Westmore · UDRP DecisionSudlac.com
The Panel ordered transfer of <sudlac.com>. It found the domain identical to the Complainant’s SUDLAC trademark, that the Respondent lacked rights or legitimate interests, and that the domain had been registered and used in bad faith through a passing-off or copycat website reproducing the Complainant’s trademark and company information. The Panel also found intentional disruption and attraction of Internet users for commercial gain through confusion.
The timeline behind sudlac.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 sudlac.com — from public RDAP and the Internet Archive — as part of UDRP Intelligence:
The case illustrates a strong exact-match impersonation pattern: longstanding trademark rights, a domain consisting solely of the mark, and a website reproducing the rights holder’s identity and information. The Panel treated those combined facts as decisive across all three UDRP elements and relied on archived website evidence to support the asserted prior-ownership history.
Result of record. The panel's reasoning and decisive facts behind each element are in the Intelligence dossier below.
ARBITRATION AND MEDIATION CENTER ADMINISTRATIVE PANEL DECISION Lumiforte Holding B.V. v. lianxin zhou Case No. D2026-1241 1. The Parties The Complainant is Lumiforte Holding B.V., Netherlands (Kingdom of the), represented by Vereenigde Octrooibureaux N.V., Netherlands (Kingdom of the). The Respondent is lianxin zhou, Hong Kong, China. 2. The Domain Name and Registrar The disputed domain name <sudlac.com> is registered with Sav.com, LLC (the “Registrar”). 3. Procedural History The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) on March 23, 2026. On March 23, 2026, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrar a request for registrar verification in connection with the disputed domain name. On March 23, 2026, the Registrar transmitted by email to the Center its verification response, disclosing registrant and contact information for the disputed domain name which differed from the named Respondent (Unknown) and contact information in the Complaint. The Center sent an email communication to the Complainant on March 24, 2026, providing the registrant and contact information disclosed by the Registrar, and inviting the Complainant to submit an amendment to the Complaint. The Complainant filed an amended Complaint on March 25, 2026. The Center verified that the Complaint together with the amended 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 March 31, 2026. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5, the due date for Response was April 20, 2026. The Respondent did not submit any response. Accordingly, the Center notified the Respondent’s default on April 22, 2026. page 2 The Center appointed Edoardo Fano as the sole panelist in this matter on May 6, 2026. 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. The Panel has not received any requests from the Complainant or the Respondent regarding further submissions, waivers, or extensions of deadlines, and the Panel has not found it necessary to request any further information from the Parties. Having reviewed the communication records in the case file provided by the Center, the Panel finds that the Center has discharged its responsibility under the Rules, paragraph 2(a), “to employ reasonably available means calculated to achieve actual notice to [the] Respondent”. Therefore, the Panel shall issue its Decision based upon the Complaint, the Policy, the Rules, and the Supplemental Rules and without the benefit of a response from the Respondent. The language of the proceeding is English, being the language of the Registration Agreement, as per paragraph 11(a) of the Rules. 4. Factual Background The Complainant is Lumiforte Holding B.V., a Dutch company operating in the field of innovative coatings and line marking agents, and owning several trademark registrations worldwide for SUDLAC, among which: - International Trademark Registration No. 900837 SUDLAC, registered on September 29, 2006, designating the European Union and China; - United Kingdom Trademark Registration No. UK00810900837 SUDLAC, registered on July 18, 2017. The Complainant provided evidence in support of the above. The Complainant also operates on the Internet, its main website being “www.lumiforte.com”. According to the WhoIs records, the disputed domain name was registered on May 30, 2025, and it resolves to a website in which the Complainant’s trademark is reproduced and there is commercial and company information of the Complainant (which the Complainant claims is outdated). On December 5, 2025, the Complainant’s legal representatives sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Registrar of the disputed domain name, without receiving any reply. 5. Parties’ Contentions A. Complainant The Complainant contends that it has satisfied each of the elements required under the Policy for a transfer of the disputed domain name. Notably, the Complainant states that the disputed domain name is identical or confusingly similar to its trademark SUDLAC. Moreover, the Complainant asserts that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name. page 3 The Complainant submits that the fact that the disputed domain name resolves to a website as if it were the Complainant’s website, reproducing the Complainant’s trademark and incorrect and outdated information of the Complainant and the Complainant’s products, qualifies as bad faith registration and use. B. Respondent The Respondent has made no reply to the Complainant’s contentions and is in default. In reference to paragraphs 5(f) and 14 of the Rules, no exceptional circumstances explaining the default have been put forward or are apparent from the record. A respondent is not obliged to participate in a proceeding under the Policy, but if it fails to do so, reasonable facts asserted by a complainant may be taken as true, and appropriate inferences, in accordance with paragraph 14(b) of the Rules, may be drawn. WIPO Overview of WIPO Panel Views on Select UDRP Questions (“WIPO Overview 3.1”) section 4.3. 