NO ADMINISTRATIVELY COMPLIANT RESPONSE HAS BEEN FILED.
PARTIES' CONTENTIONS:
COMPLAINANT:
The Complainant's contentions are the following:
The disputed domain name <gamberorosso.com> is identical/confusingly similar to its trademark “GAMBERO ROSSO” and its associated domain names, as well as to its company name, well-known in the marketplace.
The Complainant sustains that the disputed domain name incorporates in whole and consists exclusively of the Complainant’s registered trademark “GAMBERO ROSSO”.
The Complainant contends that the addition of the gTLD “.com” to its trademark “GAMBERO ROSSO” is not sufficient to escape the finding that the domain name <gamberorosso.com> is confusingly similar to the Complainant’s trademarks and it does not change the overall impression of the designation as being connected to the trademark “GAMBERO ROSSO”. The Complainant further states that previous panels have commonly stated that the gTLD is not relevant in the appreciation of confusing similarity and mentions to this end WIPO Case No. D2000-0493 – Pomellato S.p.A v. Tonetti: the panel stated that the domain name <pomellato.com> was identical to the complainant’s mark because the generic top-level domain (gTLD) “.com” after the name POMELLATO is not relevant.
Moreover, the Complainant contends that, the phrase “GAMBERO ROSSO” does not have any meaning in English and therefore, it has an increased distinctiveness worldwide; thus, any eventual claim of the Respondent as to low distinctiveness of the phrase would be irrelevant.
The Complainant contends that, it is well-established that a domain name that wholly incorporates a Complainant’s registered trademark is sufficient to establish confusing similarity for purposes of the UDRP. To this end, it mentions, for instance, WIPO Case No. D2003-0888, Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG v. Vasiliy Terkin, as well as the WIPO Overview of WIPO Panel Views on Selected UDRP Questions, Third Edition (“WIPO Jurisprudential Overview 3.0”), under the First UDRP Element.
The Complainant further contends that the Respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name for a number of reasons.
First, the Complainant asserts that the Respondent is not known as the disputed domain name. Past panels have held that a Respondent was not commonly known by a disputed domain name if the WHOIS information was not similar to the disputed domain name.
Further, the Complainant asserts that the Respondent is not affiliated with nor authorized by the Complainant in any way.
The Complainant does not carry out any activity for, nor has any business with the Respondent. The Respondent is not a Complainant’s licensee, nor has ever been authorised to make use of the Complainant’s trademark or to apply for the registration of the disputed domain name.
Further, the Complainant points out that the disputed domain name points to an inactive/parking webpage, which is further evidence of the Respondent’s lack of rights or legitimate interests.
Lastly, the Complainant contends that, given the distinctiveness of the Complainant's trademarks and reputation, the Respondent has registered/renewed the disputed domain name, in order to prevent the owner of the trademark or service mark from reflecting the mark in a corresponding domain name.
The Complainant further argues that the disputed domain name has been registered, and is being used in bad faith.
The Complainant’s maintains that its “GAMBERO ROSSO” trademark is well-known, that given the distinctiveness of the Complainant's trademark and reputation in the field of food and wine publications the Respondent has registered/renewed the domain name with full knowledge of the Complainant's trademarks, with the intention to make the disputed domain name confusingly similar with the Complainant’s trademarks.
The Complainant’s further sustains that, the Respondent does not use the domain name, but insists in keeping and renewing it, while the corresponding website is inactive / a parking page.
Furthermore, the Complainant contends that, by registering/renewing, but not using the domain name, it seems clear that the Respondent has maintained the domain name in order to prevent the Complainant to register its own trademark as a domain name, and to disrupt the Complainant’s business, as a potential competitor.
Also, the Complainant contends that, the Respondent is at times trying to sell the domain name by considering “reasonable offers”, which is a clear sign of bad faith.
Lastly, the Complainant contends that when the Respondent renewed the disputed domain name this year in 2021, by this he violated the requirement of paragraph 2 of the UDRP, which states: "By applying to register a domain name, or by asking us to maintain or renew a domain name registration, you hereby represent and warrant to us that . . . (d) you will not knowingly use the domain name in violation of any applicable laws or regulations. It is your responsibility to determine whether your domain name registration infringes or violates someone else's rights."
On these bases, the Complainant sustains that the Respondent has registered and is using the disputed domain name in bad faith.
|