National Westminster Bank plc v. [Registrant]
Claim Number: FA0806001212874
Complainant is National
Westminster Bank plc (“Complainant”), represented by Sheldon Pontaoe, of Troutman Sanders LLP,
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN
NAME
The domain name at issue is <natwst.com>, registered with Godaddy.com, Inc.
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 Panelist in this proceeding.
Tyrus R. Atkinson, Jr., as Panelist.
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum electronically on June 26, 2008; the National Arbitration Forum received a hard copy of the Complaint on June 27, 2008.
On June 27, 2008, Godaddy.com, Inc. confirmed by e-mail to the National Arbitration Forum that the <natwst.com> domain name is registered with Godaddy.com, Inc. and that Respondent is the current registrant of the name(s). Godaddy.com, Inc. has verified that Respondent is bound by the Godaddy.com, Inc. 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 2, 2008, a Notification of
Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the "Commencement
Notification"), setting a deadline of July 22, 2008
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@natwst.com by
e-mail.
Having received no response from Respondent, the National Arbitration Forum transmitted to the parties a Notification of Respondent Default.
On July 25, 2008, pursuant to
Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the
National Arbitration Forum appointed
Tyrus R. Atkinson, Jr., as Panelist.
Having reviewed the communications records, the Administrative Panel (the "Panel") finds that the National Arbitration 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 National Arbitration 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 name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.
A. Complainant makes the following assertions:
1. Respondent’s <natwst.com> domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s NATWEST mark.
2. Respondent does not have any rights or legitimate interests in the <natwst.com> domain name.
3. Respondent registered and used the <natwst.com> domain name in bad faith.
B. Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding.
Complainant, National Westminster Bank plc, is a
Respondent registered the disputed <natwst.com> domain name on December 1, 2003, and is using the disputed domain name to resolve to a website that features third-party links for Complainant’s direct financial competitors. The website also features links purportedly leading to Complainant, but instead links to Complainant’s competitors.
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. 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 (Nat. Arb. 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.”).
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 asserted evidence of its trademark
registrations for NATWEST with various governmental trademark authorities,
including the UKIPO, USPTO, and OHIM.
The Panel finds that Complainant has sufficient rights in its NATWEST
mark through these trademark registrations pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(a)(i). See Google, Inc. v. DktBot.org, FA
286993 (Nat. Arb. Forum Aug. 4, 2004) (finding that the complainant had
established rights in the GOOGLE mark through its holding of numerous trademark
registrations around the world); see also
Thermo Electron Corp. v. Xu, FA
713851 (Nat. Arb. Forum July 12, 2006) (holding that the complainants
established rights in marks because the marks were registered with a trademark
authority).
Respondent’s <natwst.com> domain name
incorporates Complainant’s NATWEST mark, with the only modifications being the
removal of the “e” and the addition of the generic top-level domain (“gTLD”)
“.com.” Previous panels have found that
the intentional alteration and misspelling of a mark does not distinguish a
disputed domain name from the mark.
Moreover, TLDs are immaterial under a Policy ¶ 4(a)(i) scrutiny. Therefore, the Panel finds that the <natwst.com>
domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s NATWEST mark under Policy ¶
4(a)(i). See W. Union Holdings, Inc.
v. XYZ, D2005-0945 (WIPO Oct. 20, 2005) (finding <wuib.com> identical
to the complainant’s mark because the generic top-level domain (gTLD) “.com”
after the name WUIB is part of the Internet address and does not add source-identifying
significance); see also Pfizer Inc. v. BargainName.com, D2005-0299 (WIPO Apr. 28, 2005) (holding that the
<pfzer.com> domain name was confusingly similar to the complainant’s
PFIZER mark, as the respondent simply omitted the letter “i”).
The Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(i) has been satisfied.
Complainant has alleged that Respondent lacks rights and
legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. Complainant has the burden of setting forth a
prima facie case supporting its
allegations before Respondent receives the burden of demonstrating its rights
or legitimate interests. Because the
Panel finds that Complainant has met its burden, Respondent receives its task
of proving its rights or legitimate interests.
See Document Techs., Inc. v. Int’l Elec. Commc’ns Inc.,
D2000-0270 (WIPO June 6, 2000) (“Although Paragraph 4(a) of the Policy requires
that the Complainant prove the presence of this element (along with the other
two), once a Complainant makes out a prima facie showing, the burden of
production on this factor shifts to the Respondent to rebut the showing by
providing concrete evidence that it has rights to or legitimate interests in
the Domain Name.”); see also Swedish Match UK Ltd. v. Admin, Domain, FA 873137 (Nat. Arb. Forum Feb. 13,
2007) (finding that once a prima facie case has been established by the
complainant under Policy ¶ 4(c), the burden then shifts to the respondent to
demonstrate its rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name).
Complainant alleges that Respondent is not commonly known by
the disputed domain name. Respondent has
not provided any evidence of a license or permission to use Complainant’s
NATWEST mark in any fashion, and the WHOIS information merely lists the
registrant of record as “[Registrant].”
Thus, the Panel finds that Respondent is not commonly known by the
disputed domain name under Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii).
