Pursuant to the Policy, paragraph 4(a), a complainant must prove each of the following to justify the transfer of a domain name:
(i) the domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the complainant has rights;
(ii) the respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; and
(iii) the respondent has registered and is using the domain name in bad faith.
In this case, the Provider has employed the required measures to achieve actual notice of the Complaint to the Respondent, and the Respondent was given a fair opportunity to present its case.
By the Rules, paragraph 5(c)(i), it is expected of a respondent to: “[r]espond specifically to the statements and allegations contained in the complaint and include any and all bases for the Respondent (domain name holder) to retain registration and use of the disputed domain name …”
In this proceeding, the Respondent has not used the opportunity provided to it under the Rules and has not submitted a substantive Response addressing the contentions of the Complainant and the evidence submitted by it.
Identical or confusingly similar
The Complainant has provided evidence and has thus established its rights in the INTESA SANPAOLO trademark.
The Panel notes that a common practice has emerged under the Policy to disregard in appropriate circumstances the general Top-Level Domain (“gTLD”) section of domain names for the purposes of the comparison under the Policy, paragraph 4(a)(i). The Panel sees no reason not to follow the same approach here, so it will disregard the “.website”, “.space”, “.site” and “.host” gTLD sections of the disputed domain names.
The relevant part of each of the disputed domain names is therefore the sequence “intesasanpaollo”, which reproduces the INTESA SANPAOLO trademark with an additional letter “l”, which has a low effect on the overall impression made by the disputed domain name, in which the INTESA SANPAOLO trademark is easily distinguishable and dominating. Each of the disputed domain names appears as a misspelling of this trademark. As discussed in section 1.9 of the WIPO Overview of WIPO Panel Views on Selected UDRP Questions, Third Edition (the “WIPO Overview 3.0”), a domain name that consists of a common, obvious, or intentional misspelling of a trademark is considered by panels to be confusingly similar to the relevant mark for purposes of the first element.
Taking all the above into account, the Panel finds that the disputed domain names are confusingly similar to the INTESA SANPAOLO trademark in which the Complainant has rights.
Rights and legitimate interests
While the overall burden of proof in UDRP proceedings is on the complainant, panels have recognized that proving a respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in a domain name may result in the often-impossible task of “proving a negative”, requiring information that is often primarily within the knowledge or control of the respondent. As such, where a complainant makes out a prima facie case that the respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests, the burden of production on this element shifts to the respondent to come forward with relevant evidence demonstrating rights or legitimate interests in the domain name. If the respondent fails to come forward with such relevant evidence, the complainant is deemed to have satisfied the second element.
The Complainant contends that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name, because the Respondent was not authorized to use the INTESA SANPAOLO trademark and is not commonly known under the disputed domain name. The Complainant also points out that the disputed domain names are an example of typosquatting and do not resolve to active websites. According to the Complainant, the Respondent has registered the disputed domain names for the purpose of phishing attacks against the Complainant’s legitimate customers. Thus, the Complainant has established a prima facie case that the Respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name.
The Respondent has not submitted a Response and has not provided an explanation of the reasons why it has registered the disputed domain names.
In the Panel’s view, the circumstances of this case do not contradict the prima facie case made by the Complainant and do not support a finding that the Respondent has rights and legitimate interests in the disputed domain names. They represent a typosquatted version of the popular INTESA SANPAOLO trademark, which is easily distinguishable and dominates in them. In the lack of any arguments or evidence to the contrary, all the above leads the Panel to the conclusion that it is more likely than not that the Respondent, being aware of the goodwill of the Complainant’s INTESA SANPAOLO trademark, has registered the disputed domain names targeting this trademark in an attempt to exploit its goodwill by confusing and attracting Internet users who may believe that the disputed domain names are affiliated to the Complainant.
Therefore, the Panel finds that the Respondent does not have rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain names.
Bad faith
Paragraph 4(b) of the Policy lists four illustrative alternative circumstances that shall be evidence of the registration and use of a domain name in bad faith by a respondent, namely:
“(i) circumstances indicating that you have registered or you have acquired the domain name primarily for the purpose of selling, renting, or otherwise transferring the domain name registration to the complainant who is the owner of the trademark or service mark or to a competitor of that complainant, for valuable consideration in excess of your documented out-of-pocket costs directly related to the domain name; or
(ii) you have registered the domain name in order to prevent the owner of the trademark or service mark from reflecting the mark in a corresponding domain name, provided that you have engaged in a pattern of such conduct; or
(iii) you have registered the domain name primarily for the purpose of disrupting the business of a competitor; or
(iv) by using the domain name, you have intentionally attempted to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to your website or other online location, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the complainant’s mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of your website or location or of a product or service on your website or location.”
The registration of the distinctive INTESA SANPAOLO trademark significantly predates the registration date of the disputed domain names. They were all registered on the same date and reproduce the INTESA SANPAOLO trademark with the same spelling mistake, which may lead Internet users to believe that they are affiliated to the Complainant. The Panel is therefore of the view that the Respondent is more likely to have registered the disputed domain names with knowledge of the Complainants' trademark rights and with the intention of taking advantage of their goodwill.
The disputed domain names are inactive, but in the absence of an authorization by the Complainant, and in view of the fact that the Respondent has not provided any plausible explanation of its choice of domain names, the Panel is not aware of any good faith use to which the disputed domain names may be put. As submitted by the Complainant, their non-use would not prevent a finding of bad faith under the doctrine of passive holding, taking account of the degree of distinctiveness and reputation of the Complainant’s INTESA SANPAOLO trademark, the failure of the Respondent to submit a Response, and the implausibility of any good faith use to which the disputed domain names may be put. See section 3.3 of the WIPO Overview 3.0.
This satisfies the Panel that the disputed domain names have been registered and used in bad faith.
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