FACTS SUBMITTED BY THE COMPLAINANT AND NOT CONTESTED BY THE RESPONDENT:
“Complainant Upwork Global Inc. is a wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of Complainant Upwork Inc., formerly Elance-oDesk Inc., incorporated in the United States. Both Complainants are part of the same common corporate structure (individually, or collectively, as the case may be, "Upwork")”.
“The Elance and oDesk freelance talent marketplaces and platforms merged in 2015 to combine ideas, technology and resources. In May 2015, Elance-oDesk, the world’s largest freelance talent marketplace, relaunched with a new name, 'Upwork,' and a new freelance talent platform, also called 'Upwork.' The Upwork platform, located at www.upwork.com, is now the world’s largest freelancing website. Freelancers are earning more than $1 billion annually via Upwork. The Elance freelance platform is currently still available for Elance users. E.g.,. The ELANCE mark has been in continuous use since 1999. Upwork Global Inc owns numerous registrations for the ELANCE mark around the world, including but not limited to U.S. Reg. No. 2,772,962 issued October 14, 2003 in Classes 35, 36, 38, and 42, and Reg. No. 2,900,142 issued in 2004 in Class 9.. Prior to the merger, Elance has been featured throughout the media, including ABC News, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, CNET, The New York Post, ABC Good Morning America, The New York Times, NBC News, and Larry King Live. As early as 2013, a Learned Panelist before the Czech Arbitration Court recognized the ELANCE mark as a famous and well-known trademark entitled to a broad scope of protection. See CAC Case No. 100614 ("Given the well-known trademarks at stake, which have very high recognition on a worldwide basis, it is inconceivable that Respondent registered the disputed domain names without having in mind the Complainants' respective trademarks.")“.
The Complainant further agrues that the Disputed domain names are confusingly similar to the Complainant’s trademarks, the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interest in the Disputed domain names and registered them in bad faiths and is using them in bad faith.
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