Victoria's Secret Stores Brand Management, Inc. v. Ines Munyemana
Claim Number: FA1206001447405
Complainant is Victoria's Secret Stores Brand Management, Inc. (“Complainant”), represented by Melise R. Blakeslee of Sequel Technology & IP Law, PLLC, Washington, D.C., USA. Respondent is Ines Munyemana (“Respondent”), Canada.
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME
The domain name at issue is <victoriassecretangel2012.com>, registered with GoDaddy.com, LLC.
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.
David A. Einhorn appointed as Panelist.
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum electronically on June 6, 2012; the National Arbitration Forum received payment on June 6, 2012.
On June 6, 2012, GoDaddy.com, LLC confirmed by e-mail to the National Arbitration Forum that the <victoriassecretangel2012.com> domain name is registered with GoDaddy.com, LLC and that Respondent is the current registrant of the name. GoDaddy.com, LLC has verified that Respondent is bound by the GoDaddy.com, LLC registration agreement and has thereby agreed to resolve domain disputes brought by third parties in accordance with ICANN’s Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the “Policy”).
On June 6, 2012, the Forum served the Complaint and all Annexes, including a Written Notice of the Complaint, setting a deadline of June 26, 2012 by which Respondent could file a Response to the Complaint, via e-mail to all entities and persons listed on Respondent’s registration as technical, administrative, and billing contacts, and to postmaster@victoriassecretangel2012.com. Also on June 6, 2012, the Written Notice of the Complaint, notifying Respondent of the e-mail addresses served and the deadline for a Response, was transmitted to Respondent via post and fax, to all entities and persons listed on Respondent’s registration as technical, administrative and billing contacts.
A timely Response was received and determined to be complete on June 26, 2012.
On July 3, 2012, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the National Arbitration Forum appointed David A. Einhorn as Panelist.
Complainant requests that the domain name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.
A. Complainant’s Allegations
Complainant owns rights in the VICTORIA’S SECRET ANGELS mark through a registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) (Reg. No. 3,670,768 registered August 18, 2009, citing a first use in commerce date of March, 1997). Complainant currently operates retail and online stores selling women’s lingerie, swim suits, apparel, and personal and beauty care products and advertises its products using a campaign featuring its “Victoria’s Secret Angels,” famous models.
Respondent registered the <victoriassecretangel2012.com> domain name on January 20, 2011. The disputed domain name previously resolved to a website that featured Respondent herself and promoted her modeling career, wherein she falsely claimed to be a “Victoria’s Secret Angel 2012.” The website also displayed advertisements unrelated to Complainant’s business, as well as at least one advertisement selling products competing with Complainant. After Complainant contacted Respondent demanding transfer of the domain name, Respondent agreed to a transfer, but was either unable or unwilling to follow through on a transfer, even when Complainant tried to assist her. On January 5, 2012, Respondent renewed registration for the <victoriassecretangel2012.com> domain name. Respondent is not associated with Complainant and has not been authorized to use Complainant’s mark, nor is Respondent a Victoria’s Secret Angel. Respondent used the disputed domain name to divert Internet traffic from Complainant’s website to her own site. Respondent benefitted commercially from the diversion by promoting her own modeling career and displaying advertisements for unrelated and competing businesses. Respondent is not commonly known by the disputed domain name. Respondent registered the disputed domain name in bad faith by creating a likelihood of confusion with Complainant’s mark.
B. Respondent’s Allegations
Respondent admits that the <victoriassecretangel2012.com> domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s mark. She further admits to not having rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. Respondent denies that she registered or uses the disputed domain name in order to make a commercial profit or mislead consumers. Respondent denies registering the disputed domain name for the purpose of selling, renting, or transferring the domain name or that she registered the domain name in order to prevent Complainant from reflecting its mark in the disputed domain name. Respondent also contends she did not register the disputed domain name in order to disrupt Complainant’s business. While admitting that she intentionally attempted to attract Internet users to her website by creating a likelihood of confusion with Complainant’s mark, she denies that she did so for commercial gain.
Notwithstanding these statements, Respondent states that she would like to convey her rights in this domain name to Complainant.
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 this case, the parties agree that the domain name should be transferred to Complainant. Since the requests of the parties in this case are identical, the Panel foregoes the traditional UDRP analysis and orders immediate transfer of the <victoriassecretangel2012.com> domain name. The same conclusion was reached by the panel in Malev Hungarian Airlines, Ltd. v. Vertical Axis Inc.,
FA212653 (Nat. Arb. Forum Jan. 13, 2004).
Given the common request of both parties, it is Ordered that the <victoriassecretangel2012.com> domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant.
David A. Einhorn, Panelist
Dated: July 13, 2012
Click Here to return to the main Domain Decisions Page.
Click Here to return to our Home Page