DECISION
Harcourt, Inc. v. Jeff Fadness
Claim Number: FA0007000095247
PARTIES
The Complainant is Harcourt, Inc, Orlando, FL, USA ("Complainant"). The Respondent is Jeff Fadness, Herndon, VA, USA ("Respondent").
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME(s)
The domain names at issue are "FIRERESCUEMAGAZINE.COM", "CLINICALPSYCHIATRYNEWS.COM", "INTERNALMEDICINENEWS.COM", "OBGYNNEWS.COM", "PEDIATRICNEWS.COM", and "SKINANDALLERGYNEWS.COM", registered with Network Solutions Inc ("NSI").
PANELIST
The Panelist certifies that she has acted independently and impartially and to the best of her knowledge, has no known conflict in serving as the panelist in this proceeding.
Honorable Carolyn Marks Johnson sits as Panelist.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum ("The Forum") electronically on 07/18/2000; The Forum received a hard copy of the Complaint on 07/21/2000.
On 07/20/2000 and 08/01/2000, NSI confirmed by e-mail to The Forum that the domain names "FIRERESCUEMAGAZINE.COM", "CLINICALPSYCHIATRYNEWS.COM", "INTERNALMEDICINENEWS.COM", "OBGYNNEWS.COM", "PEDIATRICNEWS.COM", and "SKINANDALLERGYNEWS.COM", are registered with NSI and that the Respondent is the current registrant of the name. NSI has verified that Respondent is bound by the Network Solutions Service Agreement Version 5.0 and has thereby agreed to resolve domain-name disputes brought by third parties in accordance with ICANNís UDRP.
On 08/02/2000, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the "Commencement Notification"), setting a deadline of 08/22/2000 by which Respondent could file a Response to the Complaint, was transmitted to Respondent via e-mail, post and fax, and to all entities and persons listed on Respondentís registration as technical, administrative and billing contacts by e-mail. It was also e-mailed to postmaster@firerescuemagazine.com, postmaster@clinicalpsychiatrynews.com, postmaster@internalmedicinenews.com, postmaster@obgynnews.com, postmaster@pediatricnews.com, and postmaster@skinandallergynews.com.
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 08/25/2000, pursuant to Complainantís request to have the dispute decided by a Single Member panel, The Forum appointed Honorable Carolyn Marks Johnson 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 Uniform 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 Forumís Supplemental Rules and any rules and principles of law that the panel deems applicable, without the benefit of any Response from the Respondent.
RELIEF SOUGHT
The Complainant requests that the domain names be transferred from the Respondent to the Complainant.
PARTIESí CONTENTIONS
Complainant makes the following contentions:
1. Respondentís six Domain Names are identical to Harcourtís six Marks.
2. Respondent should be considered to have no rights/legitimate interest in the Domain
Names for the following reasons:
A. On information and belief, Fadness is making no legitimate commercial, noncommercial or fair use of the Domain Names.
B. Respondentís illegitimate registration and warehousing of the Domain Names prevents Harcourtís legitimate use and registration of those names as necessary to assist its customers in obtaining information about the products identified by its Marks.
C. All of the Harcourt Marks were registered with the USPTO well before Fadnessí registration of the Domain Names, and for that reason Fadness either knew or should have known of Harcourtís rights in its Marks. Moreover, under 15 U.S.C. ß1115 , Fadness had constructive notice of the existence of the Marks and Harcourtís rights therein.
D. Moreover, Harcourt or its predecessors adopted and used each of the Marks in commerce well before Fadness registered the Domain Names.
E. Any unauthorized use Fadness might make of the Domain Names in connection with web sites, would mislead and divert Harcourtís customers and tarnish the reputation of Harcourtís Marks.
F. Harcourt is a leading publisher of, among other things, scientific and medical publications, both in print and electronic formats, which it disseminates to individual and institutional customers on a worldwide basis.
G. Harcourt has invested considerable sums of money and effort in establishing a high degree of goodwill associated with its Marks. This goodwill will be eroded by the Respondentís registration and /or use of the Domain Names.
Faith for the following reasons:
A. Fadness has established no web sites using the Domain Names, and therefore has no legitimate reason for holding them.
B. On information and belief, Fadness did not decide to register all six of the Domain Names for any legitimate reason other than to attempt to sell them for an unfair price to the owner of the Marks, Harcourt.
C. Fadness offered to sell the Domain Names to Harcourt, but then reneged on the agreement.
D. When Harcourtís predecessors filed their applications in the USPTO to register the Marks, the applications were placed in a searchable database at the USPTO.
E. Fadness registered the Domain Names several years after the Marks had been in use in commerce, and after they had been registered in the USPTO and acquired by Harcourt. Thus, the existence of Harcourtís federally registered Marks would have been readily ascertainable if Fadness had performed trademark searches prior to registering the Domain Names.
