Danskofootwearhub.shop

The timeline behind danskofootwearhub.shop

Registration, the decision and the archived record of what this domain actually displayed — from public RDAP and the Internet Archive.

Result of record. The panel's reasoning and decisive facts behind each element are in the Intelligence dossier below.

ARBITRATION AN D MEDIATION CENTER ADMINISTRATIVE PANEL DECISION Dansko, LLC v. DODSONCLAYTON Case No. D2024-3130 1. The Parties The Complainant is Dansko, LLC, United States of America (“United States”), represented by Cozen O’Connor, United States. The Respondent is DODSONCLAYTON, United States. 2. The Domain Name and Registrar The Disputed Domain Name <danskof ootwearhub.shop> is registered with PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com (the “Registrar”). 3. Procedural History The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) on July 30, 2024. On July 31, 2024, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrar a request f or registrar verif ication in connection with the Disputed Domain Name. On August 1, 2024, the Registrar transmitted by email to the Center its verif ication response disclosing registrant and contact information for the Disputed Domain Name which differed from the named Respondent (Unknown Registrant) and contact information in the Complaint. The Center sent an email communication to the Complainant on August 6, 2024, providing the registrant and contact information disclosed by the Registrar, and inviting the Complainant to submit an amendment to the Complaint. The Complainant f iled an amended Complaint on August 6, 2024. The Center verif ied that the Complaint together with the amended Complaint satisf ied the f ormal requirements of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the “Policy” o r “UDRP”), the Rules f or Unif orm Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the “Rules”), and the WIPO Supplemental Rules f or Unif orm Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the “Supplemental Rules”). In accordance with the Rules, paragraphs 2 and 4, the Center f ormally notif ied the Respondent of the Complaint, and the proceedings commenced on August 7, 2024. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5, the due date f or Response was August 27, 2024. The Respondent did not submit any response. Accordingly, the Center notif ied the Respondent’s def ault on August 28, 2024. page 2 The Center appointed Colin T. O’Brien as the sole panelist in this matter on September 4, 2024. The Panel f inds 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 Since 1990, Complainant of f ers f ootwear including boots, sandals, f lats, and sneakers. Complainant has common law trademark rights in its DANSKO marks, through the use, advertisement, and promotion of such marks in connection with its footwear goods. Complainant has also protected its DANSKO marks by filing for and obtaining trademark registrations in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) including but are not limited to the f ollowing: DANSKO (Reg. No: 3854991, Registered September 28, 2010) f or “socks” in Class 25; DANSKO RN: 4229847, Registered October 23, 2012 for “leather and suede cleaning and protecting preparations; shoe creams; shoe cleaner; sponges impregnated with shoe polish; shoe care cleaning kits comprised of shoe cleaners and shoe brushes” in Class 03; “all purpose carrying bags; handbags” in Class 18; “clothing, namely shirts in Class 25 “retail footwear store services; on-line retail store services f eaturing f ootwear and apparel” in Class 35; and DANSKO (Reg. No. 3265194, Registered July 17, 2007) f or “f ootwear; component parts of footwear, namely, tips and heel pieces; and leather shoes and imitation leather shoes” in Class 25. (collectively “DANSKO Marks”) The Disputed Domain Name was registered on July 19, 2024, and it resolves to a website prominently f eaturing Complainant’s DANSKO Marks and purporting to offer identical footwear goods. 5. Parties’ Contentions A. Complainant The Complainant contends that it has satisfied each of the elements required under the Policy f or a transf er of the Disputed Domain Name. Notably, the Complainant contends t hat the Disputed Domain Name is virtually identical to Complainant’s DANSKO Marks and domain name apart from the descriptive phrase “footwear hub”, which does nothing to distinguish the Disputed Domain Name f rom Complainant’s DANSKO Marks, and in f act increases the likelihood of conf usion, as it directly describes Complainant’s goods – f ootwear. Respondent is not sponsored by or af f iliated with Complainant in any way. Nor has Complainant given Respondent permission, license or authorization to use Complainant’s trademarks in any manner, including in domain names. Respondent is not commonly known by the Disputed Domain Name, which evinces a lack of rights or legitimate interests. Respondent registered the Disputed Domain Name on July 19, 2024, which is signif icantly af ter Complainant’s registrations of its DANSKO trademarks with the USPTO, Complainant’s f irst use in commerce of the DANSKO trademark in 1990, and Complainant’s registration of its domain name in 1996. Thus, by the time Respondent registered the Disputed Domain Name, Complainant had already established goodwill and reputation on the DANSKO trademarks. As a result, the Disputed Domain Name, which is a supplemented version of Complainant’s trademarks, ef f ectively impersonates or suggests sponsorship or endorsement by Complainant. page 3 Given the Disputed Domain Name’s composition and references to the goods and services description of its trademark, it is not possible to conceive of a plausible situation in which Respondent would have been unaware of Complainant’s brands at the time the Disputed Domain Name was registered. The Disputed Domain resolves to a website with inf ringing content, prominently f eaturing Complainant’s DANSKO Marks and purporting to offer identical f ootwear goods. Respondent has made every ef f ort to conf use consumers into believing the Disputed Domain Name is related to Complainant by offering f ootwear and f ootwear products via websites that are conf usingly similar to Complainant’s bona f ide website. Respondent registered the Disputed Domain long af ter Complainant f irst began advertising and using its DANSKO Marks in connection with its aforementioned goods and services, and after Complainant obtained United States trademark registrations for its DANSKO Marks. B. Respondent The Respondent did not reply to the Complainant’s contentions. 