FACTS ASSERTED BY THE COMPLAINANT AND NOT CONTESTED BY THE RESPONDENT:<\/p>\n
The Complainant is a subsidiary company of Harley-Davidson, Inc., an international motorcycle manufacturer providing leading worldwide manufacture, distribution, and sale of motorcycles, parts, and complementary goods and services thereof. Harley-Davidson, Inc. includes the subsidiary Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Inc.<\/p>\n
The Complainant’s parent company has traded on the New York Stock Exchange since 5 November 1987 and as of 6 November 2023, has a market capitalisation value of $4.10 billion. The Complainant owns very extensive trade mark rights in HARLEY-DAVIDSON and HARLEY.<\/p>\n
In addition, the domain name <harley-davidson.com> was registered by the Complainant on 8 November 1994. The Complainant also owns a considerable portfolio of HARLEY-DAVIDSON and HARLEY domain names.<\/p>\n
The USA is the Complainant’s domestic market and accounts for a significant portion of sales, with other key markets being DACH (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland), Japan, China, Canada, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, and New Zealand. The Complainant has a significant reputation and has built up a vast amount of goodwill in the US and abroad in relation to a wide range of goods and services.<\/p>\n
The HARLEY-DAVIDSON brand has become iconic in popular culture in part due to the intensity, geographical extent, and long-standing use made of such marks, as evidenced by the extremely high level of awareness of the Complainant’s brand amongst consumers.<\/p>\n
The Complainant has an active online presence at https:\/\/www.harley-davidson.com\/, which has been live since at least as early as 19 December 1996. The Complainant is also active on social media and has generated a significant level of endorsement.<\/p>\n
The disputed domain names were registered as follows:<\/p>\n
<harley.vip> with creation date April 15, 2024<\/p>\n
<harleyy.vip> with creation date April 18, 2024<\/span><\/p>\n (hereinafter, the “Disputed Domain Names”).<\/p>\n The Complainant indicates that the Disputed Domain Names resolve as follows:<\/p>\n <harley.vip> infringing website advertising crypto assets using the HARLEY-DAVIDSON and HARLEY branding;<\/p>\n <harleyy.vip> inactive website.<\/span><\/p>\n According to Complainant’s non-contested allegations, the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interest in respect of the Disputed Domain Names and the Complainant is not related in any way to the Complainant’s business.<\/p>\n For the purpose of this case, the Registrar confirmed that the Respondent is the current registrant of the Disputed Domain Names and that the language of the registration agreement is English.<\/p>\n The facts asserted by the Complainant are not contested by the Respondent.<\/p>",
"other_legal_proceedings": " The Panel is aware of proceeding No. 106559 initiated by the Complainant for the recovery of the domain names <harley.vip>, <harleyy.vip> & <harley-davidson.vip> concluded with a rejection order. The rejection in question is based on procedural\/formal grounds regarding the lack of sufficient evidence from the Complaint to demonstrate the consolidation of the three domains into one Complaint.<\/span> <\/p>\n Following this decision, the Complainant filed a new Complaint concerning two of the three domains involved in the first Complaint; i.e. <harley.vip> & <harleyy.vip>.<\/p>\n The Panel does not consider that there are any reasons to prevent the examination of the current Complaint since Case No. 106559 was decided on the basis of procedural\/formal grounds without any examination of the merits of the case.<\/p>\n In fact, the Panel closed the case No. 106559 using the following statement:<\/p>\n “<\/em>For the sake of clarity, this Panel has not made any finding or decision on any matter of substance such as would prejudice either Party in the event that any of the disputed domain names might be the subject of a future complaint<\/em>”.<\/em><\/p>\n Based on the above, the Panel would review this new case based on evidence provided by the Complainant.<\/p>",
