{ "case_number": "CAC-UDRP-105042", "time_of_filling": "2022-12-09 11:15:02", "domain_names": [ "sephoraco.com" ], "case_administrator": " Iveta Špiclová (Czech Arbitration Court) (Case admin)", "complainant": [ "SEPHORA SAS" ], "complainant_representative": "INSIDERS", "respondent": [ "oscar sadegi (Naan Hut)" ], "respondent_representative": null, "factual_background": "

The Complainant’s contentions can be summarised as follows:<\/p>\n

A.<\/strong> Background History<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Complainant, founded in France in 1970, has become a well known cosmetics retail company. The Complainant operates over 2,700 stores in 35 countries worldwide and through its e-commerce at www.sephora.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Complainant seeks to obtain the ownership of disputed domain name on the grounds set out in section B below.<\/p>\n

B. <\/strong><\/span>Legal Grounds<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

I. The disputed domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trade mark in which the Complainant has rights<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Complainant submits that the disputed domain name <sephoraco.com> is confusingly similar to the Complainant’s trade mark SEPHORA, to the extent that it incorporates the Complainant’s trade mark SEPHORA in its entirety, and that the adjoint term “co” has no meaning and is therefore insufficient to dispel the likelihood of confusion.<\/p>\n

II. The Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Complainant submits that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name. The Respondent does not carry out any activity for, or has any business with, the Complainant. Neither licence nor authorisation has been given to the Respondent to make any use of the Complainant’s trade mark SEPHORA. Moreover, the Respondent is not known by the disputed domain name.<\/p>\n

The Complainant further submits that the disputed domain name resolves to the website at www.teargans.com<\/a>, which operates in the business of hair products.  On the Respondent’s website there is a US phone number and a mention “Trademark of Sephoraco LLC”.<\/p>\n

According to the Complainant, Sephora Co LLC was first registered as “Biltmore Fashion Salon LLC” in 2003 and changed its company name to Sephora Co LLC in 2015, when the Respondent registered the disputed domain name, at which time the Complainant was already widely known in Europe and in Americas.<\/p>\n

In view of the above, the Complainant concludes that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the dispute domain name.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> The Respondent registered and is using the disputed domain names in bad faith<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Complainant asserts that a professional retailer of hair and other cosmetic products, with an over 10 year experience in the field, could not be unaware of the trade mark SEPHORA at the time of registration of the disputed domain name.<\/p>\n

The Complainant avers that the Respondent has intentionally used the disputed domain name to attract, for commercial gain, the Complainant’s clients to the Respondent’s website and therefore exploit SEPHORA’s popularity and renown (paragraph 4(b)(iv) of the UDRP Policy).<\/p>\n

The Complainant therefore concludes that the Respondent has registered and is using the disputed domain name in bad faith.<\/p>", "other_legal_proceedings": "

The Panel is unaware of any other pending or decided legal proceedings in respect of the domain name <sephoraco.com> (“the disputed domain name”).<\/p>\n

In the Complaint, the Complainant states as follows: “SEPHORA tried to contact the Respondent in 2020 and again in 2021 with no response. SEPHORA also succeeded to shut down the website to which the domain sephoraco.com resolved in 2020”.<\/p>", "no_response_filed": "

\n
\n
\n

The Respondent has failed to serve a Response in this administrative proceeding, the result of which being that the Complainant’s allegations are uncontested. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>", "rights": "

The Complainant has, to the satisfaction of the Panel, shown that the disputed domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trade mark in which the Complainant has rights (within the meaning of paragraph 4(a)(i) of the UDRP Policy).<\/p>", "no_rights_or_legitimate_interests": "

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 UDRP Policy).<\/p>", "bad_faith": "

The Complainant has, to the satisfaction of the Panel, shown the disputed domain name has been registered and are being used in bad faith (within the meaning of paragraph 4(a)(iii) of the Policy).<\/p>", "procedural_factors": "

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.<\/p>", "decision": "Accepted", "panelists": [ "Yana Zhou" ], "date_of_panel_decision": "2023-01-09 00:00:00", "informal_english_translation": "

The Complainant relies upon the following registered trade marks:<\/p>\n