The Complainant is a subsidiary company of Harley-Davidson, Inc., an international motorcycle manufacturer providing leading worldwide manufacture, distribution, and sale of motorcycles, parts, and complementary goods and services thereof. Harley-Davidson, Inc. includes the subsidiary Harley-Davidson Motor Company Inc. The Complainant’s parent company has traded on the New York Stock Exchange since 5 November 1987 and as of 18 May 2021, has a market capitalisation value of $7.9 billion.<\/p>\n
The Complainant owns very extensive rights in the HARLEY-DAVIDSON mark, and in addition, the domain name <harley-davidson.com> was registered by the Complainant on 8 November 1994. The Complainant has an active online presence including on “https:\/\/www.harley-davidson.com\/”<\/p>\n
The United States of America (USA) is the Complainant’s domestic market and accounts for a significant portion of sales, with other key markets being Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Japan, China, Canada, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, and New Zealand. The Complainant has a significant reputation and has built up a vast amount of goodwill in the sign HARLEY-DAVIDSON in the USA and abroad in relation to a wide range of goods and services.<\/p>\n
The HARLEY-DAVIDSON brand has become iconic in popular culture in part due to the intensity, geographical extent, and long-standing use made of such marks, as evidenced by the extremely high level of awareness of the Complainant’s brand amongst consumers, as indicated by the consistent inclusion of Harley-Davidson within the Interbrand’s “Top 100: Best Global Brands” report.<\/p>\n
According to the Complainant the disputed domain name is identical or confusingly similar to the Complainant’s HARLEY-DAVIDSON trademarks, which it incorporates at the beginning of the disputed domain name. The term “shirts” as part of the disputed domain name is not distinctive and does nothing to alter the overall impression in the eyes of the average internet user.<\/p>\n
Further, the Complainant alleges that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name, as the disputed domain name is used to resolve to a website which offers goods that are competing with those of the Complaint, falsely purporting that the Respondent’s website is affiliated with and\/or are the Complainant, when they are not licensed, authorized, or associated with the Complainant. Also, upon the Complainant’s information and belief, the Respondent has never legitimately been known by the name HARLEY-DAVIDSON at any point in time. And the Complainant alleges that nothing suggests that the Respondent is making a legitimate non-commercial or fair use of the disputed domain name. <\/p>\n
Furthermore, the Complainant alleges that the Respondent is free riding on the coat tails of the Complainant’s famous HARLEY-DAVIDSON trademarks in a deliberate attempt to trade upon their reputation. According to the Complainant, the Respondent disrupts the Complainant’s business by diverting potential customers to the website under the disputed domain name, selling goods unaffiliated with the Complainant, and such use of confusingly similar domain name, with the inclusion of the Complainant’s trademark on the associated website, in a manner disruptive of a Complainant’s business by trading upon the goodwill of a Complainant for the commercial gain evinces bad faith.<\/p>\n
<\/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´s contentions are summarised above.<\/p>\n
No administratively compliant response has been filed.<\/span><\/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": [
"Alfred Meijboom"
],
"date_of_panel_decision": "2023-08-10 00:00:00",
"informal_english_translation": " The Complainant is the registered proprietor of various trademarks worldwide, including:<\/p>\n The disputed domain name was registered on June 8, 2020 and resolves to a website which features the Complaint’s HARLEY DAVISON stylized trademark at the top of the webpage, and offers T-shirts with different designs for sale.<\/p>",
"decision_domains": {
"harleydavidsonshirt.com": "TRANSFERRED"
},
"panelist": null,
"panellists_text": null
}\n