See Braun Corp. v. Loney, FA 699652 (Nat. Arb. Forum July 7,
2006) (concluding that the respondent was not commonly known by the disputed
domain names where the WHOIS information, as well as all other information in
the record, gave no indication that the respondent was commonly known by the
disputed domain names, and the complainant had not authorized the respondent to
register a domain name containing its registered mark); see also
Respondent’s corresponding website to the disputed domain
name merely displays links for Complainant’s competitors. Some of these links to Complainant’s
competitors are even labeled as though they would lead to Complainant. Respondent presumably receives referral fees
through a “click-through” payment scheme, or some similar mechanism. The Panel finds that this is not a bona fide offering of goods or services
under Policy ¶ 4(c)(i), or a legitimate noncommercial or fair under Policy ¶
4(c)(iii). See Disney Enters., Inc. v. Kamble, FA 918556 (Nat. Arb. Forum Mar.
27, 2007) (holding that the operation of a pay-per-click website at a
confusingly similar domain name was not a bona
fide offering of goods or services under Policy ¶ 4(c)(i) or a legitimate
noncommercial or fair use under Policy ¶ 4(c)(iii)); see also ALPITOUR S.p.A. v.
Albloushi, FA 888651 (Nat. Arb. Forum Feb. 26, 2007) (rejecting the
respondent’s contention of rights and legitimate interests in the
<bravoclub.com> domain name because the respondent was merely using the
domain name to operate a website containing links to various competing
commercial websites, which the panel did not find to be a use in connection
with a bona fide offering of goods or services pursuant to Policy ¶
4(c)(i) or a legitimate noncommercial or fair use pursuant to Policy ¶
4(c)(iii)).
Respondent’s confusingly similar disputed domain name is a misspelled
version of Complainant’s NATWEST mark.
Thus, Respondent’s removal of the “e” from the mark clearly demonstrates
its intent to manipulate the common typographical errors of unsuspecting
Internet users seeking Complainant, by rerouting them via the disputed domain
name so that Respondent may achieve “click-through” profits. This practice is commonly known as
“typosquatting,” and Respondent’s use of this method indicates that Respondent
lacks rights and legitimate interests under Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii). See LTD Commodities LLC v. Party
Night, Inc., FA 165155 (Nat. Arb.
Forum Aug. 14, 2003) (finding that the <ltdcommadities.com>,
<ltdcommmodities.com>, and <ltdcommodaties.com> domain
names were intentional misspellings of Complainant's LTD COMMODITIES mark
and this “‘typosquatting’ is evidence that Respondent lacks rights or
legitimate interests in the disputed domain names”); see also IndyMac
Bank F.S.B. v. Ebeyer, FA 175292
(Nat. Arb. Forum Sept. 19, 2003) (finding that the respondent lacked rights and
legitimate interests in the disputed domain names because it “engaged
in the practice of typosquatting by taking advantage of Internet users who
attempt to access Complainant's <indymac.com> website but mistakenly
misspell Complainant's mark by typing the letter ‘x’ instead of the letter
‘c’”).
The Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii) has been satisfied.
Respondent’s disputed domain name resolves to a website that
promotes Complainant’s direct competitors with hyperlinks and
advertisements. This use clearly
disrupts Complainant’s business as it encourages Internet users to conduct
business with Complainant’s competitors.
The Panel therefore finds Respondent to have registered and used the
disputed domain name in bad faith under Policy ¶ 4(b)(iii). See Red Hat, Inc. v. Haecke, FA
726010 (Nat. Arb. Forum July 24, 2006) (finding that the respondent engaged in
bad faith registration and use pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(iii) by using the
disputed domain names to operate a commercial search engine with links to the
products of the complainant and to complainant’s competitors, as well as by
diverting Internet users to several other domain names); see also S. Exposure v. S.
Exposure, Inc., FA 94864 (Nat. Arb. Forum July 18, 2000) (finding
that the respondent registered the domain name in question to disrupt the
business of the complainant, a competitor of the respondent).
The Panel also finds that Respondent’s confusingly similar
disputed domain name, which resolves to a commercial website promoting
Complainant’s competitors, creates a likelihood of confusion as to
Complainant’s affiliation and endorsement of the disputed domain and
corresponding website, which constitutes bad faith registration and use under
Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv). See Allianz of Am. Corp. v.
Bond, FA
680624 (Nat. Arb. Forum June 2, 2006) (finding bad faith registration and use
under Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv) where the respondent was diverting Internet users
searching for the complainant to its own website and likely profiting); see also Zee TV USA, Inc. v. Siddiqi, FA 721969 (Nat. Arb. Forum July
18, 2006) (finding that the respondent engaged in bad faith registration and
use by using a domain name that was confusingly similar to the complainant’s
mark to offer links to third-party websites that offered services similar to
those offered by the complainant).
The Panel finds that Respondent’s engagement in
typosquatting also constitutes evidence of its bad faith registration and use
under Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii). See Dermalogica, Inc. v. Domains to Develop, FA 175201
(Nat. Arb. Forum Sept. 22, 2003) (finding that the
<dermatalogica.com> domain name was a “simple misspelling” of the
complainant's DERMALOGICA mark which indicated typosquatting and
bad faith pursuant to Policy 4 ¶ (a)(iii)); see
also Zone Labs, Inc.
v. Zuccarini, FA 190613 (Nat. Arb.
Forum Oct. 15, 2003) (“Respondent’s registration and use of [the
<zonelarm.com> domain name] that capitalizes on the typographical error
of an Internet user is considered typosquatting. Typosquatting, itself is
evidence of bad faith registration and use pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii).”).
The Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii) has been 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 <natwst.com> domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.
Tyrus R. Atkinson, Jr., Panelist
Dated: August 8, 2008
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