forum")
electronically on September 15, 2003; the Forum received a hard copy of the
Complaint on September 17, 2003.
On
September 15, 2003, Register.Com confirmed by e-mail to the Forum that the domain
names <compaqsparepartsstore.com> and <compaqpartsdirect.com>
are registered with Register.Com and that Respondent is the current registrant
of the names. Register.Com has verified that Respondent is bound by the Register.Com
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
September 18, 2003, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of
Administrative Proceeding (the "Commencement Notification"), setting
a deadline of October 8, 2003 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@compaqsparepartsstore.com
and postmaster@compaqpartsdirect.com by e-mail.
Having
received no Response from Respondent, using the same contact details and
methods as were used for the Commencement Notification, the Forum transmitted
to the parties a Notification of Respondent Default.
On
October 14, 2003, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided
by a single-member Panel, the Forum appointed the Honorable Charles K.
McCotter, Jr. (Ret.) 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."
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 makes the following assertions:
1. Respondent’s <compaqsparepartsstore.com>
and <compaqpartsdirect.com> domain names are confusingly
similar to Complainant’s COMPAQ mark.
2. Respondent does not have any rights or
legitimate interests in the <compaqsparepartsstore.com> and <compaqpartsdirect.com>
domain names.
3. Respondent registered and used the <compaqsparepartsstore.com>
and <compaqpartsdirect.com> domain names in bad faith.
B. Respondent failed to submit a Response in
this proceeding.
Complainant,
Compaq Trademark B.V., first used the COMPAQ mark in commerce in 1982 and holds
many valid and subsisting trademark registrations for the mark (e.g.
U.S. Reg. No. 1,467,066, registered on December 1, 1987). By 1994 Complainant was
the largest global supplier of personal computers, and in 2000 Complainant’s
COMPAQ branded businesses represented over $40 billion in sales. In addition to
its use of COMPAQ branded goods in the marketplace, Complainant has registered
the <compaq.com> domain name for use in connection with the providing of
computer related services and products. Of note, Complainant’s parts ordering
buisness operates under the name “COMPAQ spare parts store.”
Respondent,
International Aggregate and Darrell Small, registered the <compaqsparepartsstore.com>
and <compaqpartsdirect.com> domain names on August 1, 2003,
and August 6, 2002, respectively, without license or authorization to use
Complainant’s COMPAQ mark for any purpose. The <compaqsparepartsstore.com>
domain name resells parts for COMPAQ products, claiming to be “The absolute
best source for HP and Compaq parts.” The <compaqpartsdirect.com>
domain name resolves to a website entited “GetRescued.Net” and advertises a
personal locator beacon (“PLB”), an electronic device used to broadcast the
location of the owner in case of an emergency.
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.
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
established rights in the COMPAQ mark through registration of the mark on the
Principal Register of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, as well as through
widespread and continuous use of the mark in commerce.
Respondent’s <compaqsparepartsstore.com>
and <compaqpartsdirect.com> domain names are confusingly similar to Complainant’s COMPAQ mark. The
distinctive feature of each domain name is Complainant’s famous COMPAQ mark.
The addition of the phrase “parts direct” to the <compaqpartsdirect.com>
domain name does nothing to dispell this confusing similarity. The addition
of the phrase “spare parts store” to the <compaqsparepartsstore.com>
is even more confusing, as this is the actual name that Complainant uses for
its authentic parts ordering business. See Oki Data Ams., Inc. v. ASD Inc.,
D2001-0903 (WIPO Nov. 6, 2001) (“the fact that a domain name wholly incorporates
a Complainant’s registered mark is sufficient to establish identity or
confusing similarity for purposes of the Policy despite the addition of other
words to such marks”); see also Space Imaging LLC
v. Brownwell, AF-0298 (eResolution Sept.
22, 2000) (finding confusing similarity where Respondent’s domain name combines
Complainant’s mark with a generic term that has an obvious relationship to
Complainant’s business).
Accordingly, the
Panel finds that the <compaqsparepartsstore.com> and <compaqpartsdirect.com>
domain names are confusingly
similar to Complainant’s COMPAQ mark under Policy ¶ 4(a)(i).
