The Complainant is a Swiss manufacturer of chocolate and confectionery products, established in 1845. It distributes its diverse portfolio of 2500 products in more than 120 countries worldwide under various brands, including LINDT and RUSSELL STOVER. The Complainant reported sales of CHF 5.92 billion in 2025. Its main official website is located at the domain name <lindt.com>, which has been registered since 16 December 1997.<\/p>\n
The disputed domain name was registered on 31 January 2026. It is currently inactive. The disputed domain name has mail exchanger (“MX”) settings enabled.<\/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 its LINDT trademark, because it reproduces the LINDT trademark in its entirety, and the inclusion of the term \"chokolate\" (a misspelling of “chocolate”) does not preclude a finding of confusing similarity between the Complainant’s trademark and the disputed domain name. <\/span><\/p>\n The Complainant asserts that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name, because the Complainant has not authorised it to use the LINDT trademark as part of the disputed domain name or in any other manner, and the Respondent has no relevant trademark rights and is not commonly known by the disputed domain name.<\/p>\n The Complainant notes that the disputed domain name has not been used in connection with any legitimate non-commercial or fair use, because it resolves to an error page. <\/span><\/p>\n The Complainant points out that the contact details provided in connection with the disputed domain name are inaccurate, because they include a fictitious telephone number and the indicated address is identical to the fictional address of the well-known literary character Sherlock Holmes, which address currently corresponds to a location dedicated to that character.<\/p>\n The Complainant notes that it sent a letter to the Respondent in relation to the registration of the disputed domain name (as well as the domain names <iindt.us> and <russellstoverchocolates.us>, which are also held by the Respondent and are currently the subject of separate proceedings under the UDRP) on March 12, 2026, followed by a reminder on March 19, 2026, but the Respondent failed to respond to these communications.<\/p>\n The Complainant points out that the disputed domain name reproduces the LINDT trademark in combination with the misspelled term “chokolate”, which refers to a product that the Complainant has marketed for more than a century and currently markets in 120 countries worldwide. According to the Complainant, the disputed domain name is likely to mislead Internet users into believing that it refers to a website affiliated with or endorsed by the Complainant, and there is no plausible scenario in which the disputed domain name may be used without encroaching upon the Complainant’s rights in the LINDT trademark. <\/span><\/p>\n The Complainant contends that the disputed domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith. It notes that a simple Internet search for “lindtchokolate.com\" or “lindtchokolate” carried out prior to the registration of the disputed domain name would have returned references to the Complainant and its LINDT trademark. According to the Complainant, it is unlikely that the Respondent would have arbitrarily chosen to combine the well-known LINDT trademark with the term “chokolate” in a domain name without prior knowledge of the Complainant and its business. The Complainant submits that the Respondent intentionally sought to trade on the reputation of the Complainant’s LINDT trademark.<\/p>\n The Complainant notes that the Respondent has configured the disputed domain name with MX records, which, according to it, suggests an intention to exploit the Complainant’s LINDT trademark for email phishing or other fraudulent schemes, as Internet users receiving emails from an address ending in “@lindtchokolate.com” are likely to assume that such communications originate from the Complainant.<\/p>\n The Complainant submits that the Respondent’s passive holding of the disputed domain name does not prevent a finding of bad faith under the Policy, because it was registered more than a century after the Complainant acquired rights in the LINDT trademark and is misleading combination of this trademark with an obvious misspelling of “chocolate”, the very product through which the Complainant has attained worldwide recognition, and the Respondent has deliberately provided false contact details.<\/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 the LINDT trademark 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": "2026-05-18 00:00:00",
"informal_english_translation": " The Complainant is the owner of numerous trademark registrations for LINDT (the “LINDT trademark”), including the following representative registrations:<\/p>\n − the United States trademark LINDT (word) with registration No. 87306, registered on 9 July 1912 for goods in International Class 30, with first use in commerce in 1879;<\/p>\n − the European Union trademark LINDT (word) with registration No. 000134007, registered on 7 September 1998 for goods in International Class 30; and<\/p>\n - the United Kingdom trademark LINDT with registration No. UK00900134007, registered on 7 September 1998 for goods in International Class 30.<\/p>",
"decision_domains": {
"lindtchokolate.com": "TRANSFERRED"
},
"panelist": null,
"panellists_text": null
}