www.ridge.com<\/a><\/span>, which was activated on 28 April 2019. The Complainant’s Facebook profile has 277 000 followers, and its Instagram profile has 288 000 followers.<\/p>\nThe disputed domain name <ridge-wallet.com> was registered on 10 May 2024, and the disputed domain name <ridgediscount.com> was registered on 12 June 2024. Each of them resolves to very similar English language websites with the header “RidgeWallet | Official Store” and the copyright notice “© The Ridge 2024 US Patents Issued, No. 10,791,808”, (a patent that has been assigned to the Complainant), offering wallets branded with the Complainant’s RIDGE trademark at discount prices.<\/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 names.<\/p>",
"no_response_filed": "
COMPLAINANT:<\/p>\n
The Complainant contends that the disputed domain names are confusingly similar to the RIDGE trademark, which they include in their entirety with the addition of the dictionary words “wallet” and “discount”.<\/p>\n
The Complainant asserts that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain names, as it uses them for websites that impersonate the Complainant in order to sell counterfeit or knockoff products infringing its intellectual property rights. According to the Complainant, the Respondent is not commonly known under the disputed domain names and the only reason why it registered them was to take advantage of the Complainant’s goodwill and valuable reputation.<\/p>\n
The Complainant contends that the disputed domain names were registered and are being used in bad faith. It points out that the RIDGE trademark enjoys a wide reputation and predates the registration of the disputed domain names. According to the Complainant, the Respondent was well aware of the RIDGE trademark when registering the disputed domain names and registered them to target the same trademark, which is evident from its use on the associated websites, which attempt to impersonate the Complainant in order to sell counterfeit versions of its products. In the Complainant’s submission, this shows that the Respondent has registered and used the disputed domain names in bad faith to intentionally attempt to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to the associated websites, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the Complainant's RIDGE trademark as to the affiliation or endorsement of the associated websites.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
RESPONDENT:<\/p>\n
The Respondent did not submit a Response in this proceeding.<\/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": "
According to the information received from the Registrar, the language of the Registration Agreement for the disputed domain names is Russian.<\/p>\n
Paragraph 11(a) of the Rules provides that unless otherwise agreed by the parties or specified otherwise in the registration agreement between the respondent and the registrar in relation to the disputed domain name, the language of the proceeding shall be the language of the registration agreement, subject to the authority of the panel to determine otherwise, having regard to the circumstances of the administrative proceeding.<\/p>\n
The Complaint was filed in English, and the Complainant requests that the language of the proceedings be English. In support of its language request, the Complainant submits that the disputed domain names include the English dictionary words “wallet” and “discount”, while the associated websites are entirely in English and all products on them are offered with prices in US Dollars, which indicates that the Respondent must have a good knowledge of English. The Complainant adds that translating this Complaint into Russian would lead to undue delay and substantial expense incurred by the Complainant.<\/p>\n
In exercising its discretion to use a language other than that of the Registration Agreement, the Panel has to exercise such discretion judicially in the spirit of fairness and justice to both Parties, taking into account all relevant circumstances of the case, including matters such as the Parties’ ability to understand and use the proposed language, time and costs.<\/p>\n
The Panel accepts the Complainant’s submission regarding the language of the proceeding. The Respondent has not challenged the Complainant’s language request and has failed to file a Response. The Panel is also mindful of the need to ensure the proceeding is conducted in a timely and cost-effective manner. Considering all the above, the Panel determines that the language of the proceeding shall be English.<\/p>\n
Having resolved the above issue, the Panel is satisfied that all procedural requirements under UDRP have been met and there is no reason why it would be inappropriate to render a decision.<\/p>",
"decision": "Accepted",
"panelists": [
"Assen Alexiev"
],
"date_of_panel_decision": "2025-02-06 00:00:00",
"informal_english_translation": "
The Complainant is the owner of the United States trademark RIDGE with registration No. 5964856, registered on 21 January 2020 for goods in International Class 18 (the “RIDGE trademark”).<\/p>",
"decision_domains": {
"Ridge-Wallet.com": "TRANSFERRED",
"RidgeDiscount.com": "TRANSFERRED"
},
"panelist": null,
"panellists_text": null
}