The Complainant is a subsidiary of Nestlé S.A., the main operating company in the Nestlé Group founded by Henri Nestlé in 1866. The Complainant owns the majority of the trademarks held by the Nestlé Group. The Nestlé Group is active in the sale of food products and related services worldwide. The Nestlé Group markets its products in 190 countries, has about 275,000 employees worldwide, and has a physical presence in 80 countries. The Nestlé Group is the largest publicly traded food and nutritional products company in the world.
The TOTOLE brand was first established in China in 1988 by Shanghai Totole Food Ltd, which was acquired by the Complainant in 1999. In 1999, the Complainant registered the TOTOLE trademark in China. The domain name <totole.com.cn> has been registered by the Complainant on July 28, 2001 and redirects to the TOTOLE brand’s official website. TOTOLE has been recognized in the media as the leading brand of chicken essence flavoring on the Chinese market.
The Respondent is a natural person based in China. The disputed domain name has been used for redirecting to landing pages with notices stating that the website is non-commercial and not affiliated with any trademark while informing the public that the disputed domain name is for sale. The disputed domain name has been held by the Respondent since at least January 23, 2026. <\/p>\n
The Complainant considers that the disputed domain name is confusingly similar to the Complainant’s trademark because it reproduces in full all the textual elements of the TOTOLE figurative trademark.
Furthermore, the Complainant notes that the top-level domain is a standard element that has no impact in determining confusing similarity.<\/p>\n
The Complainant submits that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name.
The Complainant states that:<\/p>\n
- the Respondent is not commonly known by the disputed domain name;<\/p>\n
- the disputed domain name has been used only to display a “site under construction” notice and an indication that it is a non-commercial website;<\/p>\n
- the disputed domain name is on sale;<\/p>\n
- there is no indication that the disputed domain name is used for any meaningful activity;
- the Respondent has never had any credible plan to use the disputed domain name for a legitimate purpose.<\/p>\n
The Complainant contends that the disputed domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith.
<\/p>\n
The Complainant points out that in 2005, when the disputed domain name was first registered, the TOTOLE trademark was registered in both China and the United States and was already widely known in China. The Complainant observes that historical screenshots of the landing page of the disputed domain name taken in 2006, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018 contain text in the Chinese language, and this suggests that the Respondent is familiar with the Chinese market. The Complainant considers it implausible that the Respondent has not been aware of the Complainant’s rights in the TOTOLE trademark. The Complainant, taking into account the fact that the disputed domain name has never been used for any meaningful activity and that the Respondent has in the last years offered it for sale, argues that on a balance of probabilities the disputed domain name was chosen and registered by the Respondent with the intention of taking unfair advantage of the Complainant’s trademark by selling it for a profit.<\/p>\n
The Complainant adds that a simple online search would have revealed its rights in the TOTOLE trademark, and the Respondent should have carried out such a search before registering the disputed domain name.
The Complainant considers that the passive holding doctrine should be applied in this case, given that the Respondent’s current use of the domain name seems to be aimed at selling the disputed domain name to interested parties for a substantial financial benefit.<\/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": "
The Complainant, relying on the arguments summarised above, contends that the requirements of the Policy have been met and that the disputed domain name should be transferred to it.<\/span> 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": [
"Michele Antonini"
],
"date_of_panel_decision": "2026-03-01 00:00:00",
"informal_english_translation": " The Complainant is the registrant, among others, of the U.S. trademark registration No. 2882148, “TOTOLE\", registered on September 7, 2004, for goods and services in class 29.<\/p>\n
No administratively compliant Response has been filed.<\/span><\/p>",
"rights": "
The disputed domain name was registered on August 1, 2005.<\/p>\n<\/div>",
"decision_domains": {
"totole.com": "TRANSFERRED"
},
"panelist": null,
"panellists_text": null
}