The Complainant is the French company Groupe Adeo, specialized in the sale of articles covering all home sectors, as well as the development of the living environment and DIY, both for individuals and professionals. The pioneer company in Groupe Adeo is Leroy Merlin, created in 1923. Leroy Merlin is the leading DIY retail outlet in home and lifestyle improvement and living environment market, with 30,000 employees in France.<\/p>\n
The disputed domain name was registered on 13 November 2023, and resolves to a parking page with commercial links. The Respondent has set up Mail exchanges (“MX records”) for the disputed domain name. <\/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": "
NO ADMINISTRATIVELY COMPLIANT RESPONSE HAS BEEN FILED.<\/p>\n
The Complainant's contentions are the following.<\/p>\n
The disputed domain name is confusingly similar to the Complainant's trademark LEROY MERLIN as this trademark is identically reproduced in the disputed domain name and the addition of the geographic country code \"fr\", which stands for \"France\", is not sufficient to escape a finding of confusing similarity. <\/p>\n
The Respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. The Respondent is not identified in the Whois database as the disputed domain name. Moreover, the Respondent is not related to the Complainant in any way. The Complainant does not carry out any activity for, nor has any business with, the Respondent. The Complainant did not license the use of its trademark to the Respondent, nor otherwise authorized the Respondent to make use of the LEROY MERLIN mark or to apply for the registration of the disputed domain name. Furthermore, the disputed domain name resolves to a parking page with commercial links. Such use of the disputed domain name cannot amount to a bona fide offering of goods or services, or to a legitimate noncommercial or fair use.<\/p>\n
Finally, regarding the registration and use of the disputed domain name in bad faith, the Complainant maintains that the disputed domain name reproduces its LEROY MERLIN trademark entirely. The disputed domain name was registered several years after the registration of the Complainant's mark, which is highly distinctive and enjoys reputation. A simple online search on the Google search engine using the keywords \"leroy merlin\" would have exclusively led to results related to the Complainant. Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that the Respondent registered the disputed domain name with full knowledge of the Complainant's trademark. Moreover, the disputed domain name resolves to a parking page with commercial links. Accordingly, the Complainant contends that through the disputed domain name the Respondent is attempting to attract Internet users for commercial gain to its own website, which is evidence of use in bad faith. Finally, the Respondent has set up MX records for the disputed domain name, which suggests that the disputed domain name could be used for the purpose of sending e-mails, which is further evidence of bad faith.<\/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": [ "Angelica Lodigiani" ], "date_of_panel_decision": "2023-12-26 00:00:00", "informal_english_translation": "
The Complainant is the owner of various trademarks LEROY MERLIN, among which, are the following:<\/p>\n
- LEROY MERLIN (word), European Union Trade Mark (“EUTM”) registration No. 10843597, filed on 27 April 2012, and registered on 7 December 2012, for goods and services in classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31, 35, 36, 37, 40, 41, 42 and 44;<\/p>\n
- LEROY MERLIN (figurative), EUTM registration No. 11008281, filed on 2 July 2012, and registered on 2 October 2013, for goods and services in classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31, 35, 36, 37, 40, 41, 42 and 44;<\/p>\n
- LEROY MERLIN (word), International registration No. 591251, of 15 July 1992, for goods and services in classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 27, 28, 31 and 37, designating several countries;<\/p>\n
- LEROY MERLIN (figurative), International registration No. 701781, of 14 August 1998, for goods and services in classes 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41 and 42,<\/span> designating several countries.<\/p>\n The Complainant is also the owner of the domain names <leroymerlin.fr>, registered on12 September 1996 that is used for the official website of its subsidiary, LEROY MERLIN France, and <leroymerlin.com>, registered on 13 September 1996.<\/p>",
"decision_domains": {
"leroymerlin-fr.com": "TRANSFERRED"
},
"panelist": null,
"panellists_text": null
}