"no_response_filed": " COMPLAINANT:<\/p>\n First element: Similarity <\/p>\n The Complainant states that the Disputed Domain Name incorporate in their entirety its trademarks “HARLEY DAVISON®“ & “HARLEY®”.<\/p>\n The Complainant asserts the following:<\/p>\n <harley.vip> incorporates the HARLEY mark verbatim.<\/p>\n <harleyy.vip> incorporates the HARLEY trade mark in its entirety as the dominant and distinctive element, with the addition of the letter ‘y’, which does not alter the overall impression in the eyes of the average internet use.<\/p>\n The TLD “.vip” is to be ignored for the purpose of assessing the identity, because it only plays a technical function.<\/p>\n Second element: Rights or legitimate interest<\/p>\n The Complainant contends that no authorization has been given to anyone to make any use or apply for registration of the Disputed Domain Names and have no affiliation at all with the Respondent.<\/p>\n In particular, the Respondent is not making a legitimate non-commercial or fair use of the Disputed Domain Names. In this regard, the Complainant submits that the Respondent is not using the Disputed Domain Names in relation to a bona fide offering of goods or services. Specifically, the domain name <harley.vip> resolves to the Infringing Website. The Infringing Website impersonate\/pass off as the Complainant, or suggest that they are affiliated with the Complainant. Specifically, the Infringing Website advertises crypto assets using the HARLEY-DAVIDSON and HARLEY branding (e.g., the logo, typeface, fonts, and images). This is further exemplified by the Respondent’s use of Facebook and YouTube videos which target the HARLEY brand in the video content, video description, and\/or video title to divert internet users to the Disputed Domain Names.<\/p>\n The second Disputed Domain Name<\/span> <harleyy.vip> does not currently show a live website, but the Complainant believes that the Disputed Domain Name will resolve to a website similar to the website connected to <harley.vip> for the same purpose of offering crypto assets.<\/p>\n The Complainant has not licensed or otherwise permitted the Respondent to use its trademark. There is no relationship between the Complainant and the Respondent.<\/p>\n The Respondent’s use of the Disputed Domain Names is designed to impersonate or pass itself off as the Complainant or to be somehow affiliated, in order to advertise the Respondent’s own crypto assets.<\/p>\n Third element: Bad faith<\/p>\n The Complainant submits that the Respondent has registered the Disputed Domain Names in bad faith by registering them for the purpose of preventing the Complainant from reflecting their trade mark in a corresponding domain name and that the Respondent has engaged in a pattern of bad faith conduct.<\/p>\n The Respondent has registered two (2) domain names containing the HARLEY trade mark which evidences a pattern of bad faith conduct under Policy. Furthermore, the Respondent has registered other ‘.VIP’ domains incorporating other distinctive and reputable brands in the domain name, which is a behaviour commonly referred to as ‘cyber-squatting’.<\/p>\n The Complainant submits that the Respondent has registered the Disputed Domain Names in bad faith by intentionally attempting to attract, for commercial gain, internet users to the Infringing Website, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the Complainant's Registered Trade Marks as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of the Disputed Domain Names under Policy. Moreover, the Respondent has registered the Disputed Domain Names, first to drive internet traffic to the Infringing Website and, thereafter, to impersonate the Complainant or claim an affiliation. Using a trade mark to divert traffic to a respondent’s own website(s) has been consistently held by panellists to amount to bad faith registration and use under the Policy<\/p>\n The Complainant submits that, based on the Respondent’s use of the HARLEY-DAVIDSON® and HARLEY® brands to advertise crypto assets, the Respondent had actual knowledge of Complainant’s Registered Trade Marks and is clearly aware of the Complainant’s reputation. Actual knowledge of a complainant’s rights in a mark prior to registering a confusingly similar domain name is strong evidence of bad faith under the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution<\/span> Policy.<\/p>\n Furthermore, the Complainant asserts that there is the additional risk that the Infringing Website intends to harvest personal and\/or financial information from the Complainant’s customers. The Infringing Website, and the social media posts connected with the infringing website, advertises the sale of crypto assets falsely endorsed by the Complainant. The behaviour of the Respondent is commonly known as “phishing”.<\/p>\n RESPONDENT<\/p>\n Respondent did not reply to the Complaint<\/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 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": [
"Victor Garcia Padilla"
],
"date_of_panel_decision": "2024-09-04 00:00:00",
"informal_english_translation": " The Complainant is the owner of several trademarks consisting of the term “HARLEY®” & “HARLEY DAVISON®” such as:<\/p>\n The Complainant is the owner of the domain name <harley-davidson.com> registered on June 15, 2005.<\/p>",
"decision_domains": {
"harley.vip": "TRANSFERRED",
"harleyy.vip": "TRANSFERRED"
},
"panelist": null,
"panellists_text": null
}\n