Society for the Promotion of Japanese
Animation v. In Stealth Mode
Claim
Number: FA0508000550332
Complainant is Society for the Promotion of Japanese
Animation (“Complainant”), represented by Amanda V. Dwight, of Dwight Law Group, Pacific Plaza, 234 E. 17th Street, Suite 105-A, Costa Mesa, CA
92627. Respondent is In Stealth Mode (“Respondent”), P.O.
Box 1335, Owings Mills, MD 21117.
REGISTRAR
AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME
The
domain name at issue is <animeexpo.com>, registered with Stargate
Holdings Corp.
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.
John
J. Upchurch as Panelist.
Complainant
submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum electronically on August
30, 2005; the National Arbitration Forum received a hard copy of the Complaint
on August 31, 2005.
On
August 30, 2005, Stargate Holdings Corp. confirmed by e-mail to the National
Arbitration Forum that the <animeexpo.com> domain name is
registered with Stargate Holdings Corp. and that Respondent is the current
registrant of the name. Stargate
Holdings Corp. has verified that Respondent is bound by the Stargate Holdings
Corp. 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
September 7, 2005, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of
Administrative Proceeding (the "Commencement Notification"), setting
a deadline of September 27, 2005 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@animeexpo.com by e-mail.
Having
received no response from Respondent, the National Arbitration Forum
transmitted to the parties a Notification of Respondent Default.
On
October 3, 2005, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided
by a single-member Panel, the National Arbitration Forum appointed John J.
Upchurch 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 <animeexpo.com>
domain name is identical to Complainant’s ANIME EXPO mark.
2. Respondent does not have any rights or
legitimate interests in the <animeexpo.com> domain name.
3. Respondent registered and used the <animeexpo.com>
domain name in bad faith.
B. Respondent failed to submit a Response in
this proceeding.
Complainant,
Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation, is a non-profit corporation
incorporated in April 1992. Complainant
educates the public about Japanese animation and comics and publishes magazine
and newspaper articles concerning Japanese animation. In addition, Complainant sponsors Anime Expo, which is the
largest Japanese animation and comics’ tradeshow of this kind in North America.
Complainant holds a trademark registration with the United States Patent and
Trademark Office (“USPTO”) for the ANIME EXPO mark (Reg. No. 2,310,674 issued
January 25, 2000; filed May 6, 1992) for use in connection with these services.
Respondent, In Stealth
Mode, registered the <animeexpo.com> domain name on March 1,
1999. Respondent is using the disputed
domain name to redirect Internet users to its commercial website that features
competing goods and services.
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
established rights in the ANIME EXPO mark through registration of the mark with
the USPTO and through continuous use of the mark in commerce. See Am. Online, Inc. v. Thomas P.
Culver Enters., D2001-0564 (WIPO June 18, 2001) (finding that successful
trademark registration with the USPTO creates a presumption of rights in a
mark); see also Innomed Tech., Inc. v. DRP Servs., FA
221171 (Nat. Arb. Forum Feb. 18, 2004) (“Registration of
the NASAL-AIRE mark with the USPTO establishes Complainant's rights in the
mark.”). Planetary Soc’y v. Rosillo, D2001-1228 (WIPO Feb. 12, 2002)
(holding that the effective date of Complainant’s trademark rights date back to
the application’s filing date).
Respondent’s <animeexpo.com> domain name is identical to Complainant’s ANIME EXPO mark because Respondent’s domain
name incorporates Complainant’s mark in its entirety, omits the space between
the terms “anime” and “expo” and adds the generic top-level domain “.com.” The Panel finds that such minor alterations
to Complainant’s registered mark do not negate the identical aspects of
Respondent’s domain name pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(a)(i). See Hannover
Ruckversicherungs-AG v. Ryu, FA 102724 (Nat. Arb. Forum Jan. 7, 2001)
(finding <hannoverre.com> to be identical to HANNOVER RE, “as spaces are
impermissible in domain names and a generic top-level domain such as ‘.com’ or
‘.net’ is required in domain names”); see also Rollerblade, Inc. v. McCrady,
D2000-0429 (WIPO June 25, 2000) (finding that the top level of the domain name
such as “.net” or “.com” does not affect the domain name for the purpose of
determining whether it is identical or confusingly similar); see also Fed’n of Gay Games, Inc. v. Hodgson, D2000-0432 (WIPO June 28, 2000) (finding that
the domain name <gaygames.com> is identical to the complainant's
registered trademark GAY GAMES).
The Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(i) has been satisfied.
Complainant has
alleged that Respondent does not have rights or legitimate interests in the <animeexpo.com>
domain name. Once Complainant makes a prima facie
case in support of its allegations, the burden shifts to Respondent to prove
that it does have rights or legitimate interests pursuant to Policy ¶
4(a)(ii). Due to Respondent’s failure
to respond to the Complaint, the Panel assumes that Respondent does not have
rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. See
G.D. Searle v. Martin Mktg., FA 118277 (Nat. Arb. Forum Oct. 1, 2002)
(holding that, where the complainant has asserted that respondent does not have
rights or legitimate interests with respect to the domain name, it is incumbent
on respondent to come forward with concrete evidence rebutting this assertion
because this information is “uniquely within the knowledge and control of the
respondent”); see also Clerical Med. Inv.
