FACTS ASSERTED BY THE COMPLAINANT AND NOT CONTESTED BY THE RESPONDENT:<\/p>\n
1. The Complainant is the administrative and educational body of Shri Dharmasthala, one of South India's most celebrated and revered religious landmarks with an history spanning over 800 years, having online presence under the disputed domain name <shridharmasthala.org> since 2003.<\/p>\n
The Complainant, a commercial organization, was formally registered on 4 May 1985 under the Karnataka Societies Registration Act, 1960 and operates under the institutional umbrella of Shri Dharmasthala alongside the earlier established Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Educational Trust both being registered entities under the same leadership of a chief administrator.<\/p>\n
The Complainant claims that the name 'Dharmasthala' is not a pre-existing geographical designation that the institution borrowed or adopted. <\/span><\/p>\n The Complainant is inter alia active in providing free food for pilgrims, free medical care, free education and serves millions of people annually. His rural Development Project has reached 12 lakh (1.2 million) rural self-help group members across Karnataka, India.<\/p>\n 2. a) The Complainant claims the composite mark SHRI DHARMASTHALA in use as a formal institutional and commercial identifier since the Complainant's registration in 1966, reinforced by the disputed domain name's continuous use since 2003-04, as a source identifier on the Complainant's registration certificates, renewal invoices, official e-mail IDs, the live website, all institutional communications, and in the title of Karnataka Act No. 19 of 2018.<\/p>\n b) The disputed domain name <shridharmasthala.org> has served since its launch as the primary commercial platform for the Complainant's paid services, inter alia temple accommodation bookings, Seva reservations, online donations, and Razorpay-integrated payment gateway services.<\/p>\n c) The claimed mark has been the subject of extensive and prominent media coverage over decades, inter alia when Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visits to Shri Dharmasthala.<\/p>\n d) The Complainant maintains active media and news coverage archives, social media presence (Facebook: 580k followers; Instagram: 225k followers), and promotional materials across all its institutions. The Shri Dharmasthala's Annadana dining hall has been featured on the National Geographic channel confirming that the mark SHRIDHARMASTHALA has achieved public recognition extending well beyond India.<\/p>\n e) The mark SHRI DHARMASTHALA enjoys a large degree of public recognition. The institution attracts 5.5 million devotees annually, independently corroborated by third-party reporting of 30,000-70,000 daily Annadanam meals served, and by a 4.8\/5 TripAdvisor rating across 65 independent visitor reviews.<\/p>\n 3. The disputed domain name was for many years, since October 26, 2001, in the possession and under control of the Complainant and was renewed during this time. On June 10, 2026 the disputed domain name had been fraudulently transferred without the Complainant's knowledge, authorization, or consent. The registrar informed Complainant that from March 11, 2026 account logins were registered from Ip addresses in Sweden, Switzerland, and after the transfer from Japan. It was further confirmed that the two-Factor Authentication was not activated on the account at the time of the incident and that the e-mail address ho@sdmesociety.in associated with the account appeared in publicly reported data breaches, indicating that credentials had been exposed prior to the incident and that a form of Authorization notification e-mail was sent to the registered e-mail address, a Gmail account that the Complainant submits was itself compromised as part of the same coordinated attack.<\/p>\n 4. The website under the disputed domain name still shows the initial content, no change seems to have occurred.<\/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<\/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. <\/span><\/p>\n The Complainant contends that he has common law rights for SHRI DHARMASTHALA which is confusingly similar to the disputed domain name. The Respondent has no legitimate interest in the domain name in question, since he is not known under the name or was ever authorized to use the domain name. The domain name in question has been both acquired and is being used in bad faith as the disputed domain name was fraudulently obtained and now being hold in bad faith as the owner remains control about the redirection of the disputed domain name.<\/p>\n B. Respondent<\/p>\n The Respondent did not reply to the Complainant’s contentions.<\/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": [
"Dietrich Beier"
],
"date_of_panel_decision": "2026-09-14 00:00:00",
"informal_english_translation": " The Complainant claims common law trademark rights on DHARMASTHALA and SHRI DHARMASTHALA.<\/p>",
"decision_domains": {
"shridharmasthala.org": "TRANSFERRED"
},
"panelist": null,
"panellists_text": null
}