{
    "case_number": "CAC-UDRP-107700",
    "time_of_filling": "2025-06-25 13:33:21",
    "domain_names": [
        "melbets-eg.com"
    ],
    "case_administrator": "  Iveta Špiclová   (Czech Arbitration Court) (Case admin)",
    "complainant": [
        "Batnesto Ltd. "
    ],
    "complainant_representative": "Karel Sindelka (Sindelka & Lachmannová advokáti s.r.o.)",
    "respondent": [
        "Aliaksey  Voronov"
    ],
    "respondent_representative": null,
    "factual_background": "<p>Complainant states that it is &ldquo;a company registered in Cyprus, who is the holder of the domain name melbet.com&rdquo; (created September 18, 2012); that &ldquo;Melbet is the name of the online gaming and casino platform operated since 2012&rdquo;; that &ldquo;Melbet has over 400,000 daily users worldwide&rdquo;; and that &ldquo;Melbet is one of the largest and best places to bet on sports around the world.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Disputed Domain Name was created on May 29, 2024, and, as stated in the Complaint and as supported by relevant documentation, is used in connection with a website that is &ldquo;deliberately designed to suggest affiliation with the Complainant and its MELBET trademarks&rdquo; because the website &ldquo;prominently features the MELBET figurative trademark, replicating the color scheme of the official website&rdquo; and falsely states &ldquo;that &lsquo;melbets-eg.com is owned and operated by Pelican Entertainment BV,&rdquo; which operates Complainant&rsquo;s website.<\/p>\n<div id=\"te-floating-button-container\"><\/div>",
    "other_legal_proceedings": "<p>The Panel is not aware of any other legal proceedings that are pending or decided and that relate to the Disputed Domain Name.<\/p>\n<div id=\"te-floating-button-container\"><\/div>",
    "no_response_filed": "<p>Complainant contends, in relevant part, as follows:<\/p>\n<p>Paragraph 4(a)(i): Complainant states that the Disputed Domain Name is confusingly similar to the MELBET Trademark because the Disputed Domain Name incorporates the MELBET Trademark in its entirety, and &ldquo;[t]he addition of &lsquo;eg&rsquo; (designating Egypt) is a geographic indicator&hellip; and does not prevent a finding of confusing similarity under the UDRP.<\/p>\n<p>Paragraph 4(a)(ii): Complainant states that Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the Disputed Domain Name because, <em>inter alia<\/em>, &ldquo;[t]he disputed domain name was registered after the filing of the first MELBET trademark and more than a decade after the MELBET mark had already been in commercial use since 2012&rdquo;; &ldquo;[t]he Complainant has not licensed or authorized the Respondent to register or use the disputed domain name, nor is the Respondent affiliated to the Complainant in any form&rdquo;; &ldquo;[t]here is no evidence that the Respondent is known by the dispute domain name or owns any corresponding registered trademarks&rdquo;; &ldquo;[t]he Respondent has not been using or preparing to use the disputed domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods and services, nor making a legitimate non-commercial or fair use of the disputed domain name without intent for commercial gain misleadingly to divert consumers or to tarnish the trademark or service mark at issue&rdquo;; and the website using the Disputed Domain Name &ldquo;is specifically targeted at users in Egypt and markets itself as &lsquo;MELBET FOR PLAYERS FROM EGYPT&rsquo;,&rdquo; &ldquo;extensively copies the Complainant&rsquo;s branding, trade dress, and structure, including the color scheme, promotional offers, and site organization&rdquo; and &ldquo;offers the same services as the Complainant, including sports betting, casino games, and mobile applications, while purporting to be an official or authorized MELBET entity in Egypt.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Paragraph 4(a)(iii): Complainant states that the Disputed Domain Name was registered and is being used in bad faith because, <em>inter alia<\/em>, &ldquo;[t]he Respondent registered the disputed domain name many years after the MELBET brand was introduced in 2012 and after the first MELBET Trademarks were filed and registered&rdquo;; &ldquo;MELBET is a prominent online gambling and betting operator with a strong digital presence&rdquo;; Respondent lost a previous proceeding under the UDRP, for the domain name &lt;melbets-az.com&gt;, <em>Batnesto Ltd. v. Alex Voronov<\/em>, CAC Case No. UDRP-107057; the website associated with the Disputed Domain Name &ldquo;closely mimic[s] the Complainant&rsquo;s official website &lt;melbet.com&gt;,&rdquo; which &ldquo;is clearly intended to mislead Internet users into believing the [Respondent&rsquo;s website] is affiliated with the Complainant.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>No administratively compliant response has been filed.<\/p>\n<div id=\"te-floating-button-container\"><\/div>",
    "rights": "<p>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 UDRP).<\/p>\n<div id=\"te-floating-button-container\"><\/div>",
    "no_rights_or_legitimate_interests": "<p>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 UDRP).<\/p>\n<div id=\"te-floating-button-container\"><\/div>",
    "bad_faith": "<p>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 UDRP).<\/p>\n<div id=\"te-floating-button-container\"><\/div>",
    "procedural_factors": "<p>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>\n<div id=\"te-floating-button-container\"><\/div>",
    "decision": "Accepted",
    "panelists": [
        "Douglas Isenberg"
    ],
    "date_of_panel_decision": "2025-08-13 00:00:00",
    "informal_english_translation": "<p>Complainant states, and provides documentation in support thereof, that it is the owner of &ldquo;numerous trademark registrations for the mark Melbet in several jurisdictions,&rdquo; including Uganda Reg. No. 2020\/067008 for MELBET (registered July 22, 2020) for use in connection with &ldquo;sports betting and casino&rdquo;; Peru Reg. No. S00149219 for MELBET (registered August 10, 2023) for use in connection with &ldquo;entertainment services; on-line gambling services; betting services&rdquo;; and EU Reg. No. 019060714 for MELBET (registered November 9, 2024), for use in connection with, <em>inter alia<\/em>, &ldquo;printed matter; fountain pens; pamphlets&rdquo; (the &ldquo;MELBET Trademark&rdquo;).<\/p>\n<div id=\"te-floating-button-container\"><\/div>",
    "decision_domains": {
        "melbets-eg.com": "TRANSFERRED"
    },
    "panelist": null,
    "panellists_text": null
}