In addition to its rights as an exclusive licensee and registrant of the registered trademarks set out above, the Complainant also owns a large portfolio of Internet domain names which consist of, or incorporate the elements <jokerstar> Internet domain names including <jokerstar.de>, <jokerstar.com> and <jokerstar.fun>.<\/p>\n
Relevantly, the Complainant’s domain name <jokerstar.fun> was created on January 18, 2021, and the disputed domain name <jokerstar-fun.com> was created November 3, 2023.<\/p>\n
The disputed domain name resolves to a website on which the Respondent presents itself as “JOKERSTAR CASINO”, while prominently displaying the JOKERSTAR mark in which the Complainant has rights and purports to offer gaming services that compete with those offered by the Complainant.<\/p>\n
There is no information available about the Respondent except for that provided in the Complaint, the Registrar’s WhoIs and the information provided by the Registrar in response to the request by the Center for details of the registration of the disputed domain name in the course of this proceeding.<\/p>\n
The Registrar has verified that the Respondent is the registrant of 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": "
Complainant<\/p>\n
The Complainant claims rights in the JOKERSTAR service mark as described above and that it has an established Internet presence using its abovementioned portfolio of domain names.<\/p>\n
The Complainant avers that it has provided virtual slot machine games under license in Germany since August 2022 allowing and has operated a corresponding service on the Internet since 22 September 2022 on its website at www.jokerstar.de.<\/p>\n
The Complainant avers that since 22 September 2022 its website has been accessed over 2,500,000 times, and in marketing its gaming service, the Complainant has placed more than 2,250 TV commercials, and around 200 corner split screen advertisements in that period.<\/p>\n
The Complainant alleges that the disputed domain name is identical or confusingly similar to the JOKERSTAR mark in which it has rights noting that it consists of the trademark and the element \"fun\", which are separated by a hyphen together with the generic Top-Level Domain extension <.com>.<\/p>\n
It is submitted that due to the clear separation of the two components, by the hyphen, the targeted public, namely Internet users interested in online gambling, will recognize the component \"fun\" as an independent, generic component, which is merely intended to explain the feeling the user should get when visiting the website accessible with the challenged domain name.<\/p>\n
The Complainant submits that it has no knowledge of the Respondent, however, searches carried out by the Complainant in the retrievable databases has not revealed any possible rights of third parties, and therefore the Respondent has no rights in the disputed domain name.<\/p>\n
Alleging that the disputed domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith, the Complainant avers that it has operated a website at www.jokerstar.de since 22 September 2022; that it has placed more than 2,250 TV commercials and approximately, 200 corner split screen advertisements for its services; and that its website at www.jokerstar.de has been accessed over 2.5 million times.<\/p>\n
The Complainant further submits that it is the owner of the domain names <jokerstar.com> and <jokerstar.fun>, and the disputed domain name is a combination of these two domain names.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, the design of the Respondent's website, which has been adapted to the design of the complainant's website, clearly shows that the Respondent must have been aware of the Complainant's website and also of the domain name <jokerstar.de> used by the Complainant at the time of the registration of the disputed domain name.<\/p>\n
The Complainant argues that it follows that the Complainant's gaming services have achieved considerable awareness among the relevant public when the disputed domain name was registered by the Respondent on 3 November 2023.<\/p>\n
Referring to a screen capture of the website to which the disputed domain name resolves which is exhibited in an annex to the Complaint, the Complainant complains that its JOKERSTAR mark is used prominently in the header area, although the Complainant has no association with the Respondent’s website.<\/p>\n
The Complainant adds that the Respondent’s exhibited website even displays the certificate of the gambling authority in Malta, thus giving the impression that a corresponding permit exists there and also indicating that \"gambling licenses from reputable supervisory authorities\" of several countries shall exist, which shall enable \"Jokerstar Casino\" to \"offer its services to players from different regions and at the same time comply with local gambling laws and regulations\".<\/p>\n
The term \"Casino\" is used on the Respondent’s website. By placing the trademark \"Jokerstar\" in front of this term, the impression is even created that the Complainant uses the term \"Jokerstar Casino\".<\/p>\n
In the FAQs of this website linked to the website which is accessible through the disputed domain name, the term \"Jokerstar GmbH Casino\" is also used at one point, thus creating a direct reference to the Complainant and giving the impression that the corresponding website is operated by the Complainant:<\/p>\n
This impression is also reinforced by the fact that this website refers to an allegedly existing \"Jokerstar\" app. However, neither the Complainant nor the Respondent operate any app under the name \"JOKERSTAR\", which is why such an app is not available or retrievable in the specified app stores.<\/p>\n
In addition, referring to screen captures of the Complainant’s own website and the website to which the disputed domain name resolves, the Complainant submits that the Respondent’s website also uses a homepage design that imitates the content of the Complainant's website. The graphic displayed at the top of the homepage contains figures that are also present on the Complainant's website either in a quasi-identical manner (a man with beard, brown jacket and white shirt, probably based on the film character \"Indiana Jones\") or in the corresponding design (Egyptian Pharaoh characters).<\/p>\n
Respondent<\/p>\n
No administratively compliant response has been filed.<\/p>\n
<\/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": [ "James Bridgeman" ], "date_of_panel_decision": "2024-03-24 00:00:00", "informal_english_translation": "
The Complainant is a provider of online gambling services and claims rights in the JOKERSTAR service mark established by its ownership of the European Union trademark EUTM, JOKERSTAR, registration number 018321281, registered on February 15, 2021 for services in class 41.<\/p>\n
In addition, the Complainant is the exclusive licensee of:<\/p>\n