Thrifty-car-rentals.com

The timeline behind thrifty-car-rentals.com

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.

DECISION Thrifty, Inc. and Thrifty Rent-a-Car System, Inc. v. Patrick Ory Claim Number: FA0304000154112 PARTIES Complainant is Thrifty, Inc., Tulsa, OK, USA (“Complainant”) represented by Nicole M. Meyer, of Dickinson Wright, PLLC. Respondent is Patrick Ory, Cancun, MEXICO (“Respondent”). REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME The domain name at issue is <thrifty-car-rentals.com>, registered with Computer Services Langenbach Gmbh d/b/a Joker.Com. PANEL The undersigned certifies that he has acted independently and impartially and to the best of his knowledge has no known conflict in serving as Panelist in this proceeding. Tyrus R. Atkinson, Jr., as Panelist. PROCEDURAL HISTORY Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum (the "Forum") electronically on April 7, 2003; the Forum received a hard copy of the Complaint on April 11, 2003. On April 8, 2003, Computer Services Langenbach Gmbh d/b/a Joker.Com confirmed by e-mail to the Forum that the domain name <thrifty-car-rentals.com> is registered with Joker.Com and that Respondent is the current registrant of the name. Joker.Com has verified that Respondent is bound by the Joker.Com registration agreement and has thereby agreed to resolve domain-name disputes brought by third parties in accordance with ICANN's Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Policy"). On April 14, 2003, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the "Commencement Notification"), setting a deadline of May 5, 2003 by which Respondent could file a Response to the Complaint, was transmitted to Respondent via e-mail, post and fax, to all entities and persons listed on Respondent's registration as technical, administrative and billing contacts, and to postmaster@thrifty-car-rentals.com by e-mail. Having received no Response from Respondent, using the same contact details and methods as were used for the Commencement Notification, the Forum transmitted to the parties a Notification of Respondent Default. On May 14, 2003, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the Forum appointed Tyrus R. Atkinson, Jr., as Panelist. Having reviewed the communications records, the Administrative Panel (the "Panel") finds that the Forum has discharged its responsibility under Paragraph 2(a) of the Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Rules") "to employ reasonably available means calculated to achieve actual notice to Respondent." Therefore, the Panel may issue its decision based on the documents submitted and in accordance with the ICANN Policy, ICANN Rules, the Forum's Supplemental Rules and any rules and principles of law that the Panel deems applicable, without the benefit of any Response from Respondent. RELIEF SOUGHT Complainant requests that the domain name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant. PARTIES' CONTENTIONS A. Complainant makes the following assertions: 1. Respondent’s <thrifty-car-rentals.com> domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s THRIFTY CAR RENTAL mark. 2. Respondent does not have any rights or legitimate interests in the <thrifty-car-rentals.com> domain name. 3. Respondent registered and used the <thrifty-car-rentals.com> domain name in bad faith. B. Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding. FINDINGS Complainant, Thrifty Inc., is the parent of Thrifty Rent-A-Car System, Inc. Complainant is one of the largest vehicle rental companies worldwide. Complainant rents cars and other vehicles from more than 1,300 locations in 58 countries and territories internationally. Complainant currently holds more than 16 trademark registrations in the U.S. for marks containing the THRIFTY mark, including registrations for the THRIFTY CAR RENTAL mark. Specifically, Complainant holds Reg. No. 1,566,277 for the THRIFTY CAR RENTAL mark registered on the Principal Register of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on November 14, 1989. In addition to its trademark registrations in the U.S., Complainant owns registrations for the THRIFTY mark in more than 75 foreign countries. Complainant is the registrant for the following domain name registrations, from which it offers its car rental and related services: <thrifty.com> and <thriftycar-rentals.com>. Respondent, Patrick Ory, registered the <thrifty-car-rentals.com> domain name on May 31, 2002. Complainant’s investigation of Respondent’s use of the subject domain name indicates that Respondent’s <thrifty-car-rentals.com> domain name redirects Internet users to a website located at <cheapcarrental.com>. Respondent is not licensed or authorized by Complainant to make use of the THRIFTY CAR RENTAL mark for any purpose. DISCUSSION Paragraph 15(a) of the Rules instructs this Panel to "decide a complaint on the basis of the statements and documents submitted in accordance with the Policy, these Rules and any rules and principles of law that it deems applicable." In view of Respondent's failure to submit a Response, the Panel shall decide this administrative proceeding on the basis of Complainant's undisputed representations pursuant to paragraphs 5(e), 14(a) and 15(a) of the Rules and draw such inferences it considers appropriate pursuant to paragraph 14(b) of the Rules. Paragraph 4(a) of the Policy requires that Complainant must prove each of the following three elements to obtain an order that a domain name should be cancelled or transferred: (1) the domain name registered by Respondent is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which Complainant has rights; and (2) Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; and (3) the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith. Identical and/or Confusingly Similar Complainant has rights in the THRIFTY CAR RENTAL mark through registration with various international trademark authorities, and subsequent continuous use of the mark in commerce. Respondent’s <thrifty-car-rentals.com> domain name is confusingly similar to Complainant’s THRIFTY CAR RENTAL mark. Respondent’s domain name incorporates Complainant’s mark in its entirety, and only deviates with the addition of hyphens and the pluralization of the word “rental.” Slight grammatical changes to an established mark fail to create a distinct mark for the purposes