Both of
Respondent’s domain names utilize the famous COMPAQ mark, without authorization
by Complainant. At the <compaqsparepartsstore.com> domain name,
Respondent holds itself out as the “absolute best source for HP and Compaq
parts,” giving the impression that it is an authorized agent of Complainant. At
the <compaqpartsdirect.com> domain name, a PLB device is
advertised, giving the impression that Complainant is somehow affiliated with
the device. In both cases Respondent is using the goodwill that Complainant has
built up around the COMPAQ mark for its own illegitimate ends. Such use is
neither a bona fide offering of goods or services nor a legitimate
noncommercial or fair use of the domain names, making Policy ¶¶ 4(c)(i) and
(iii) inapplicable in this dispute. See Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Burgar, FA 93564 (Nat. Arb. Forum Apr. 10,
2000) (finding that Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the
<hewlettpackard.com> domain name, because Respondent is not a licensed
dealer of Hewlett-Packard products and has not demonstrated any right except to
declare that he is affiliated with a licensed re-seller of Complainant’s products);
see also Am. Online, Inc. v.
Tencent Comm. Corp., FA 93668 (Nat. Arb. Forum Mar. 21, 2000) (finding that
use of Complainant’s mark “as a portal to suck surfers into a site sponsored by
Respondent hardly seems legitimate”).
Respondent is
not licensed or authorized to use Complainant’s famous COMPAQ mark, and names
itself as either “International Aggregate” or “Darrell Small” in the WHOIS
contact information for the disputed domain names. Thus, the Panel finds that
Respondent is not commonly known by the disputed domain names, rendering Poilcy
¶ 4(c)(ii) inapplicable in this dispute as well. See Tercent Inc.
v. Yi, FA 139720 (Nat. Arb. Forum Feb. 10, 2003) (stating “nothing in
Respondent’s WHOIS information implies that Respondent is ‘commonly known by’
the disputed domain name” as one factor in determining that Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii)
does not apply); see also Nike, Inc. v. B. B. de Boer, D2000-1397 (WIPO Dec. 21, 2000)
(finding no rights or legitimate interests where one “would be hard pressed to
find a person who may show a right or legitimate interest” in a domain name
containing Complainant's distinct and famous NIKE trademark).
Accordingly, the
Panel finds that Respondent does not have rights or legitimate interests in the
<compaqsparepartsstore.com> and <compaqpartsdirect.com> domain names under Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii).
At both of the
disputed domain names, Respondent is capitalizing on a likelihood of confusion
between the content hosted and Complainant’s COMPAQ mark. With respect to the <compaqsparepartsstore.com>
domain name, Internet users will likely be confused as to whether Complainant
is affiliated with or endorses Respondent’s unauthorized activities. Upon
arriving at the <compaqpartsdirect.com> domain name, Internet users will likely believe that Complainant is the
sponsor or source of the PLB device that is advertised. In both instances,
Respondent has created a likelihood of confusion with Complainant’s mark for
commercial gain, evidence that the domain names were registered and used in bad
faith pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv). See Sony Kabushiki Kaisha v. Inja, Kil, D2000-1409 (WIPO Dec. 9, 2000)
(finding bad faith registration and use where it is “inconceivable that the
respondent could make any active use of the disputed domain names without
creating a false impression of association with the Complainant”); see also Pavillion Agency, Inc. v. Greenhouse Agency
Ltd., D2000-1221 (WIPO Dec. 4, 2000) (finding that the “domain names are so
obviously connected with the Complainants that the use or registration by
anyone other than Complainants suggests ‘opportunistic bad faith’”).
The Panel thus
finds that Respondent registered and used the <compaqsparepartsstore.com>
and <compaqpartsdirect.com> domain names in bad faith, and that Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii) is 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 <compaqsparepartsstore.com> and <compaqpartsdirect.com>
domain names be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.
The Honorable Charles K. McCotter, Jr.
(Ret.), Panelist
Dated:
October 21, 2003
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