Group Ltd. v. Clericalmedical.com, D2000-1228 (WIPO Nov. 28, 2000) (finding
that, under certain circumstances, the mere assertion by the complainant that
the respondent does not have rights or legitimate interests is sufficient to
shift the burden of proof to the respondent to demonstrate that such a right or
legitimate interest does exist).
Respondent is
using the <animeexpo.com> domain name to redirect Internet users to its
commercial website that features goods and services that compete with
Complainant. Respondent’s use of a
domain name that is identical to Complainant’s ANIME EXPO mark to redirect Internet
users interested in Complainant’s products and services to a website that
offers similar goods and services in competition with Complainant is not a use
in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services pursuant to
Policy ¶ 4(c)(i), nor is it a legitimate noncommercial or fair use of the
domain name pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c)(iii).
See Computerized Sec. Sys., Inc. v. Hu, FA 157321 (Nat. Arb.
Forum June 23, 2003) (“Respondent’s appropriation of [Complainant’s] SAFLOK
mark to market products that compete with Complainant’s goods does not
constitute a bona fide offering of goods and services.”); see also DLJ Long Term Inv. Corp. v. BargainDomainNames.com, FA 104580 (Nat. Arb. Forum Apr. 9, 2002) (“Respondent is
not using the disputed domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of
goods and services because Respondent is using the domain name to divert
Internet users to <visual.com>, where services that compete with
Complainant are advertised.”); see also Or. State Bar v. A Special Day, Inc.,
FA 99657 (Nat. Arb. Forum Dec. 4, 2001) (“Respondent's advertising of legal
services and sale of law-related books under Complainant's name is not a bona
fide offering of goods and services because Respondent is using a mark
confusingly similar to the Complainant's to sell competing goods.”).
Moreover,
Respondent has offered no evidence and there is no evidence in the record
suggesting that Respondent is commonly known by the <animeexpo.com>
domain name. Thus, Respondent has not established rights
or legitimate interests in the <animeexpo.com> domain name pursuant
to Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii). See Compagnie de Saint Gobain v. Com-Union
Corp., D2000-0020 (WIPO Mar. 14, 2000) (finding no rights or legitimate
interests where the respondent was not commonly known by the mark and never
applied for a license or permission from the complainant to use the trademarked
name); see also Gallup Inc. v. Amish
Country Store, FA 96209 (Nat. Arb. Forum Jan. 23, 2001) (finding that the
respondent does not have rights in a domain name when the respondent is not
known by the mark); see also Broadcom
Corp. v. Intellifone Corp., FA 96356 (Nat. Arb. Forum Feb. 5, 2001)
(finding no rights or legitimate interests because the respondent was not
commonly known by the disputed domain name nor was the respondent using the
domain name in connection with a legitimate or fair use).
The Panel finds
that Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii) has been satisfied.
Respondent is
using the <animeexpo.com> domain name, which is identical to
Complainant’s ANIME EXPO mark, to redirect Internet users to Respondent’s
commercial website that features goods and services that compete with
Complainant’s business. The Panel finds
that such use constitutes disruption and is evidence of bad faith registration
and use pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(iii).
See S. Exposure v. S. Exposure,
Inc., FA 94864 (Nat. Arb. Forum July 18, 2000) (finding the respondent
acted in bad faith by attracting Internet users to a website that competes with
the complainant’s business); see also
Puckett v. Miller, D2000-0297 (WIPO June 12, 2000) (finding that the
respondent diverted business from the complainant to a competitor’s website in
violation of Policy ¶ 4(b)(iii)).
The Panel infers
that Respondent receives click-through fees for diverting Internet users to a
competing website. Because Respondent’s
domain name is identical to Complainant’s ANIME EXPO mark, Internet users
accessing Respondent’s domain name may become confused as to Complainant’s
affiliation with the resulting website.
Thus, Respondent’s use of the <animeexpo.com> domain name constitutes
bad faith registration and use pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv). See
Kmart v. Khan, FA 127708 (Nat. Arb. Forum Nov. 22, 2002) (finding that if
the respondent profits from its diversionary use of the complainant’s mark when
the domain name resolves to commercial websites and the respondent fails to
contest the complaint, it may be concluded that the respondent is using the
domain name in bad faith pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv)); see also Drs. Foster & Smith, Inc. v. Lalli, FA 95284 (Nat.
Arb. Forum Aug. 21, 2000) (finding bad faith where the respondent directed
Internet users seeking the complainant’s site to its own website for commercial
gain).
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 <animeexpo.com> domain name be TRANSFERRED
from Respondent to Complainant.
John J. Upchurch, Panelist
Dated: October 10, 2005
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