The Complainant is Novartis AG, a multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. Novartis AG was created in 1996 through the merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz and is today one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical groups, employing over 76,000 people globally and reporting net sales of USD 50.3 billion in 2024. The Complainant develops and markets a wide range of innovative medical treatments and is present in more than 100 countries, including the United States. <\/p>\n
The Complainant owns numerous domain names composed of its trademark NOVARTIS alone, including <novartis.com> (registered in 1996) or <novartis.us> (registered in 2002), or in combination with other terms, such as <novartispharma.com> (registered in 1999). The Complainant uses these domain names to resolve to its official websites through which it informs Internet users and potential consumers about its NOVARTIS mark and its related products and services. The Complainant also enjoys a strong presence online via its official social media platforms.<\/p>\n
The Respondent is Yuan Lu, located in San Jose, California, United States. According to the Response, the Respondent is associated with SocialNetwork0, Inc., a Delaware-registered corporation. The Respondent states that SocialNetwork0, Inc. is engaged in digital infrastructure development and research into the domain naming system. As part of this activity, it has acquired multiple domain names following a self-described naming convention consisting of an object combined with the suffix “0” or “zero.”<\/p>\n
The disputed domain name was registered on May 29, 2025. As of the date of this Decision, the disputed domain name resolves to an inactive website. The Complainant sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Respondent on June 19, 2025 and further reminders on June 30, 2025, and July 7, 2025, but there was no response.<\/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": "
A. Complainant<\/strong><\/p>\n The Complainant contends that it has satisfied each of the elements required under the Policy for a transfer of the disputed domain name:<\/p>\n (1) the disputed domain name is confusingly similar to the Complainant’s NOVARTIS trademark. It incorporates the Complainant’s trademark in its entirety followed by a number “0”. The NOVARTIS trademark is clearly recognizable within the disputed domain name. The presence of the generic Top-Level Domain (“gTLD”) extension “.com” is a standard registration requirement and may be disregarded when assessing whether the disputed domain name is confusingly similar to the trademark in which the Complainant has rights;<\/p>\n (2) the Complainant argues that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. The Complainant has not authorized or licensed the Respondent to use its NOVARTIS trademark. The Respondent is not commonly known by the disputed domain name, nor does it hold any registered or unregistered trademark rights in “Novartis0.” At the time of filing, the disputed domain name resolved to an inactive page and there is no evidence of any bona fide offering of goods or services or legitimate noncommercial use. Passive holding, according to the Complainant, cannot create rights or legitimate interests;<\/p>\n (3) the Respondent registered and is using the disputed domain name in bad faith. The Respondent had knowledge of the Complainant and the NOVARTIS trademark at the time of the registration of the disputed domain name. The disputed domain name was registered many years after the registrations of the Complainant’s NOVARTIS trademarks. The NOVARTIS trademark is a widely known trademark registered in many countries and the Complainant enjoys a strong online presence. The Respondent registered the disputed domain name incorporating the well-known distinctive NOVARTIS trademark intentionally, in order to take advantage of reputation of the NOVARTIS trademark and the Complainant’s goodwill. The disputed domain name is passively held. There is no evidence of any actual or contemplated good-faith use of the disputed domain name.<\/p>\n The Complainant requests that the disputed domain name be transferred to the Complainant.<\/p>\n B. <\/span><\/strong>Respondent<\/strong><\/p>\n The Respondent contends as follows:<\/p>\n (1) there is no trademark registration for “novartis0” in the WIPO brand database. The disputed domain name is used to identify the object of criticism, not to impersonate or confuse users. The Complainant and the Respondent operate in completely unrelated commercial sectors, pharmaceuticals vs. digital research infrastructure, removing any likelihood of confusion;<\/p>\n (2) the Respondent has rights or legitimate interests because the disputed domain name was registered for non-commercial commentary and criticism. The Respondent states that it follows a naming convention using the suffix “0” to denote its own brand identity and that it has incorporated a company structure and technical infrastructure for developing such projects. It claims the domain was not registered for profit, diversion, or to mislead consumers, but as part of a genuine effort to establish a criticism and research platform, which should be regarded as legitimate non-commercial fair use;<\/p>\n (3) the Respondent registered and is using the disputed domain name in bad faith. The Respondent had knowledge of the Complainant and the NOVARTIS trademark at the time of the registration of the disputed domain name. The disputed domain name was registered many years after the registrations of the Complainant’s NOVARTIS trademarks. The NOVARTIS trademark is a widely known trademark registered in many countries and the Complainant enjoys a strong online presence. The Respondent registered the disputed domain name incorporating the well-known distinctive NOVARTIS trademark intentionally, in order to take advantage of the reputation of the NOVARTIS trademark and the Complainant’s goodwill. The disputed domain name is passively held. There is no evidence of any actual or contemplated good-faith use of the disputed domain name.<\/p>\n The Complainant requests that the disputed domain name should be transferred to the Complainant.<\/p>\n <\/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>\n The Panel decided not to accept the unsolicited supplemental filings of the Parties. As discussed in section 4.6 of the WIPO Overview 3.0, neither of them has explained why it was unable to provide the information contained therein in its complaint or response, such as owing to some exceptional circumstance, and the supplemental filings do not in any event appear to add any substantial new information or evidence to the case.<\/p>",
"decision": "Accepted",
"panelists": [
"Ganna Prokhorova"
],
"date_of_panel_decision": "2025-08-25 00:00:00",
"informal_english_translation": " The Complainant is the owner of numerous NOVARTIS trademark registrations (the “NOVARTIS Trademark”) around the world, among which are: <\/p>\n - International Registration No. 663765, registered on July 1, 1996, in respect of goods and services in classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 16, 17, 20, 22, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 40, and 42; <\/p>\n - International Registration No. 1349878, registered on November 29, 2016, in respect of goods and services in classes 9, 10, 41, 42, 44, and 45;<\/p>\n - United States Trademark Registration No. 4986124, registered on June 28, 2016, in respect of goods and services in classes 5, 9, 10, 41, 42, and 44.<\/p>\n <\/p>",
"decision_domains": {
"novartis0.com": "TRANSFERRED"
},
"panelist": null,
"panellists_text": null
}