6. Discussion and Findings Paragraph 4(a) of the Policy lists three elements, which the Complainant must satisfy in order to succeed: (i) the disputed domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the Complainant has rights; (ii) the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name; and (iii) the disputed domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith. A. Identical or Confusingly Similar It is well accepted that the first element functions primarily as a standing requirement. The standing (or threshold) test for confusing similarity involves a reasoned but relatively straightforward comparison between the Complainant’s trademark and the disputed domain name. WIPO Overview 3.1, section 1.7. Based on the available record, the Panel finds the Complainant has shown rights in respect of a trademark or service mark for the purposes of the Policy. WIPO Overview 3.1, section 1.2.1. The Panel finds the entirety of the mark is reproduced within the disputed domain name. Accordingly, the disputed domain name is identical to the mark for the purposes of the Policy. WIPO Overview 3.1, section 1.7. It is also well-accepted that a generic Top-Level Domain (“gTLD”), in this case “.com”, is typically disregarded when assessing the confusing similarity between a trademark and a domain name. WIPO Overview 3.1, section 1.11.1. Based on the available record, the Panel finds the first element of the Policy has been established. B. Rights or Legitimate Interests Paragraph 4(c) of the Policy provides a list of circumstances in which the Respondent may demonstrate rights or legitimate interests in a disputed domain name. page 4 While the overall burden of proof in UDRP proceedings is on the complainant, panels have recognized that proving that a respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in a domain name may result in the often impossible task of “proving a negative”, requiring information that is often primarily within the knowledge or control of the respondent. As such, where a complainant makes out a prima facie case that the respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests, the burden of production on this element shifts to the respondent to come forward with relevant evidence demonstrating rights or legitimate interests in the domain name. If the respondent fails to come forward with such relevant evidence, the complainant is deemed to have satisfied the second element. WIPO Overview 3.1, section 2.1. The Complainant in its Complaint, and as set out above, has established a prima facie case that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. The prima facie case presented by the Complainant is enough to shift the burden of production to the Respondent to demonstrate that it has rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. However, the Respondent has not presented any evidence of any rights or legitimate interests it may have in the disputed domain name. The disputed domain name resolves to a website in which the Complainant’s trademark is reproduced and there is commercial and company information of the Complainant (which the Complainant claims is outdated). Panels have held that the use of a domain name for illegal activity, here passing off/copycat site, can never confer rights or legitimate interests on a respondent. WIPO Overview 3.1, section 2.13.1. The Panel therefore concludes that the disputed domain name is not being used in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services. Finally, the Panel finds that the composition of the disputed domain name, being identical to the Complainant’s trademark, carries a high risk of implied affiliation as it effectively impersonates or suggests sponsorship or endorsement by the Complainant. WIPO Overview 3.1, section 2.5.1. Based on the available record, the Panel finds the second element of the Policy has been established. C. Registered and Used in Bad Faith The Panel notes that for the purposes of paragraph 4(a)(iii) of the Policy, paragraph 4(b) of the Policy establishes circumstances, in particular but without limitation, that if found by the Panel to be present, shall be evidence of the registration and use of a domain name in bad faith. In the present case, regarding the registration in bad faith of the disputed domain name, the reputation of the Complainant’s trademark SUDLAC in the field of innovative coatings and line marking agents is clearly established, and the Panel finds that the Respondent must have known of the Complainant, and deliberately registered the disputed domain name in bad faith, especially because the disputed domain name resolves to a website in which the Complainant’s trademark is reproduced and there is commercial and company information of the Complainant. As regards the use in bad faith of the disputed domain name, the Panel notes that the Respondent is trying to attract Internet users to its website by creating a likelihood of confusion with the Complainant’s trademark as to the disputed domain name’s source, sponsorship, affiliation or endorsement, an activity clearly detrimental to the Complainant’s business. Panels have held that the use of a domain name for illegal activity, here passing off/copycat site, constitutes bad faith. WIPO Overview 3.1, section 3.4. Having reviewed the record, the Panel finds the Respondent’s registration and use of the disputed domain name constitutes bad faith under the Policy. page 5 The above suggests to the Panel that the Respondent intentionally registered and is using the disputed domain name in order both to disrupt the Complainant’s business, in accordance with paragraph 4(b)(iii) of the Policy, and to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to its website in accordance with paragraph 4(b)(iv) of the Policy. Furthermore, the Panel considers that the nature of the inherently misleading disputed domain name, which is identical to the Complainant’s trademark, further supports a finding of bad faith. WIPO Overview 3.1, section 3.2.1. In this regard, the Panel notes the Complainant’s assertion that it previously owned the disputed domain name – which is corroborated by the screen captures of the website at the disputed domain name that the Panel has been able to view on Internet Web Archives. 1 Based on the available record, the Panel finds the third element of the Policy has been established. 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, <sudlac.com>, be transferred to the Complainant. /Edoardo Fano/ Edoardo Fano Sole Panelist Date: May 11, 2026 1 www.web.archive.org/web/20240724045948/https://sudlac.com/contact
Source of record: WIPO . Reproduced for research; WIPO is the authoritative source.
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