National Arbitration Forum

 

DECISION

 

National Westminster Bank plc v. [Redacted]

Claim Number: FA0707001028337

 

PARTIES

Complainant is National Westminster Bank plc (“Complainant”), represented by James A. Thomas, of Parker, Poe, Adams & Bernstein L.L.P., Post Office Box 389, Raleigh, NC 27602.  Respondent’s personal information is redacted from this Decision.

 

REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME

The domain name at issue is <natwest-ich.com>, registered with Melbourne It, Ltd. d/b/a Internet Names Worldwide.

 

PANEL

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.

 

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum electronically on July 5, 2007; the National Arbitration Forum received a hard copy of the Complaint on July 5, 2007.

 

On July 5, 2007, Melbourne It, Ltd. d/b/a Internet Names Worldwide confirmed by e-mail to the National Arbitration Forum that the <natwest-ich.com> domain name is registered with Melbourne It, Ltd. d/b/a Internet Names Worldwide and that Respondent is the current registrant of the name.  Melbourne It, Ltd. d/b/a Internet Names Worldwide has verified that Respondent is bound by the Melbourne It, Ltd. d/b/a Internet Names Worldwide 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 12, 2007, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the “Commencement Notification”), setting a deadline of August 1, 2007 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@natwest-ich.com by e-mail.

 

A timely Response was received and determined to be complete on July 16, 2007.

 

On July 18, 2007, pursuant to Complainant’s request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the National Arbitration Forum appointed the Honorable Charles K. McCotter, Jr. (Ret.) as Panelist.

 

RELIEF SOUGHT

Complainant requests that the domain name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.

 

PARTIES’ CONTENTIONS

A. Complainant

1.      Respondent’s <natwest-ich.com> domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s NATWEST mark.

 

2.      Respondent does not have any rights or legitimate interests in the <natwest-ich.com> domain name.

 

3.      Respondent registered and used the <natwest-ich.com> domain name in bad faith.

 

B. Respondent

Respondent contends he is the victim of identity theft, and that the actual identity of the registrant of the <natwest-ich.com> domain name is unknown.  In Wells Fargo & Co. v. John Doe as Holder of Domain Name <wellzfargo.com>, FA 362108 (Nat. Arb. Forum Dec. 30, 2004) and Wells Fargo & Co. v. John Doe as Holder of Domain Name <wellsfargossl>, FA 453727 (Nat. Arb. Forum May 19, 2005), the panels omitted the respondent’s personal information from the decision in an attempt to protect the respondents claiming to be victims of identity theft from any further injury.  See also Nat’l Westminster Bank plc v. [Redacted], FA 724496 (Nat. Arb. Forum July 20, 2006).  According to Policy ¶ 4(j), “[a]ll decisions under this Policy will be published in full over the Internet, except when an Administrative Panel determines in an exceptional case to redact portions of its decision.”  Consequently, the Panel determines that the circumstances of the present case, including the claim of identity theft by Respondent, warrant the redaction of Respondent’s information from the Panel’s decision. 

 

DECISION

Respondent did not register the disputed domain name, but rather an unknown third-party using his identity registered the <natwest-ich.com> domain name.  The Panel finds that these circumstances of identity theft qualify as consent to transfer the disputed domain name from Respondent to Complainant.  The Panel will forego the traditional UDRP analysis and order the immediate transfer of the domain name.  See Boehringer Ingelheim Int’l GmbH v. Modern Ltd. – Cayman Web Dev., FA 133625 (Nat. Arb. Forum Jan. 9, 2003) (transferring the domain name registration where the respondent stipulated to the transfer); see also Malev Hungarian Airlines, Ltd. v. Vertical Axis Inc., FA 212653 (Nat Arb. Forum Jan. 13, 2004) (“In this case, the parties have both asked for the domain name to be transferred to the Complainant . . . Since the requests of the parties in this case are identical, the Panel has no scope to do anything other than to recognize the common request, and it has no mandate to make findings of fact or of compliance (or not) with the Policy.”); see also Disney Enters., Inc. v. Morales, FA 475191 (Nat. Arb. Forum June 24, 2005) (“[U]nder such circumstances, where Respondent has agreed to comply with Complainant’s request, the Panel felt it to be expedient and judicial to forego the traditional UDRP analysis and order the transfer of the domain names.”).  Accordingly, the Panel concludes that relief shall be GRANTED.

 

Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <natwest-ich.com> domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.

 

 

 

The Honorable Charles K. McCotter, Jr. (Ret.), Panelist
Dated:  July 25, 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

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