Pirelli was founded in 1872 and became one of the largest tyre producers in the world. The Complainant registered its main domain name 'pirelli.com' on 11 January 1995 (see annexes 2 and 3 of complaint).
The Complant's tyre business consists of two main segments: consumer (70% of total revenues) deals with tyres for motor vehicles, sports utility vehicles (SUVs), light commercial vehicles and motorbikes; and industrial (30% of revenues), which means tyres for buses, heavy trucks, agricultural machinery and steelcord, the fundamental strengthening element for radial tyres. Thanks to the success and leader position achieved by the Complainant, its trademarks are well-known worldwide. The brand value of PIRELLI has been estimated by Interbrand in 2010 at approximately 1.8 billion euros.
Among its numerous tyre ranges, PIRELLI commercializes the product line called “Scorpion” especially developed for SUV’s and crossover vehicles. The tyre named “Scorpion ATR” is an all terrain tyre; versatile in all situations with excellent off road capabilities. Scorpion ATR features a tread with a specific self-cleaning pattern. It facilitates the most demanding off-road driving and resists the hardest shocks on uneven surfaces.
The Domain Name “pirelliscorpionatr.net” was registered on September 10, 2011, i.e. well after Complainant’s trademarks.
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