PARTIES' CONTENTIONS:
COMPLAINANT:
The Complainant states that it is a pharmaceutical group of companies, with international sales of its products in three business areas namely human pharmaceuticals, animal health and biopharmaceutical. The Complainant’s company profile annexed to the Complaint states that it is among of the top 20 companies in the pharmaceutical industry, with 52,000 employees achieving net sales of 19.6 billion euros in 2020.
The Complainant claims rights in the MOBIC trademark established by its portfolio of trademark registrations including international trademark MOBIC registration number 563599 registered on November 28, 1990, and its extensive use of the mark to distinguish its nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that works by reducing hormones that cause inflammation and pain in the body. It is used to treat pain or inflammation caused by osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis.
The Complainant has also provided evidence that the MOBIC mark was registered in the TradeMark ClearingHouse (TMCH) on April 16, 2014.
Additionally, the Complainant submits that it owns several domain names including the wording “MOBIC”, such as <mobic.info> which it registered on July 31, 2001 as evidenced by a copy of the WhoIs information annexed to the Complaint.
The Complainant alleges that the disputed domain name <mobic.services> is identical to the trademark MOBIC in which it has rights because the disputed domain name is composed of the Complainant’s trademark in its entirety without any adjunction of letter or word.
Furthermore, the Complainant adds that the new gTLD <.services> is not sufficient to escape the finding that the domain name <mobic.services> is identical to the trademark MOBIC and does not change the overall impression of the designation as being connected to the trademark of the Complainant. See F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG v. Macalve e-dominios S.A. WIPO Case No. D2006-0451, (“It is also well established that the specific top level of a domain name such as “.com”, “.org” or “.net” does not affect the domain name for the purpose of determining whether it is identical or confusingly similar.”).
The Complainant next alleges that the Respondent has no right or legitimate interest in the disputed domain name asserting that the record shows that Respondent is not known as the disputed domain name, and past panels established under the Policy have held that a Respondent was not commonly known by a disputed domain name if, as in this case, the name of the registrant provided in the WhoIs information was not similar to the disputed domain name. See Skechers U.S.A., Inc. and Skechers U.S.A., Inc. II v. Chad Moston / Elite Media Group Forum Case No. FA 1781783, <bobsfromsketchers.com> (“Here, the WHOIS information of record identifies Respondent as “Chad Moston / Elite Media Group.” The Panel therefore finds under Policy paragraph 4(c)(ii) that Respondent is not commonly known by the disputed domain name under Policy paragraph 4(c)(ii).”)
The Complainant adds that the Respondent is not related in any way with the Complainant and the Complainant does not carry out any activity for, nor has any business with the Respondent.
The Complainant asserts that no licence or authorization has been granted by the Complainant to the Respondent to make any use of the Complainant’s MOBIC mark, or apply for registration of the disputed domain name.
Furthermore, the Complainant refers to a screen capture of the website to which the disputed domain name resolves which is merely a parking page with commercial links and argues that past panels established under the Policy have found that such use is not a bona fide offering of goods or services or legitimate non-commercial or fair use. See Vance Int’l, Inc. v. Abend Forum Case No. FA 970871, (concluding that the operation of a pay-per-click website at a confusingly similar domain name does not represent a bona fide offering of goods or services or a legitimate non-commercial or fair use, regardless of whether or not the links resolve to competing or unrelated websites or if the respondent is itself commercially profiting from the click-through fees. See Mayflower Transit LLC v. Domains by Proxy Inc./Yariv Moshe WIPO Case No. D2007-1695, ("Respondent’s use of a domain name confusingly similar to Complainant’s trademark for the purpose of offering sponsored links does not of itself qualify as a bona fide use.").
The Complainant next alleges that the disputed domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith, arguing that given the distinctiveness of the Complainant's trademarks and the extent of the reputation of the MOBIC mark, it is reasonable to infer that the Respondent has registered the disputed domain name with full knowledge of the Complainant's trademark.
Furthermore, the Complainant argues that because the disputed domain name resolves to a parking page with commercial links, it follows that the Respondent has attempt to attract Internet users for commercial gain to his own websites taking advantage of the reputation of the Complainants’ mark, which it is submitted, is evidence of bad faith. See StudioCanal v. Registration Private, Domains By Proxy, LLC / Sudjam Admin, Sudjam LLC WIPO Case No. D2018-0497, (“In that circumstance, whether the commercial gain from misled Internet users is gained by the Respondent or by the Registrar (or by another third party), it remains that the Respondent controls and cannot (absent some special circumstance) disclaim responsibility for, the content appearing on the website to which the disputed domain name resolve […] so the Panel presumes that the Respondent has allowed the disputed domain name to be used with the intent to attract Internet users for commercial gain, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the Complainant's trademark as to the source, affiliation, or endorsement of the Respondent's website to which the disputed domain name resolves. Accordingly, the Panel finds that the disputed domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith.”).
RESPONDENT:
No administratively compliant Response has been filed.
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