The Complainant is an international group, created in 1992, with operations in more than 45 countries worldwide. It employs more than 33 000 people and generated revenue of EUR 8942 million in 2024. The Complainant’s group includes Lagardère Publishing, operating mainly under the Hachette Livre imprint, which is a consumer publishing group in the Trade and Education markets. Hachette Book Group is a division of Lagardère Publishing, and is a leading general-interest book publisher in the United States. Yearly, it publishes more than 2100 adult books, 500 books for young readers, and 750 audiobook titles. In 2022, the company had 200 books on the New York Times bestseller list, 28 of which reached rank one.<\/p>\n
The Complainant operates its official website at the domain name <hachette.com>, registered on 24 June 1997. The Complainant also owns the domain names <hachette-edition.com>, registered on 25 March 2010, and <hachettebookpublishing.com>, registered on 27 March 2023.<\/p>\n
The disputed domain name was registered on 10 January 2024. It resolves to a website promoting publishing services under the name “Hachette Publications”.<\/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": "
COMPLAINANT:<\/p>\n
The Complainant states that the disputed domain name is confusingly similar to the HACHETTE trademark, because it includes this trademark in its entirety, and the addition of the dictionary word “publications” is not sufficient to escape the confusing similarity with the trademark but worsens the likelihood of confusion, as this term directly refers to the Complainant’s own publishing activities and services offered under the HACHETTE trademark.<\/p>\n
The Complainant asserts that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name, because it is not known under it, is not related to the Complainant, and does not carry out any activity for the Complainant. The Complainant adds that it has not authorized the Respondent to use the HACHETTE trademark or to apply for registration of the disputed domain name. The Complainant points out that the website at the disputed domain name provides no information about the Respondent and there is no publishing company named Hachette Publications in the business registry of companies or at the address indicated by the Respondent in the United States.<\/p>\n
The Complainant submits that the disputed domain name resolves to a website promoting publishing activities under the name “Hachette Publications”. According to the Complainant, the Respondent thus exploits the goodwill of the Complainant’s HACHETTE trademark to offer services in direct competition with the Complainant’s publishing activities.<\/p>\n
The Complainant contends that the disputed domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith. It notes that the Respondent registered the disputed domain name many years after the Complainant had established a strong reputation and goodwill in its HACHETTE trademark, and submits that the denomination Hachette Publications can only refer to the Complainant’s subsidiary HACHETTE LIVRE, a publishing company named after its founder Louis Hachette in 1826. The Complainant concludes that the Respondent has registered the disputed domain name with full knowledge of the Complainant’s HACHETTE trademark.<\/p>\n
The Complainant points out that the disputed domain name resolves to a website promoting publishing activities under the name “Hachette Publications”, and contends that the Respondent uses it to attract Internet users searching for the Complainant to the website at the disputed domain name and to offer them competing publishing services by creating<\/span> a likelihood of confusion with the Complainant’s HACHETTE trademark for commercial gain.<\/p>\n The Complainant adds that it sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Respondent on 10 April 2025, but did not receive any response.<\/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 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": [
"Assen Alexiev"
],
"date_of_panel_decision": "2025-06-08 00:00:00",
"informal_english_translation": " The Complainant is the owner of a number of trademark registrations for “HACHETTE” (the “HACHETTE trademark”), including the following representative registrations:<\/p>\n − the French trademark HACHETTE with registration No. 1356085, registered on 25 April 1985 for goods and services in International Classes 9, 16, 28, 35 and 41;<\/p>\n − the European Union trademark HACHETTE with registration No. 003608551, registered on 30 June 2005 for goods and services in International Classes 9, 16, 28, 35, 38, 41 and 42; and<\/p>\n − the International trademark H HACHETTE with registration No. 1038697, registered on 11 December 2009 for goods and services in International Classes 9, 16, 28, 35, 38, 41 and 42, for a number of jurisdictions, including the United States, where the Respondent is located.<\/p>",
"decision_domains": {
"hachettepublications.com": "TRANSFERRED"
},
"panelist": null,
"panellists_text": null
}