Westmore · UDRP DecisionVirginorbitprocurement.com
The Panel ordered transfer of <virginorbitprocurement.com>. It found the domain confusingly similar to the Complainant’s VIRGIN and VIRGIN ORBIT marks, held that the Respondent had not rebutted the Complainant’s prima facie showing of no rights or legitimate interests, and found bad-faith registration and use based principally on use of the domain for fraudulent emails impersonating a Virgin Orbit employee.
The timeline behind virginorbitprocurement.com
Registration, the decision and the archived record of what this domain actually displayed — from public RDAP and the Internet Archive.
Westmore reconstructs the full history behind virginorbitprocurement.com — from public RDAP and the Internet Archive — as part of UDRP Intelligence:
The decision illustrates that a domain combining a company or product mark with an operational term such as “procurement” can reinforce, rather than dispel, an appearance of corporate affiliation. The case also shows how fraudulent domain-based email use may be decisive across both the rights-or-legitimate-interests and bad-faith elements.
Result of record. The panel's reasoning and decisive facts behind each element are in the Intelligence dossier below.
WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center ADMINISTRATIVE PANEL DECISION Virgin Enterprises Limited v. Mike Miller NA, VirtualOffice Case No. D2018-0859 1. The Parties The Complainant is Virgin Enterprises Limited of London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (“United Kingdom”), represented by Burges Salmon LLP, United Kingdom. The Respondent is Mike Miller NA of Prineville, VirtualOffice of Oregon, United States of America (“United States”). 2. The Domain Name and Registrar The disputed domain name <virginorbitprocurement.com> is registered with Wild West Domains, LLC (the “Registrar”). 3. Procedural History The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) on April 17, 2018. On April 18, 2018, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrar a request for registrar verification in connection with the disputed domain name. On April 19, 2018, the Registrar transmitted by email to the Center its verification response confirming that the Respondent is listed as the registrant and providing the contact details. The Center verified that the Complaint satisfied the formal requirements of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the “Policy” or “UDRP”), the Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the “Rules”), and the WIPO Supplemental Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the “Supplemental Rules”). In accordance with the Rules, paragraphs 2 and 4, the Center formally notified the Respondent of the Complaint, and the proceedings commenced on April 20, 2018. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5, the due date for Response was May 10, 2018. The Respondent did not submit any response. Accordingly, the Center notified the Respondent’s default on May 11, 2018. The Center appointed Theda König Horowicz as the sole panelist in this matter on May 25, 2018. The Panel finds that it was properly constituted. The Panel has submitted the Statement of Acceptance and Declaration of Impartiality and Independence, as required by the Center to ensure compliance with the Rules, paragraph 7. 4. Factual Background The Complainant is a subsidiary of the Virgin Group which was established by its founder and chairman Sir Richard Branson in the United Kingdom in 1970, when he started a business selling popular music records by mail order under the VIRGIN name. Since then the Virgin Group has grown significantly in terms of its size, geographic reach and the industries in which it operates. The Virgin Group is now engaged in a diverse range of business sectors ranging from Travel & Leisure, Telecoms & Media, Music & Entertainment, Financial Services and Health & Wellness, business sectors which are described in the official website “www.virgin.com”. The Company Virgin Orbit, LLC was founded in 2017 in the United States and is part of the Virgin Group of companies. It provides launch services for small satellites and its activities are promoted under the domain name<“virginorbit.com>. The Complainant is responsible for the ownership, management, licensing and protection of all Intellectual Property rights of the Virgin Group, including Virgin Orbit, LLC. It notably holds the following trademark registrations: - UK Trademark No 10009534 registered on April 11, 1973 for the mark VIRGIN for “sounding records in the form of discs” - UK Trademark No UK00003186871 registered on October 20, 2017 for the word mark VIRGIN ORBIT, in classes 9, 12, 16, 25, 28, 38 and 39 - European Union Trademark No 011991882 registered December 10, 2013 for the word mark VIRGIN for goods and services in classes 1, 2, 4, 6-8, 10, 13, 15, 17-30, 34, 37 and 40. The Complainant also owns several domain name registrations, including <virgin.com> and <virginorbit.com>. The Respondent registered the disputed domain name on March 7, 2018. It was brought to Complainant’s attention since the disputed domain name was used in fraudulent email correspondence being sent from, and/or citing, an email address associated with the disputed domain name. 5. Parties’ Contentions A. Complainant The Complainant submits that the disputed domain name is identical and/or confusingly similar to the Complainant’s trademarks as it incorporates the Complainant’s VIRGIN and VIRGIN ORBIT trademarks in full, save for the generic and non-distinctive addition of the word “procurement” and the suffix “.com”. The Complainant further states that the Respondent cannot demonstrate any circumstances that would evidence rights to, and legitimate interests in, the disputed domain name. No information is suggesting a legitimate right to use the Complainant’s VIRGIN and VIRGIN ORBIT trademarks, particularly since the disputed domain name has been used for fraudulent purposes. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the Respondent is using the disputed domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services. Finally the Complainant underlines that the disputed domain name was used for an email scam which was designed to mislead the recipient into wrongly believing that they are corresponding with a representative of Virgin Orbit. The disputed domain name was in particular registered primarily for the purpose of disrupting the business of the Complainant and/or Virgin Orbit. The disputed domain name was thus used as instrument of fraud, in order to take advantage of the tremendous goodwill and reputation of the VIRGIN trademarks which have been used intensively for several types of businesses. B. Respondent The Respondent did not reply to the Complainant’s contentions. 6. Discussion and Findings Under the Policy, in order to prevail, a complainant must prove the following three elements for obtaining the transfer of a domain name: (i) that the domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the complainant has rights; (ii) that the respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the domain name; and (iii) that the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith. A. Identical or Confusingly Similar The Complainant has shown to have trademark rights over the names VIRGIN and VIRGIN ORBIT. Both trademarks are reproduced in their entirety in the disputed domain name. Furthermore the disputed domain name contains the descriptive denomination “procurement” which does not remove the confusingly similarity with the VIRGIN trademark. The Panel therefore concludes that the disputed domain name is confusingly similar to the Complainant’s marks. B. Rights or Legitimate Interests Paragraph 4(c) of the Policy contains a nonexhaustive list of circumstances that may demonstrate when a respondent has rights or legitimate interests in the use of a domain name. The list includes: (1) the use of the domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods and services; (2) being commonly known by the domain name; or (3) the making of a legitimate noncommercial or fair use of the domain name, without intent for commercial gain to misleadingly divert consumers. The Panel finds that the Complainant has made a prima facie case showing that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. Indeed, the Complainant has shown that the disputed domain name was used for an email scam and therefore made a prima facie case out against the Respondent. Consequently, the burden of production shifts to the Respondent to rebut the showing by providing concrete evidence that it has rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. See Croatia Airlines d.d. v. Modern Empire Internet Ltd. , WIPO Case No. D2003-0455 ; Belupo d.d. v. WACHEM d.o.o. , WIPO Case No. D2004-0110 . The Respondent submitted no reply to the case against it. No evidence is contained in the case file which would evidence that the Respondent has rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. The Panel thus finds that the Complainant has satisfied the requirements of paragraph 4(a)(ii) of the Policy. C. Registered and Used in Bad Faith The third element requires that the respondent registered and is using the disputed domain name in bad faith. See the Policy, paragraph 4(a)(iii). Paragraph 4(b) of the Policy enumerates non-exhaustive circumstances in which evidence of bad faith registration and use can be found; shall be evidence of the registration and use of a domain name in bad faith: (i) circumstances indicating that the respondent has registered or has acquired the domain name primarily for the purpose of selling, renting, or otherwise transferring the domain name registration to the complainant who is the owner of the trademark or service mark or to a competitor of that complainant, for valuable consideration in excess of respondent’s documented out-of-pocket costs directly related to the domain name; or (ii) respondent has registered the domain name in order to prevent the owner of the trademark or service mark from reflecting the mark in a corresponding domain name, provided that he has engaged in a pattern of such conduct; or (iii) respondent has registered the domain name primarily for the purpose of disrupting the business of a competitor; or (iv) by using the domain name, respondent has intentionally attempted to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to his web site or other on-line location, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the complainant’s mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of his web site or location or of a product or service on his web site or location. The mere fact that the disputed domain name was used by the Respondent in order to send fraudulent emails notably be giving the impression that it would be sent by an employee of Virgin Orbit, LLC, a company which actually belongs to the Virgin Group is a clear cut element of bad faith registration and use. As a matter of fact, it is public knowledge that the Virgin Group of companies is active in very diversified fields. The use of Complainant’s well-known VIRGIN trademark and of its new VIRGIN ORBIT trademark which was particularly advertised in the United States notably through the website “www.virginorbit.com” was obviously made in order to profit from the Complainant’s large goodwill in the VIRGIN trademarks. This is constitutive of a bad faith use. The silence of the Respondent within these proceedings is also suggestive of bad faith. Considering the above-mentioned circumstances, the Panel finds that the Complainant has also satisfied the requirements of paragraph 4(a)(iii) of the Policy. 7. Decision For the foregoing reasons, in accordance with paragraphs 4(i) of the Policy and 15 of the Rules, the Panel orders that the disputed domain name <virginorbitprocurement.com> be transferred to the Complainant. Theda König Horowicz Sole Panelist Date: June 8, 2017
Source of record: WIPO . Reproduced for research; WIPO is the authoritative source.
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