Stevland Morris a/k/a Stevie
Wonder v. Mark Galasso c/o Antifluff Superstar.Com
Claim Number: FA1006001327669
PARTIES
Complainant is Stevland Morris a/k/a Stevie Wonder, (“Complainant”) represented by Stephen
J. Strauss, of Fulwider
Patton LLP,
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME
The domain name at issue is <steviewonder.us>, registered with
GoDaddy.com, Inc.
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.
Judge Ralph Yachnin as Panelist.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum
(the “Forum”) electronically on June 1, 2010;
the Forum received a hard copy of the Complaint on June 11, 2010.
On Jun 1, 2010, GoDaddy.com, Inc.
confirmed by e-mail to the Forum that the <steviewonder.us> domain name is registered with GoDaddy.com, Inc. and that Respondent
is the current registrant of the name.
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 the U. S.
Department of Commerce’s usTLD Dispute Resolution Policy (the “Policy”).
On June 14, 2010, a Notification
of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the “Commencement
Notification”), setting a deadline of July 6, 2010 by which Respondent could
file a Response to the Complaint, was transmitted to Respondent in compliance
with Paragraph 2(a) of the Rules for usTLD Dispute Resolution Policy (the
“Rules”).
Having received no Response from Respondent, the Forum transmitted to
the parties a Notification of Respondent Default.
On July 7, 2010, pursuant to Complainant’s request to have the dispute
decided by a single-member Panel, the Forum appointed Judge Ralph Yachnin 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. Therefore,
the Panel may issue its decision based on the documents submitted and in accordance
with the Policy, the 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.
RELIEF SOUGHT
Complainant requests that the domain name be transferred from
Respondent to Complainant.
PARTIES’ CONTENTIONS
A. Complainant
1. Respondent’s <steviewonder.us> domain name is identical to Complainant’s STEVIE WONDER mark.
2.
Respondent does not have any rights or
legitimate interests in the <steviewonder.us>
domain name.
3.
Respondent registered and used the <steviewonder.us> domain name in bad
faith.
B. Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding.
FINDINGS
Complainant, Stevland
Morris a/k/a Stevie Wonder, is an internationally famous entertainer and
musical artist who performs under the stage name
STEVIE WONDER. Complainant holds
numerous registrations with the United States Patent and Trademark Office
(“USPTO”) for the STEVIE WONDER mark (e.g.,
Reg. No. 2,600,739 filed on April 23, 2001).
Respondent, Mark
Galasso, registered the <steviewonder.us>
domain name on May 17, 2002. The
disputed domain name resolves to a
website offering links to third-party websites that relate to Complainant and
his music.
DISCUSSION
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 the 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 (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 the 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; and
(2) the Respondent has no rights or legitimate
interests in respect of the domain name; and
(3) the domain name has been registered or is
being used in bad faith.
Given the similarity between the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution
Policy (“UDRP”) and the usTLD Policy, the Panel will draw upon UDRP precedent
as applicable in rendering its decision.
Identical
and/or Confusingly Similar
Complainant asserts rights in the STEVIE WONDER mark through its numerous registrations of the mark with the USPTO (e.g., Reg. No. 2,600,739 registered on April 23, 2001). The Panel finds these filings and subsequent registrations sufficiently establish Complainant’s rights in the STEVIE WONDER mark pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(a)(i). See Expedia, Inc. v. Tan, FA 991075 (Nat. Arb. Forum June 29, 2007) (“As the [complainant’s] mark is registered with the USPTO, [the] complainant has met the requirements of [UDRP] ¶ 4(a)(i).”); see also Hershey Co. v. Reaves, FA 967818 (Nat. Arb. Forum June 8, 2007) (finding that the complainant’s rights in the KISSES trademark through registration of the mark with the USPTO “date back to the filing date of the trademark application and predate [the] respondent’s registration”).
Complainant argues Respondent’s <steviewonder.us> domain name is identical to its STEVIE WONDER mark. Respondent deletes the space between the two words in the mark and affixes the country-code top-level domain (“ccTLD”) “.us” to Complainant’s mark in the disputed domain name. These slight alternations to not render Respondent’s disputed domain name distinct from Complainant’s mark. See Basic Trademark S.A. v. Antares S.p.A, FA 1130680 (Nat. Arb. Forum Mar. 4, 2008) (“The <robedikappa.us> domain name is identical to the ROBE DI KAPPA mark. The only difference is the omission of the space between the words and the addition of the ccTLD “.us,” which does not significantly distinguish the domain name from the mark.”); see also Lifetouch, Inc. v. Fox Photographics, FA 414667 (Nat. Arb. Forum Mar. 21, 2005) (finding the respondent’s <lifetouch.us> domain name to be identical to the complainant’s LIFETOUCH mark because “[t]he addition of “.us” to a mark fails to distinguish the domain name from the mark pursuant to the [usTLD] Policy”). Therefore, the Panel finds Respondent’s <steviewonder.us> domain name is identical to Complainant’s STEVIE WONDER mark.
The Panel finds Complainant has satisfied
Policy ¶ 4(a)(i).
