With roots tracing back to 1911, the Complainant is a cooperative bank insurance group in France consisting of the Crédit Mutuel de Bretagne and Crédit Mutuel du Sud-Ouest federations and their member local banks, as well as around forty specialised subsidiaries. It is owned by its members, who are both shareholders and customers. It covers all areas of banking and insurance, together with a growing position in real estate and connected services.<\/p>\n
In addition to the Complainant’s ARKEA registered trademark, the Complainant owns a domain name portfolio containing the domain name <arkea.com>, registered since July 26, 2002.<\/p>\n
The disputed domain name was registered on December 18, 2023 and resolves to a parking page containing commercial links with labels such as “Comment Investir son Argent” (“How to Invest your Money”), “Financement” (Funding), and “Conseil en Gestion Patrimoine” (“Asset Management Consulting”).<\/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 ARKEA trademark as it includes this in its entirety, differing only by the addition of the term “gestion”. A domain name that wholly incorporates a complainant’s registered trademark may be sufficient to establish confusing similarity for the purposes of the Policy.<\/p>\n
The addition of the generic Top-Level Domain “.com” does not change the overall impression of the designation as being connected to the Complainant’s trademark or prevent the likelihood of confusion between the disputed domain name and the Complainant, its trademark and its associated domain name. Previous cases under the Policy have confirmed the Complainant’s rights.<\/p>\n
The Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name.<\/p>\n
The Respondent is not identified in the Whois database as the disputed domain name. Previous panels have held that a respondent is not commonly known by a domain name if the Whois information is not similar thereto. The Respondent is not related to 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 ARKEA trademark or to apply for registration of the disputed domain name.<\/p>\n
The disputed domain name resolves to a parking page with commercial links. Previous panels have found that this is not a bona fide offering of goods or services or legitimate non-commercial or fair use.<\/p>\n
The disputed domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith. The Respondent registered the disputed domain name several years after the registration of the Complainant’s trademark, which has established a strong reputation through use. Previous panels under the Policy have confirmed the Complainant’s rights in the term ARKEA and noted that such term appears to have no common meaning and is highly distinctive. Given such distinctiveness, it is it is inconceivable that the Respondent, who is French, could have registered the disputed domain name without actual knowledge of the Complainant's rights in its trademark.<\/p>\n
The disputed domain name resolves to a parking page with commercial links. The Respondent has attempted to attract Internet users for commercial gain to its own website because of the Complainant’s trademark, which is 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": "2024-04-03 00:00:00", "informal_english_translation": "
The Complainant is owner of French Registered Trademark Number 96636222 for the word mark ARKEA, filed on and registered with effect from July 26, 1996 in Classes 35, 36, 42, and 45.<\/p>", "decision_domains": { "arkea-gestion.com": "TRANSFERRED" }, "panelist": null, "panellists_text": null }