6. Discussion and Findings A. Identical or Confusingly Similar The Complainant has demonstrated it owns registered trademark rights in its DANSKO mark. The additions of the phrase “footwearhub” does not prevent the Complainant’s trademark f rom being recognizable in the Disputed Domain Name. The generic To p-Level Domain (“g TLD”) “.shop” is viewed as a standard registration requirement and as such may be disregarded under the f irst element conf using similarity test. See WIPO Overview of WIPO Panel Views on Selected UDRP Questions, Third Edition (“ WIPO Overview 3.0”) , section 1.8, and Hoffmann-La Roche AG v. Domain Admin, Privacy Protection Service INC d/b/a PrivacyProtect.org / Conan Corrigan, WIPO Case No . D2015-2316. Accordingly, the Disputed Domain Name is conf usingly similar to a mark in which the Complainant has rig hts. B. Rights or Legitimate Interests The Complainant has presented a prima facie case that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the Disputed Domain Name and has not been commonly known by the Disputed Domain Name. The f act that the Respondent obtained the Disputed Domain Name years af ter the Complainant started selling its goods under the DANSKO mark and <danskofootwearhub.shop> domain name indicates that the Respondent sought to piggyback on the DANSKO mark f or illegitimate reasons. Af ter a complainant has made a prima facie case, the burden of production shifts to a respondent to present evidence demonstrating rights or legitimate interests in the domain name. See, e.g., Croatia Airlines d.d. v. Modern Empire Internet Ltd., WIPO Case No . D2003-0455 . Here, the Respondent has provided no evidence of any rights or legitimate interests in the Disputed Domain Name. Moreover, the evidence provided by the Complainant shows that the Disputed Domain Name resolves to an active web site featuring the Complainant’s trademark and what purport to be the Complainant’s goods. While resellers and distributors may have limited rights to use a complainant’s trademark f or nominative purposes, the lack of any authorization by the Complainant and similarly, the lack of any inf ormation on the Disputed Domain Name as to the website’s lack of authorization or relation to the Complainant which creates an impression of some kind of of f icial af f iliation with the Complainant, renders any f air use saf e haven inapplicable in this instance. See section 2.8 of the WIPO Overview 3.0 . page 4 Above all, the nature of the Disputed Domain Name incorporating the Complainant’s trademark in its entirety, carries a high risk of implied affiliation, especially when considering the impersonating nature of the content exhibited at the Disputed Domain Name, and as such cannot constitute f air use. See section 2.5.1 of the WIPO Overview 3.0 . While circumstantial, the lack of authorization and the discounted prices found at the Disputed Domain Name suggest that, should any products be sold at the Disputed Domain Name, they may be counterf eit. Noting the above considerations, it is not necessary f or the Panel to make any ultimate determination as to the nature of the goods, as the evidence clearly shows the Respondent has attempted to pass itself of f as the Complainant. The Panel f inds that such use cannot be qualified as a bona fide offering of goods or services or legitimate noncommercial or fair use (see section 2.13 of the WIPO Overview 3.0 ). Rather, such illegal use can never conf er rights or legitimate interests upon a respondent. In the absence of any evidence rebutting the Complainant’s prima f acie case indicating the Respondent’s lack of rights or legitimate interests in respect of the Disputed Domain Name, the Panel f inds that the Complainant has satisf ied paragraph 4(a)(ii) of the Policy. C. Registered and Used in Bad Faith The Panel f inds that the Complainant has established the Respondent’s bad faith registration and use of the Disputed Domain Name. Paragraph 4(b)(iv) of the Policy states that evidence of bad f aith may include a respondent’s use of a domain name to intentionally attempt to attract Internet users, f or commercial gain. Due to the incorporation of the DANSKO mark, the Disputed Domain Name resolving to an active website seemingly impersonating the Complainant by f eaturing the Complainant’s trademark and images of the Complainant’s trademarked goods, it is inconceivable that the Respondent registered the Disputed Domain Name adding the phrase “footwearhub” without knowledge of the Complainant. The Disputed Domain Name was used f or a website which allegedly claimed to sell products identical to those offered by the Complainant and bearing its trademarks, establishing that the Respondent knew of and targeted the Complainant with the intention of misleading unsuspecting Internet users f or its presumed commercial gain. The f acts establish a deliberate ef f ort by the Respondent to cause conf usion with the Complainant f or commercial gain. Such an impersonation of the Complainant is sufficient to establish the Respondent’s bad f aith (see section 3.1.4 of the WIPO Overview 3.0 ). Under these circumstances, the Panel finds no plausible good f aith reason f or the Respondent’s conduct and concludes that the Disputed Domain Name was registered and used in bad f aith. While circumstantial, the lack of authorization and the severely discounted prices f ound at the Disputed Domain Name suggest that, should any products be sold at the disputed domain names, they are likely to be counterf eit. Noting the above considerations, it is not necessary f or the Panel to make any ultimate determination as to the nature of the goods, as the evidence clearly shows the Respondent has attempted to pass itself of f as the Complainant. The Panel f inds that the Complainant has satisf ied paragraph 4(a)(iii) of the Policy. 7. Decision For the f oregoing reasons, in accordance with paragraphs 4(i) of the Policy and 15 of the Rules, the Panel orders that the disputed domain name <danskof ootwearhub.shop> be transf erred to the Complainant. /Colin T. O’Brien/ Colin T. O’Brien Sole Panelist Date: September 18, 2024

Source of record: WIPO . Reproduced for research; WIPO is the authoritative source.