B. Respondent
The Respondent submitted no response in this matter.
FINDINGS
The Complainant is the owner of the following U.S. trademark registrations:
FIRE RESCUE MAGAZINE, Registration No. 2,177,682,
registered on July 28, 1998;
INTERNAL MEDICINE NEWS, Registration No. 1,971,263, registered on April 30, 1996;
PEDIATRIC NEWS, Registration No. 1,624,818, registered on November 27, 1990;
CLINICAL PSYCHIATRY NEWS, Registration No. 1,690,161, registered on June 2, 1992;
OB.GYN.NEWS, Registration No. 1,816,813, registered on January 18, 1994; and
SKIN & ALLERGY NEWS, Registered No. 1,718,032, registered on September 22, 1992.
Respondent registered "CLINICALPSYCHIATRYNEWS.COM", "INTERNALMEDICINENEWS.COM", "OBGYNNEWS.COM", "PEDIATRICNEWS.COM", and "SKINANDALLERGYNEWS.COM" on December 10, 1999. The Respondent registered "FIRERESCUEMAGAZINE.COM" on December 12, 1999.
Respondent offered to sell the domain names to the Complainant but then reneged on the offer.
Respondent has made no use of the domain names in question.
DISCUSSION
ICANN Uniform Rule 14(b) provides that, absent exceptional circumstances, the Panel shall draw inferences, as it deems appropriate, from the failure of a party to comply with a provision or requirement of the Uniform Rules.
Paragraph 4(a) of the ICANN Uniform Domain Name Dispute Policy ("Policy") requires that a 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 the Respondent is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the Complainant has rights;
(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.
Identical and/or Confusingly Similar
Complainant has rights in the registered trademarks FIRE RESCUE MAGAZINE, INTERNAL MEDICINE NEWS, PEDIATRIC NEWS, CLINICAL PSYCHIATRY NEWS, OB.GYN.NEWS, SKIN & ALLERGY NEWS. Respondentís domain names are identical to the Complainantís marks. See Hormel Foods Corp. and Hormel Foods, LLC v. Spotted Cow Media, FA 95067 (Nat. Arb. Forum July 31, 2000) (finding that the domain name <kidkitchen.com> is identical to the Complainantís trademark KIDSKITCHEN).
Rights or Legitimate Interests
Policy 4.c.(i) ñ (iii) provides circumstances which demonstrate rights and legitimate interests in a domain name. Respondent has made no showing with respect to any of the Policy 4.c. factors. Respondent is not commonly known by any of the domain names at issue and has made no bona offering of goods or services or any legitimate noncommercial use of the domain names. Policy 4.c.(i) ñ (iii). The panel finds that Respondent has no rights or legitimate interest in the domain names.
Registration and Use in Bad Faith
Complainant contends that the Respondent registered and used the domain names in bad faith. Respondent has not submitted any response denying this contention.
Registration of more than one domain name that infringes on anotherís registered mark(s) supports the inference that the Respondent knew of the Complainantís marks upon registering the domain names. See Home Interiors & Gifts, Inc. v. Home Interiors, D2000-0010 (WIPO Mar. 7, 2000) (finding that the fact that the Respondent registered two domain names infringing on the Complainantís marks is suggestive that the Respondent knew of the Complainantís marks).
The registration of multiple domain names that infringe on the Complainantís trademarks is evidence of a pattern of conduct. One instance of registration of several infringing domain names satisfies the burden imposed by the Policy 4.b.(ii). The Panel concludes that Respondent registered the domain names to prevent Complainant from reflecting the marks in corresponding domain names. Policy 4.b.(ii).
Respondent has also made no use of the domain names in question. Passive holding of a domain name is evidence of bad faith. See Telstra Corp. v. Nuclear Marshmallows, D2000-0003 (WIPO Feb. 18, 2000) ("[I]t is possible, in certain circumstances, for inactivity by the Respondent to amount to the domain name being used in bad faith").
Given the circumstances above, the Panel concludes that Respondent registered and used the domain names in question in bad faith.
DECISION
Having established all three elements required by the ICANN Policy Rule 4(a), it is the decision of the panel that the requested relief be granted.
Accordingly, for all of the foregoing reasons, it is ordered that the domain names, "FIRERESCUEMAGAZINE.COM", "CLINICALPSYCHIATRYNEWS.COM", "INTERNALMEDICINENEWS.COM", "OBGYNNEWS.COM", "PEDIATRICNEWS.COM", and "SKINANDALLERGYNEWS.COM", be transferred from the Respondent to the Complainant.
___________________________________________________
Honorable Carolyn Marks Johnson
Dated: 09/08/2000
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