The Complainant is a globally operating major stainless-steel producer based in Finland and listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. The Complainant's market share in the global market is approximately 6%. In Europe, it is the market leader with some 30% market share and the clear number two in the Americas with a market share of approximately 22%. The Complainant employs some 9,000 professionals in more than 30 countries, with the headquarters in Helsinki, Finland. The corporate history as well as the company name of the Complainant traces its roots back to 1914.<\/p>\n
The disputed domain names were all registered on 22 March 2023.<\/p>\n
The Registrar confirmed that the Respondent is the current registrant of the disputed domain names, and that the language of the registration agreement is Chinese.<\/p>\n
The Respondent has not filed a Response.<\/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 names.<\/p>", "no_response_filed": "
NO ADMINISTRATIVELY COMPLIANT RESPONSE HAS BEEN FILED.<\/p>\n
The Complainant made the following contentions:<\/p>\n
The “OUTOKUMPU” trademark of the Complainant is well-known and enjoys a significant reputation around the world due to its consistent and extensive use throughout the years especially related to stainless steel products. <\/p>\n
The disputed domain names are obvious abbreviations of the Complainant’s well-known trademark, and also considering the content of the websites, are confusingly similar to the Complainant’s earlier “OUTOKUMPU” trademarks as well as the registered “Outokumpu” company name.<\/p>\n
It is evident the Respondent has no right or legitimate interest in respect of the disputed domain names which were registered and are used in bad faith. The disputed domain names and websites take advantage of the goodwill and reputation, as well as the intellectual property rights of the Complainant for the purpose of misleading current and possible new clients of the Complainant.<\/p>\n
The Complainant brings to the attention of the Panel the earlier decision CAC-UDRP-105118 and submits that the Respondent has been involved in continued abusive conduct.<\/p>\n
The Respondent has clearly been aware of the Complainant’s business and had the clear intention to target its rights for commercial purposes by registering the disputed domain names and publishing the related fraudulent websites. The use and registration of the disputed domain names by the Respondent, considering the facts and circumstances of the registration and use of the disputed domain names and the prior rights held by the Complainant, has been done with a clear intention to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to the Respondent’s website. As is evident from the content of the websites, the Respondent has been impersonating the Complainant and leading the consumers to believe that the related websites would be owned and managed by the Complainant. At the very least the Respondent is creating a likelihood of confusion with the Complainant’s registered and well-known “OUTOKUMPU” trademark and company name as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, and endorsement of the Respondent’s websites.<\/p>", "rights": "
The Complainant has, to the satisfaction of the Panel, shown the disputed domain names are 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 names (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 names have been registered and are being used in bad faith (within the meaning of paragraph 4(a)(iii) of the Policy).<\/p>", "procedural_factors": "
The Complainant requested that the language of the proceedings be changed to English considering the circumstances of the proceedings, the language of the related domains, websites, and documentation. The Rules provide that the language of proceedings is the language of the registration agreement (in this case, Chinese) - “unless otherwise agreed by the Parties, or specified otherwise in the Registration Agreement, the language of the administrative proceeding shall be the language of the Registration Agreement, subject to the authority of the Panel to determine otherwise, having regard to the circumstances of the administrative proceeding”. CAC notified the Complaint to the Respondent at the contact e-mails in both English and Chinese. Given that the Respondent has not submitted its Response and has not accessed the platform, it has failed to address the issue of the language of proceedings.<\/p>\n
Taking into consideration the facts of the matter as well as the Complainant’s arguments, and having regard to the principle of fairness, equality and efficiency of proceedings, the Panel has decided to accept the change of the language of the proceedings to English. Given the flagrant infringement of the Complainant’s various rights by imitating its website, given the use of English language on the websites operated on the disputed domains, and given the fact that the Respondent received notification of the Complaint in the language of the registration agreement (i.e. Chinese), the Panel considers it justified to allow the change of language of proceedings to English. The Respondent was given a fair opportunity to comment, and it chose not to act.<\/p>\n
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": [ "Vojtěch Chloupek", "Barbora Donathová", "Dominik Eickemeier" ], "date_of_panel_decision": "2023-08-24 00:00:00", "informal_english_translation": "
The Complainant submitted evidence that it is the registered owner of numerous trademarks around the world and asserted, in particular, the following registrations:<\/p>\n