Rights
or Legitimate Interests
Complainant must first show Respondent lacks
rights and legitimate interests in the disputed domain name under Policy ¶
4(a)(ii). The
burden shifts to Respondent to demonstrate rights and legitimate interests in
the disputed domain name. Prior panels
have found Respondent’s failure to submit a Response evidence of insufficient
rights or legitimate interests. See Intel Corp. v. Macare, FA 660685 (Nat. Arb. Forum
Apr. 26, 2006) (finding the “complainant must first make a prima facie case
that [the] respondent lacks rights and legitimate interests in the disputed
domain names under [UDRP] ¶ 4(a)(ii), and then the
burden shifts to [the] respondent to show it does have rights or legitimate
interests.”); see also Am. Express Co. v. Fang Suhendro, FA 129120 (Nat. Arb. Forum Dec. 30, 2002) (“[B]ased on Respondent's failure to
respond, it is presumed that Respondent lacks all rights and legitimate
interests in the disputed domain name.”). Despite Respondent’s failure to respond, the
Panel will evaluate the record to determine whether Respondent has rights or
legitimate interests in the <steviewonder.us>
domain name under Policy ¶ 4(c).
There is no
evidence in the record to conclude that Respondent owns any service marks or
trademarks that reflect the <steviewonder.us>
domain name. Therefore, the Panel finds
that Respondent does not have rights and legitimate interests pursuant to
Policy ¶ 4(c)(i).
See Meow Media Inc. v. Basil, FA 113280
(Nat. Arb. Forum Aug. 20, 2002 (finding that there was
no evidence that Respondent was the owner or beneficiary of a mark that is
identical to the <persiankitty.com> domain name); see also Pepsico, Inc. v.
Becky, FA 117014 (Nat. Arb. Forum Sep. 3, 2002) (holding that
because Respondent did not own any trademarks or service marks reflecting the
<pepsicola.us> domain name, it had no rights or legitimate interests
pursuant to UDRP ¶ 4(c)(i)).
Complainant states it has no relationship
with Respondent, nor has it authorized Respondent to use the STEVIE WONDER mark
in a domain name. Additionally, the
WHOIS information lists “Mark Galasso c/o
Antifluff Superstar.Com” as the registrant of the disputed domain
name. Based on the evidence in the
record, the Panel finds Respondent is not commonly known by the disputed domain
name under Policy ¶ 4(c)(iii). 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 Reese v. Morgan, FA
917029 (Nat. Arb. Forum Apr. 5, 2007) (concluding that the respondent was not
commonly known by the <lilpunk.com> domain name as there was no evidence
in the record showing that the respondent was commonly known by that domain
name, including the WHOIS information as well as the complainant’s assertion
that it did not authorize or license the respondent’s use of its mark in a
domain name).
Complainant claims that the <steviewonder.us> domain name resolves to a website offering
links to third-party websites that relate to Complainant and compete with
Complainant’s business. The Panel
presumes that Respondent most likely profits from this use through the receipt
of “click-through” fees. Thus the Panel
finds Respondent has not used the disputed domain name for a bona fide offering of goods or services pursuant to Policy ¶4(c)(ii) or a legitimate noncommercial or fair use pursuant to
Policy ¶4(c)(iv). See Jerry Damson, Inc. v.
The Panel finds Complainant has satisfied Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii).
Registration
and Use in Bad Faith
The Panel finds Respondent’s use of the <steviewonder.us> domain names to redirect Internet users to websites that list links to third-party websites, including links to Complainant’s competitors, disrupts Complainant’s business and constitutes registration and use in bad faith pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(iii). See Tesco Pers. Fin. Ltd. v. Domain Mgmt. Servs., FA 877982 (Nat. Arb. Forum Feb. 13, 2007) (concluding that the use of a confusingly similar domain name to attract Internet users to a directory website containing commercial links to the websites of a complainant’s competitors represents bad faith registration and use under UDRP ¶ 4(b)(iii)); see also Persohn v. Lim, FA 874447 (Nat. Arb. Forum Feb. 19, 2007) (finding bad faith registration and use pursuant to UDRP ¶ 4(b)(iii) where a respondent used the disputed domain name to operate a commercial search engine with links to the complainant’s competitors).
Complainant argues
Respondent uses the disputed domain name to intentionally attract Internet
users to its website by creating confusion as to Complainant’s sponsorship and
affiliation with Respondent’s site.
Complainant contends Respondent’s intent is to derive revenue from its
confusingly similar domain name through the receipt of click-through fees. The Panel finds this behavior constitutes bad
faith registration and use under Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv). See T-Mobile USA, Inc. v. utahhealth, FA 697821 (Nat. Arb. Forum June 7, 2006) (holding that
the registration and use of a domain name confusingly similar to a
complainant’s mark to direct Internet traffic to a commercial “links page” in
order to profit from click-through fees or other revenue sources constitutes
bad faith under UDRP ¶ 4(b)(iv)); see
also The Ass’n of Junior Leagues Int’l Inc. v. This Domain Name My Be For
The Panel finds Complainant has satisfied Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii).
DECISION
Having established all three elements required under the usTLD Policy, the Panel concludes that relief shall be GRANTED.
Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <steviewonder.us> domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.
Hon. Ralph Yachnin, Panelist
Justice, Supreme Court, NY (Ret.)
Dated: July 9, 2010
Click Here to
return to the main Domain Decisions Page.
Click
Here to return to our Home Page