The Complainant operates in the sneaker fashion industry, offering a selection of sneakers, ready-to-wear and fashion accessories for men, women and children. In 2018, it maintained 188 stores, with 50 affiliated stores in France. The Complainant is present internationally, with 27 stores located in Spain, Poland and in the Maghreb, the Middle East and overseas territories.<\/p>\n
The Complainant is the owner of several registered trademarks for the term COURIR, including International and European Union registered marks dating back to 2007. For example, the Complainant is the owner of European Union Registered Trademark No. 17257791 for the word mark COURIR, registered on March 7, 2019, for goods and services in Nice Class 35. The Complainant has also registered numerous domain names incorporating this term, including its official domain name <courir.com>, registered since February 16, 1998.<\/p>\n
The disputed domain name was registered on April 6, 2023, and resolves to an online store which sells sports shoes, including shoes made by the Complainant’s competitors. Nothing is known of the Respondent other than that it appears to be a private individual with an address in Finland. The Respondent has not participated in the administrative proceeding although the case file provides information that the Respondent accessed the online case file and viewed the Complaint.<\/p>", "other_legal_proceedings": "
The Panel is not aware of any other legal proceedings which are pending or decided and which relate to the disputed domain name.<\/p>", "no_response_filed": "
Complainant:<\/p>\n
The disputed domain name is confusingly similar to the Complainant’s COURIR trademark and incorporates this in its entirety. The addition of the country code “FR” does not change the overall impression of the designation as being connected to the Complainant’s mark or prevent the likelihood of confusion between the Complainant, its trademark and the disputed domain name. The addition of the disputed domain name’s suffix “.com” does not change the overall impression of the designation as being connected to the COURIR trademark. The Complainant’s rights have been affirmed in previous cases under the Policy.<\/p>\n
The Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name.<\/p>\n
The Respondent is not known as the disputed domain name and the WHOIS information is not similar to the disputed domain name. The Respondent is not affiliated with nor authorized by the Complainant in any way. The Complainant does not carry out any activity for the Respondent and has no business with it. No license nor authorization has been granted to the Respondent to make any use of the Complainant’s COURIR trademark or to apply for registration of the disputed domain name. The disputed domain name is used to disrupt the Complainant’s business and to attract Internet users by impersonating the Complainant. Such impersonation, by using a complainant’s trademark in a domain name and seeking to defraud or confuse users, indicates a lack of rights and legitimate interests.<\/p>\n
The disputed domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith. The Complainant’s trademark is the first and most dominant element of the disputed domain name, coupled with the “FR” country code, which has a close association with the Complainant’s business. It is evident that the Respondent had knowledge of the Complainant’s trademark at the time of registration.<\/p>\n
The associated website is in the French language and offers competing products for sale, containing confusing messages suggesting that it might be affiliated with or sponsored by the Complainant. The Respondent uses the disputed domain name to divert Internet users searching for the Complainant’s website to the Respondent’s competing website, and to create a likelihood of confusion with the Complainant’s mark for the Respondent’s commercial gain by offering competing products. Panels in previous cases under the Policy have considered this to be evidence of bad faith.
<\/p>\n
Respondent:<\/p>\n
No administratively compliant Response has been filed.<\/p>", "rights": "
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).<\/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 Policy).<\/p>", "bad_faith": "
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).<\/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": [ "Andrew Lothian" ], "date_of_panel_decision": "2023-05-11 00:00:00", "informal_english_translation": "
Among others, the Complainant is the owner of the following registered trademark:<\/p>\n
European Union Registered Trademark No. 17257791 for the word mark COURIR, registered on March 7, 2019, for goods and services in Nice Class 35.<\/p>", "decision_domains": { "frcourir.com": "TRANSFERRED" }, "panelist": null, "panellists_text": null }