FACTS ASSERTED BY THE COMPLAINANT AND NOT CONTESTED BY THE RESPONDENT:<\/p>\n
For more than 120 years GALERIA has been synonymous for department stores in Germany. Due to its continuous and ubiquitous presence in Germany and its growth, especially in the post-war period, GALERIA is known to the majority of German speaking consumers. The Complainant has retail shops in all major German cities. These are often in prominent locations, such as the popular Marienplatz in the centre of Munich and the famous Alexanderplatz and Kurfürstendamm in Berlin. The Complainant's company name is also prominently displayed on the outside of the buildings. <\/p>\n
This means that virtually everyone visiting one of the larger German cities comes into contact with the Complainant and the GALERIA trademark. In addition, the Complainant has been using GALERIA for more than 120 years, not only as a company name, but also for various goods, especially clothing.<\/p>\n
According to these standards GALERIA certainly qualifies as a well-known\/famous trademark. The Complainant operates the website at “www.galeria.de”.<\/p>\n
The Respondent, allegedly Galeria Modehaus Ltd., was incorporated on August 31, 2023 in Hong Kong with a share Capital of HKD 1000 (~EUR 116). Its Director is Viktor Hanbjol Langensiepen, Cranachstr. 34, 40667 Meerbusch, Germany, who also owns the majority of the shares. On the website to which the disputed domain name resolves, the Respondent lists its company name as “Modehaus Pte. Ltd.” with an address in the United States. The legal form of a “Pte. Ltd.” does not exist in the US, accordingly only a legal entity in Singapore, “MODEHAUS PTE. LTD.”, incorporated on February 19, 2024, can be identified via an online search.<\/p>\n
The disputed domain name <galeria-modehaus.com> resolves to a German language website offering clothing for sale. A Trustpilot review on July 30, 2024 (translated from German) reads:<\/p>\n
“Minus 10 stars was appropriate<\/p>\n
Unfortunately I have to enter a star so that I can give a rating. Actually you should give minus 10 stars.<\/p>\n
Clearly, keep your hands off this company. They are based in the USA and have nothing to do with Galeria (Kaufhof). You can only cancel within 24 hours if you have read the small print. So they are circumventing the 14-day period for contract cancellation that applies in the EU. They generally do not respond to inquiries about when the delivery will take place. When ordering, it was stated that the delivery would be immediate. But that is just a \"bait\". Even when paying with PayPal, refunds become a problem, as others have already rated here.”<\/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": "
The Complainant contends that the requirements of the Policy have been met and that the disputed domain name should be transferred to it.<\/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 the UDRP were met and there is no other reason why it would be inappropriate to provide a decision.<\/p>", "decision": "Accepted", "panelists": [ "Alan Limbury" ], "date_of_panel_decision": "2024-10-07 00:00:00", "informal_english_translation": "
The Complainant owns inter alia <\/em>the following trademarks:<\/p>\n German trademark Reg. No. 302019001984 GALERIA, registered on August 20, 2021, for wholesale services in relation to clothing;<\/p>\n German trademark Reg. No. 302021104769 GALERIA (word and device) registered on March 31, 2021, for retail services, mail order services, wholesale services, e-commerce services relating to clothing;<\/p>\n EUTM Reg. No. 002383180 GALERIA registered on October 22, 2013, for services in the field of commerce, namely arranging contracts for the buying and selling of goods and services, including via the Internet, mail order services by catalogue and via the Internet, import and export services.<\/p>",
"decision_domains": {
"Galeria-Modehaus.com": "TRANSFERRED"
},
"panelist": null,
"panellists_text": null
}