NO ADMINISTRATIVELY COMPLIANT RESPONSE HAS BEEN FILED.
The Complainant made the following contentions:
A. THE DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME IS IDENTICAL OR CONFUSINGLY SIMILAR
The disputed domain name incorporates the Complainant’s well-known, distinctive trademark "NOVARTIS" in its entirety, in combination with a term “usa” (which commonly refers to the country United States of America) separated by the symbol “-“, which is closely related to the Complainant’s business activities. The addition of the gTLD “.com” does not add any distinctiveness to the disputed domain name.
The Complainant thus concludes that the disputed domain name should be considered as confusingly similar to its trademark.
B. RESPONDENT HAS NO RIGHTS OR LEGITIMATE INTEREST IN RESPECT OF THE DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME
The Complainant submits that it has never had any previous relationships with the Respondent, nor has the Complainant ever granted the Respondent any rights to use the "NOVARTIS" trademark in any form.
The Complainant also states that it has not found that the Respondent was commonly known by the disputed domain name or that it had legitimate interest over the disputed domain name. When searching for the term “Novartis-Usa” in the Google search engine, the returned results all pointed to the Complainant and its business activities.
In view of the Complainant, the Respondent could have easily performed a similar search before registering the disputed domain name and would have quickly learnt that the trademarks are owned by the Complainant and that the Complainant has been using its trademarks in the USA, where the Respondent resides, and many other countries worldwide, especially as the Respondent, “Merit Pharmaceutical”, operates its own business in the same field as the Complainant. However, the Respondent still chose to register the disputed domain name as such.
In addition, according to the Registrar Verification, the Respondent is named “Rebecca Jenkins / Merit Pharmaceutical”, which is not connected to the Complainant nor to the term “Novartis” in any form.
By the time the Complainant prepared the amended Complaint on 28 September 2021, the disputed domain name resolved to a page with the message “404 Not Found”.
The Respondent has not been using the disputed domain name for any bona fide offering of goods or services.
When Internet users, who search for information about the Complainant and/or about the brand “Novartis”, see the disputed domain name and the error page, would very likely be confused and be led to believe that the disputed domain name is somehow related to the Complainant and be disappointed as they would not find the information as expected – which will lead to trademark tarnishment for the Complainant.
From the Complainant’s perspective, the Respondent deliberately chose to use the well-known, distinctive trademark "NOVARTIS" as the main part of the disputed domain name, very likely with the intention to benefit from the Complainant’s worldwide renown and to confuse Internet users as to the source or sponsorship and therefore cannot be considered as a bona fide offering of goods or services.
For the foregoing reasons, the Complainant concludes that the Respondent has no right nor legitimate interest in respect of the disputed domain name.
C. THE DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME WAS REGISTERED AND IS BEING USED IN BAD FAITH
i. THE DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME WAS REGISTERED IN BAD FAITH
The Complainant emphasises the fact that most of the Complainant’s trademark registrations predate the registration of the disputed domain name and that the Respondent has never been authorized by the Complainant to register the disputed domain name. Considering the renown of the Complainant and its trademark "NOVARTIS", and the overall composition of the disputed domain name, i.e. using the Complainant’s well-known, distinctive trademark "NOVARTIS" in its entirety, in combination with a geographic term “usa”, which is closely related to the Complainant’s business activities, it follows that incorporating the well-known trademark "NOVARTIS" in the disputed domain name is a deliberate and calculated attempt to improperly benefit from the Complainant’s rights and reputation.
In addition, the Complainant submits that the disputed domain name should be deemed to be registered in bad faith for the following reasons:
• the Respondent very likely knew about the Complainant and its trademark when it registered the disputed domain name;
• the Complainant’s trademark "NOVARTIS" is a distinctive, well-known trademark worldwide and in the USA where the Respondent resides; and
• the Respondent has failed in presenting a credible evidence-backed rationale for registering the disputed domain name.
ii. THE DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME IS BEING USED IN BAD FAITH
Regarding the use of the disputed domain name, the Complainant points out that the disputed domain name resolves to an error page which constitutes passive holding and may be interpreted as use in bad faith.
Additionally, the Complainant tried to reach the Respondent by sending a cease & desist letter on 25 August 2021 by e-mail to the address provided in the WHOIS and also via the Registrar’s e-mail. However, until the time the Complainant prepared the amended Complaint, it has not received a response from the Respondent.
In addition, the Complainant contends that the fact the Respondent has been using a privacy shield service to conceal its identity adds up to the finding of bad faith.
Given all the above, the Complainant argues that the Respondent registered and has been using the disputed domain name in bad faith.
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