Complainant states that it “operates one of Belgium’s largest supermarket chains under” the COLRUYT Trademark; and that its “history dates back to 1928, when Franz Colruyt started a colonial wholesale goods business to serve grocers in Brussels and the surrounding area.”<\/p>\n
The Disputed Domain Name was created on March 29, 2024. Complainant states, and provides documentation to support, that Respondent uses the Disputed Domain Name “to impersonate the Colruyt Group” via “exchanges of emails sent by the respondent under cover of… two email addresses,” one of which contains the name of the chief operating officer of “the Food Retail department of Colruyt Group.”<\/p>", "other_legal_proceedings": "
The Panel is not aware of any other legal proceedings that are pending or decided and that relate to the Disputed Domain Name.<\/p>", "no_response_filed": "
Complainant contends, in relevant part, as follows:<\/p>\n
Paragraph 4(a)(i): Complainant states that the Disputed Domain Name is confusingly similar to the COLRUYT Trademark because it “contains the EU TMs COLRUYT of which the Complainant is the owner” and “‘Groupes’ is the French translation of ‘Groups’ (plural of ‘Group’).”<\/p>\n
Paragraph 4(a)(ii): Complainant states that Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the Disputed Domain Name because, inter alia, “[t]o the Complainant’s best knowledge, it is the only organization in the world using the names COLRUYT and COLRUYT GROUP in the course of trade”; “Complainant does not grant any licenses or authorization to use the COLRUYT mark to third parties outside its group of companies”; Respondent “is not engaged in any legitimate business which would require using the COLRUYT trademarks” and “[i]nstead, the Disputed Domain Name is merely used as an attempt to impersonate the Complainant for malicious purposes” as shown by emails using the Disputed Domain Name.<\/p>\n
Paragraph 4(a)(iii): Complainant states that the Disputed Domain Name was registered and is being used in bad faith because, inter alia, “[e]mails have been sent by the respondent using the e-mail addresses, ‘[redacted]@colruytgroupes.com’ and ‘[redacted]@colruytgroupes.com’… in an attempt to impersonate the COO of the Food Retail department of the Complainant, who is one of the leading figures in the company”; and “[t]he purpose of the email was indeed to obtain business information and\/or procure goods from a supplier of the Complainant or the Complainant’s affiliate.”<\/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 UDRP).<\/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 UDRP).<\/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 UDRP).<\/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": [ "Douglas Isenberg" ], "date_of_panel_decision": "2024-07-19 00:00:00", "informal_english_translation": "
Complainant states that it owns “various COLRUYT trademark registrations,” including EU Reg. No. 010375434 for COLRUYTGROUP (registered October 13, 2011); and that its “food branch Colruyt Food Retail NV” owns EU Reg. No. 009856733 for COLRUYT (registered October 7, 2011). These registrations are referred to herein as the “COLRUYT Trademark.”<\/p>", "decision_domains": { "colruytgroupes.com": "TRANSFERRED" }, "panelist": null, "panellists_text": null }