The Complainant was founded in 1845 and is a well-known chocolate maker based in Switzerland. As a leader in the market of premium quality chocolate, the Complainant has 11 production sites in Europe and the United States and its more than 2,500 products are distributed via 28 subsidiaries, 500 own retail shops and a comprehensive network of more than 100 distributors in over 120 countries. The Complainant has more than 14 thousand employees and made a revenue of CHF 5.2 billion in 2023. The Complainant acquired United States-based Russell Stover Candies, LLC in 2014 for approximately USD 1.6 billion. Russell Stover was established in 1923 in Denver, Colorado, and has been headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, since 1932. Russell Stover changed its company name to Russell Stover Candies in 1943 (having previously been known as Mrs. Stover’s Bungalow Candies). Russell Stover chocolates are made in the United States across three factories and are available at 13 retail locations. The Russell Stover division of the Complainant made sales of USD 377 million in 2022.<\/p>\n
The Complainant has an online site where it advertises and sells its goods and the main domain is <russellstover.com> which was registered in 1996. The Complainant also holds <<\/strong>russellstover.net> (registered in 2010) and <russellstover.us><\/strong> (registered in 2014). The brand also enjoys a notable social media presence with, for example, almost 50 thousand followers on Facebook at (https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RussellStoverUS\/<\/a>), almost 18 thousand followers on Instagram (https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/russellstoverus\/<\/a>), and approximately 8 thousand followers on LinkedIn (https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/russell-stover-chocolates<\/a>).<\/p>\n The disputed domain name <russellstoverllc.com> was registered on September 9, 2024 and, in the Complainant's view, it has been used to send phishing emails which fraudulently purport to originate from the Complainant’s legitimate entity Russell Stover Chocolates, LLC. According to the Complainant, these emails, originating from accounts@russellstoverllc.com<\/a>, request the recipient(s) to update their accounts with new details (under the guise that Russell Stover is in the process of migrating to a new accounting system). The Complainant also notes that the above referred emails adopt a footer which reproduces the Russell Stover Chocolates, LLC name, address and official website URL.<\/p>\n The Registrar has revealed that the Respondent is a US entity named Second Second.<\/p>\n <\/div>",
"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": " 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": [
"Guido Maffei"
],
"date_of_panel_decision": "2024-11-07 00:00:00",
"informal_english_translation": " The Complainant is the owner of many trademark registrations for \"RUSSELL STOVER\", including the following: <\/p>\n i) US trademark registration no. 739454, registered on October 16, 1962 for products included in class 30 and duly renewed;<\/p>\n ii) International registration no. 1243266, registered on January 28, 2015 for products and services included in classes 29, 30, 35 and 43;<\/p>\n iii) EUTM registration no. 4342077, registered on April 28, 2006 for products and services included in classes 30 and 35 and duly renewed;<\/p>\n iv) Canadian trademark registration no. TMA442500, registered on May 5, 1995 for products included in class 30 and duly renewed;<\/p>\n v) Mexican trademark registration no. 421292, registered on September 4, 1992 for products included in class 30 and duly renewed.<\/p>",
"decision_domains": {
"russellstoverllc.com": "TRANSFERRED"
},
"panelist": null,
"panellists_text": null
}