Decision for dispute CAC-UDRP-108767

The Panel is not aware of any other legal proceedings which are pending or decided and which relate to the disputed domain name.

The Complainant owns registered trade mark rights for its GEEK BAR word mark in numerous jurisdictions including in the United States under number 6275589 registered on February 23, 2021. It also owns International Registration 1676896 for GEEK BAR registered on June 8, 2022.

The Complainant, established in 2016, has long been engaged in the research and development, manufacture, and global distribution of GEEK BAR disposable e-cigarette products, and has achieved substantial market penetration in Russia, the United States, the Middle East, and Europe and has established a global user base and brand reputation. The Complainant is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shenzhen Geekvape Technology Co., Ltd. and the two entities operate as affiliated members of the same corporate group in co-operating in the development, promotion, and international marketing of the GEEK BAR brand.

The Complainant and its parent have actively collaborated with social media influencers as part of their marketing efforts and Geekvape has been identified as one of the e-cigarette brands with the largest influencer presence on social media platforms. The Complainant has also been active in various industry exhibitions in recent years and has won various product design awards. According to historical data from Google Trends, the search term "GEEK BAR" has consistently maintained a relatively high level of global search volume over the past five years.

The disputed domain name was registered on July 2, 2025 and resolves to a website that displays the Complainant's GEEK BAR logo in the website's navigation bar, reproduces The Complainant's Geek Bar product imagery and branding and presents itself as an organized retail operation under the name "Geek Bar official," including a "VERIFY PRODUCT" navigation item designed to simulate the infrastructure of an authorized channel and also bears the footer statement "Copyright 2026 Geek Bar official | All Rights Reserved" without any disclaimer disclosing the absence of any relationship with the Complainant.

The Complainant contends that the requirements of the Policy have been met and that the disputed domain name should be transferred to it.
No administratively compliant Response has been filed.

The Complainant has, to the satisfaction of the Panel, shown the disputed domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the Complainant has rights (within the meaning of paragraph 4(a)(i) of the Policy).

The Complainant has, to the satisfaction of the Panel, shown the Respondent to have no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name (within the meaning of paragraph 4(a)(ii) of the Policy).

The Complainant has, to the satisfaction of the Panel, shown the disputed domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith (within the meaning of paragraph 4(a)(iii) of the Policy).

The Panel is satisfied that all procedural requirements under UDRP were met and there is no other reason why it would be inappropriate to provide a decision.

The Complainant has submitted that the disputed domain name reproduces the Complainant's GEEK BAR trade mark in its entirety, combined with the terms "official" and "vapes" and that neither term operates to distinguish the domain name from the Complainant's mark. The Panel agrees with the Complainant and finds that the wholesale inclusion of the Complainant's registered GEEK BAR trade mark renders the disputed domain name confusingly similar to the Complainant's trade mark and that the addition of the common English terms "official" and "vapes" does not prevent a finding of confusing similarity.

The Complainant has also submitted that it has never licensed, authorised, or otherwise permitted the Respondent to use the GEEK BAR trade mark and that no distribution agreement, reseller arrangement, or commercial relationship of any kind exists between the Parties. The Complainant has further submitted that it has identified no record of the Respondent, having been commonly known by, or of owning, registered rights in the disputed domain name or in the mark GEEK BAR.

In addition, the Complainant contends that the disputed domain name is not a neutral or descriptive identifier and that by incorporating the Complainant's GEEK BAR trade mark and prefixing it with "official," the Respondent has constructed a domain name that presents itself as the Complainant's authorised commercial presence when this is not the case.

According to the Complainant, the website to which the disputed domain name resolves extends and confirms that claim at every level of its architecture. It says that the Complainant's GEEK BAR logo is displayed prominently in the site's navigation bar and the homepage reproduces official "Geek Bar" product imagery and branding, accompanied by product listings, retail pricing, and fully functional add-to-cart functionality. It notes also that the website presents itself as an organised retail operation under the name "Geek Bar official," including a "VERIFY PRODUCT" navigation item which, according to the Complainant, is designed to simulate the infrastructure of an authorised channel, and bears the footer statement "Copyright 2025 Geek Bar official | All Rights Reserved". The Complainant says that a respondent that has incorporated the word "official" into the domain name itself, constructed a website replicating the Complainant's visual identity and branded product range and asserted copyright ownership over that website, without making a single disclosure, disclaimer or qualification anywhere on the site, has not disclosed the absence of a relationship for the purpose of establishing bona fide reseller or distributor rights.

The Panel agrees with the Complainant that this use of each of the disputed domain names does not constitute a bona fide offering of goods or services, or a legitimate non-commercial or fair use, but rather amounts to an attempt to fraudulently impersonate the Complainant and to deceive Internet users into believing that the website at the disputed domain name is an "official" Geek Bar website belonging to or associated with the Complainant. None of this is consistent with the Respondent having rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name and the Panel finds that the second element of the Policy has been established.

The Complainant’s GEEK BAR word mark has been registered in the United States (where the Complainant appears to be based) since 2021 and long before the registration of the disputed domain name in 2025. It is a distinctive mark for a vaping type product and based on the evidence submitted by the Complainant enjoys a substantial international reputation. Considering that the Respondent has used the Complainant’s GEEK BAR word mark on the website at the disputed domain name and as described above has attempted to masquerade on the website as if it is the Complainant, or as if its "official" website is authorised by, or affiliated with the Complainant.  the Panel finds that the Respondent was most likely aware of the Complainant's business and trade mark at the time of registration of the disputed domain name.

Under paragraph 4(b)(iv) of the Policy there is evidence of registration and use of the disputed domain name in bad faith where a Respondent has used the disputed domain name to intentionally attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to its website by creating a likelihood of confusion with the Complainant’s trade marks as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation or endorsement of the website.

As submitted by the Complainant, the Respondent has used the disputed domain name to divert Internet users to its website at which it masquerades as if it is the Complainant. The website features the Complainant's GEEK BAR mark and a representation of the Complainant’s logo mark (which is also registered in China under number 47625710). Overall, the website clearly appears to be dressed up to confuse Internet users in to thinking that they are dealing with the Complainant, or at the least that the website is operated by an authorised reseller or distributor, when this is not the case. The website at the disputed domain name is obviously for the Respondent’s own commercial gain and targets the Complainant's business and mark, without any suggestion to that it is not authorised by, or affiliated with, the Complainant. It attempts to represent to Internet users that it is an "official" GEEK BAR website. This conduct therefore fulfils the requirements of paragraph 4(b) (iv) of the Policy and is evidence of registration and use of the disputed domain name in bad faith. Accordingly, the Panel finds that the Complaint also succeeds under the third element of the Policy.