of Policy ¶ 4(a)(i). Further, because top-level domains, such as “.com,” are inconsequential when conducting an analysis under Policy ¶ 4(a)(i), Respondent’s domain name is rendered confusingly similar to Complainant’s mark. See Pomellato S.p.A v. Tonetti, D2000-0493 (WIPO July 7, 2000) (finding <pomellato.com> identical to Complainant’s mark because the generic top-level domain (gTLD) “.com” after the name POMELLATO is not relevant); see also Chernow Communications Inc. v. Kimball, D2000-0119 (WIPO May 18, 2000) (holding “that the use or absence of punctuation marks, such as hyphens, does not alter the fact that a name is identical to a mark"); see also Dow Jones & Co., Inc. v. Powerclick, Inc., D2000-1259 (WIPO Dec. 1, 2000) (holding that the deliberate introduction of errors or changes, such as the addition of a fourth “w” or the omission of periods or other such generic typos do not change the Respondent’s infringement on a core trademark held by Complainant). Accordingly, the Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(i) has been satisfied. Rights or Legitimate Interests As stated, Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding; thus, Complainant’s assertions are uncontested. Therefore, the Panel is permitted to accept all reasonable allegations made in the Complaint as true. Further, Respondent has failed to invoke any circumstance that could demonstrate rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. See Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. v. Anderson, FA 133637 (Nat. Arb. Forum Jan. 8, 2003) (finding that “Through its lack of response to the Complaint, Respondent not only fails to meet its burden, but concurrently makes an affirmative gesture that it has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain names”); see also Vertical Solutions Mgmt., Inc. v. webnet-marketing, inc., FA 95095 (Nat. Arb. Forum July 31, 2000) (holding that Respondent’s failure to respond allows all reasonable inferences of fact in the allegations of Complainant to be deemed true). Unrefuted evidence indicates that Respondent uses Complainant’s established THRIFTY CAR RENTAL mark in the domain name to attract unsuspecting Internet users to its website. Specifically, upon keying Respondent’s infringing domain name into the browser, Internet users are redirected to a commercial website located at <cheapcarrental.com>. Respondent is making unauthorized commercial use of Complainant’s mark in its domain name. Such opportunistic use fails to constitute a bona fide offering of goods or services under Policy ¶ 4(c)(i), or a noncommercial or fair use of the domain name pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c)(iii). See Big Dog Holdings, Inc. v. Day, FA 93554 (Nat. Arb. Forum Mar. 9, 2000) (finding no legitimate use when Respondent was diverting consumers to its own website by using Complainant’s trademarks); see also State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. LaFaive, FA 95407 (Nat. Arb. Forum Sept. 27, 2000) (finding that “unauthorized providing of information and services under a mark owned by a third party cannot be said to be the bona fide offering of goods or services”). No evidence before the Panel suggests Respondent is commonly known by the <thrifty-car-rentals.com> domain name. Respondent is not authorized or licensed by Complainant to make use of any variation of the THRIFTY mark in connection with any offering of goods or services. Respondent’s WHOIS information records the registrant of the subject domain name as “Patrick Ory.” Additionally, the domain name diverts Internet users to a website located at <cheapcarrental.com>, which is unrelated to Complainant’s THRIFTY family of marks. See Tercent Inc. v. Lee Yi, FA 139720 (Nat. Arb. Forum Feb. 10, 2003) (stating “nothing in Respondent’s WHOIS information implies that Respondent is ‘commonly known by’ the disputed domain name” as one factor in determining that Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii) does not apply); see also Great S. Wood Pres., Inc. v. TFA Assocs., FA 95169 (Nat. Arb. Forum Aug. 5, 2000) (finding that Respondent was not commonly known by the domain name <greatsouthernwood.com> where Respondent linked the domain name to <bestoftheweb.com>). Accordingly, the Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(ii) has been satisfied. Registration and Use in Bad Faith Uncontested evidence reveals that Respondent registered the subject domain name in order to opportunistically trade on the fame associated with Complainant’s THRIFTY CAR RENTAL mark. Respondent lures unsuspecting Internet users to its website by using Complainant’s famous mark, and then subsequently redirects users to its own commercial website located at <cheapcarrental.com>. Circumstances indicate that Respondent has intentionally attempted to attract Internet users to its commercial website by creating a likelihood of confusion with Complainant’s mark. Therefore, Respondent registered and used the <thrifty-car-rentals.com> domain name in bad faith pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv). See G.D. Searle & Co. v. Celebrex Drugstore, FA 123933 (Nat. Arb. Forum Nov. 21, 2002) (finding that Respondent registered and used the domain name in bad faith pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv) because Respondent was using the confusingly similar domain name to attract Internet users to its commercial website); see also State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Northway, FA 95464 (Nat. Arb. Forum Oct. 11, 2000) (finding that Respondent registered the domain name <statefarmnews.com> in bad faith because Respondent intended to use Complainant’s marks to attract the public to the website without permission from Complainant). The Panel finds that Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii) has been satisfied. DECISION Having established all three elements required under ICANN Policy, the Panel concludes that relief shall be GRANTED. Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <thrifty-car-rentals.com> domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant. Tyrus R. Atkinson, Jr., , Panelist Dated: May 20, 2003 Click Here to return to the main Domain Decisions Page. 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Source of record: FORUM . Reproduced for research; FORUM is the authoritative source.