Established in 1845, the Complainant is a Swiss producer of chocolate and confectionery products, within the premium chocolate industry. It sells its products through 41 subsidiaries and branch offices, has around 650 of its own stores and a global network of approximately 100 distributors.<\/p>\n
In 1998, the Complainant acquired the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company (“Ghirardelli”). Ghirardelli, founded in 1852 and based in San Francisco, California, ranks among the oldest chocolate manufacturers in the United States. Its products are distributed through a combination of company-operated stores, third-party retailers, and wholesale distribution channels. For the fiscal year 2024 Ghirardelli generated sales of USD 888 million. The Complainant owns the domain name <ghirardelli.com>, which was registered on 24 June 1998 and resolves to a website containing comprehensive information about the Complainant and its GHIRARDELLI products.<\/p>\n
The disputed domain name was registered on May 15, 2026. At the date of filing, it resolved to a commercial website purporting to be an on-line store for See's Candies, one of the Complainant's competitors in the premium chocolate market in the United States. The website displayed the See's Candies name and logo, purported to offer discounted prices for See's Candies products, and included a copyright notice reading in the name of See's Candies LLC. Users were encouraged to add products to their cart and proceed through a checkout process requiring them to provide personal and financial information, including their full name, postal address, e-mail address, and payment-card details. The disputed domain name subsequently became inactive.<\/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": "
No administratively compliant Response has been filed.<\/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": [ "Mr Alistair Payne" ], "date_of_panel_decision": "2026-10-08 00:00:00", "informal_english_translation": "
The Complainant owns numerous trade mark registrations for its GHIRADELLI mark including, in particular, United States trade mark number 205776 registered on November 17, 1925 and European Union trade mark number 003716453 registered on July 27, 2005.<\/p>", "decision_domains": { "ghirardellii.com": "TRANSFERRED" }, "panelist": null, "panellists_text": null }