YETI COOLERS, LLC v. Giles Southey / Shirtyeti.com
Claim Number: FA1608001686891
Complainant is YETI COOLERS, LLC (“Complainant”), represented by Katherine Laatsch Fink of Banner & Witcoff, Ltd., Illinois, United States. Respondent is Giles Southey / Shirtyeti.com (“Respondent”), South Africa.
REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME
The domain name at issue is <shirtyeti.com>, registered with GoDaddy.com, LLC.
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.
Kenneth L. Port as Panelist.
Complainant submitted a Complaint to the Forum electronically on August 3, 2016; the Forum received payment on August 3, 2016.
On August 4, 2016, GoDaddy.com, LLC confirmed by e-mail to the Forum that the <shirtyeti.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 August 4, 2016, the Forum served the Complaint and all Annexes, including a Written Notice of the Complaint, setting a deadline of August 24, 2016 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@shirtyeti.com. Also on August 4, 2016, 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.
Having received no response from Respondent, the Forum transmitted to the parties a Notification of Respondent Default.
On August 31, 2016, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the Forum appointed Kenneth L. Port 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 for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Rules") "to employ reasonably available means calculated to achieve actual notice to Respondent" through submission of Electronic and Written Notices, as defined in Rule 1 and Rule 2. Therefore, the Panel may issue its decision based on the documents submitted and in accordance with the ICANN Policy, ICANN 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.
Complainant requests that the domain name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.
A. Complainant
Complainant uses its YETI mark in connection with its business of providing portable coolers, insulated beverageware, clothing, and other available products. Complainant has registered the YETI mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) (e.g., Reg. No. 3,203,869, registered Jan. 30, 2007), which demonstrates Complainant’s rights in its mark. See Compl., at Attached Ex. 4. The domain is confusingly similar to Complainant’s mark as it wholly incorporates the mark, merely adding the generic term “shirt” and the generic top-level domain (“gTLD”) “.com.”
Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the domain. Respondent is not commonly known by the domain, and Complainant does not have any relationship or association with Respondent. Further, Respondent is not using the domain in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services, or a legitimate noncommercial or fair use. Rather, Respondent’s domain resolves to a website displaying a generic message that the domain is unavailable. See Compl, at Attached Ex. 8.
Respondent registered and is using the domain in bad faith. First, Respondent has failed to make any active use of the domain. Second, because of Respondent’s trademark registrations, it is clear that Respondent registered the domain with at least constructive knowledge of Complainant’s YETI mark and rights therein.
B. Respondent
Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding. Respondent registered the disputed domain on April 4, 2016.
C. Other Correspondence
Although the Respondent failed to file a response, the Respondent did send an email communication to the Forum on September 1, 2016 wherein it conceded to the transfer of the disputed domain name.
The Panel finds that the Respondent has conceded to the transfer of the disputed domain name and, forgoing the usual UDRP analysis, orders the immediate transfer of the disputed domain name from the Respondent to the Complainant.
Having conceded to the transfer, the Panel concludes that relief shall be granted
Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <shirtyeti.com> domain name transferred from the Respondent to the Complainant.
Kenneth L. Port, Panelist
Dated: September 2, 2016
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