K. HOV IP, II, INC. v. Paul Russell, et al.
Claim Number: FA1802001772365
Complainant: K. HOV IP, II, INC. of Red Bank, New Jersey, United States of America.
Complainant Representative: Perkins Coie LLP, of Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
Respondent: Paul Russell, of Fort Worth, Texas, United States of America.
newhomebuyersagentdfw.com, of Fort Worth, Texas, United States of America.
REGISTRIES and REGISTRARS
Registries: DotOnline Inc.
Registrars: 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 Examiner in this proceeding.
Jeffrey M. Samuels, as Examiner.
Complainant submitted: February 16, 2018
Commencement: February 19, 2018
Response Date: February 24, 2018
Having reviewed the communications records, the Examiner finds that the Forum has discharged its responsibility under URS Procedure Paragraphs 3 and 4 and Rule 4 of the Rules for the Uniform Rapid Suspension System (the "Rules") .
Complainant requests that the domain name be suspended for the life of the registration.
Clear and convincing evidence.
Founded in 1959, Complainant is one of the nation’s largest national homebuilders. Complainant owns the trademark K. HOVNANIAN, which is the subject of a U.S. trademark registration (No. 3579682). The registration issued on February 24, 2009, well prior to the October 10, 2017, registration date of the disputed domain name.
The disputed domain name, khovnanian.online, resolves to a web address of www.newhomebuyersagentfw.com to generate leads for Respondent’s personal gain and to advertise competitor homes.
Respondent’s “Response” contains no factual or legal contentions.
URS Procedure 1.2.6 requires Complainant to prove, by clear and convincing evidence, each of the following three elements to obtain an order that a domain name should be suspended.
1. Identical or Confusingly Similar/Rights/Current Use
The Examiner finds that the disputed domain name is confusingly similar to the mark K. HOVNANIAN. As noted by Complainant, the lack of a period or space after the letter “k” in the domain name does not diminish the confusing similarity between Complainant’s mark and the domain name. The evidence further establishes that Complainant holds a valid national registration for the mark K. HOVNANIAN and that such mark is in current use.
2. Legitimate Right or Interest
The Examiner finds that Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. There is no evidence that Respondent is commonly known by the domain name and Complainant asserts that it has not authorized Respondent’s use of its mark and has no affiliation with Respondent.
3. Bad faith Registration and Use
The Examiner finds that the disputed domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith. The facts support a determination that Respondent is using the domain name in order to attract Internet users to its website for commercial gain by creating a likelihood of confusion as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of the website.
After reviewing the parties’ submissions, the Examiner determines that
the Complainant has demonstrated all three elements of the URS by a standard of clear and convincing evidence. The Examiner hereby Orders the following domain name be SUSPENDED for the duration of the registration:
khovnanian.online
.
Jeffrey M. Samuels, Examiner
Dated: February 27, 2018
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