Enrebankusa.com

The timeline behind enrebankusa.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 Regions Bank v. Joel Claim Number: FA2211002018946 PARTIES Complainant is Regions Bank ("Complainant"), United States, represented by Rachel Hofstatter of Honigman LLP, United States. Respondent is Joel ("Respondent"), United States. REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME The domain name at issue is <enrebankusa.com>, registered with PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.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. David E. Sorkin as Panelist. PROCEDURAL HISTORY Complainant submitted a Complaint to Forum electronically on November 3, 2022; Forum received payment on November 3, 2022. On November 4, 2022, PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com confirmed by email to Forum that the <enrebankusa.com> domain name is registered with PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com and that Respondent is the current registrant of the name. PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com has verified that Respondent is bound by the PDR Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com registration agreement and has thereby agreed to resolve domain disputes brought by third parties in accordance with ICANN's Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Policy"). On November 4, 2022, Forum served the Complaint and all Annexes, including a Written Notice of the Complaint, setting a deadline of November 25, 2022 by which Respondent could file a Response to the Complaint, via email to all entities and persons listed on Respondent's registration as technical, administrative, and billing contacts, and to postmaster@enrebankusa.com. Also on November 4, 2022, the Written Notice of the Complaint, notifying Respondent of the email addresses served and the deadline for a Response, was transmitted to Respondent via post and fax, to all entities and persons listed on Respondent's registration as technical, administrative, and billing contacts. Having received no response from Respondent, Forum transmitted to the parties a Notification of Respondent Default. On December 1, 2022, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, Forum appointed David E. Sorkin as Panelist. Having reviewed the communications records, the Administrative Panel (the "Panel") finds that 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" through submission of Electronic and Written Notices, as defined in Rule 1 and Rule 2. Therefore, the Panel may issue its decision based on the documents submitted and in accordance with the ICANN Policy, ICANN Rules, 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 Complainant is one of the largest financial institutions in the United States, with $153 billion in assets. Complainant recently acquired EnerBank USA, a home improvement lender. Since the acquisition, EnerBank USA's sales have grown to more than $14.1 billion. Complainant and its predecessor in interest have used ENERBANK and ENERBANKUSA in connection with banking, financing, and loan services since 2002. Complainant owns United States trademark registrations for marks consisting of the terms ENERBANK and ENERBANKUSA in stylized form. Complainant uses the domain name <enerbank.com> to advertise its services and provide online account access to its customers, and uses the domain name <enerbankusa.com> for email. Respondent registered the disputed domain name <enrebankusa.com> in September 2022. The Panel notes that the registration data supplied by Respondent are incomplete and internally inconsistent. Complainant states that Respondent has used the domain name to send emails to customers of Complainant, impersonating an employee of Complainant and providing fake wire transfer information. Complainant states that Respondent is not commonly known by the domain name, has no relationship with Complainant, and is not authorized to use Complainant's mark. Complainant contends on the above grounds that the disputed domain name <enrebankusa.com> is confusingly similar to its ENERBANK and ENERBANKUSA marks; that Respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name; and that the disputed domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith. B. Respondent Respondent failed to submit a Response in this proceeding. FINDINGS The Panel finds that the disputed domain name is confusingly similar to a mark in which Complainant has rights; that Respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name; and that the disputed domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith. 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." 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. 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(f), 14(a), and 15(a) of the Rules and draw such inferences it considers appropriate pursuant to paragraph 14(b) of the Rules. The Panel is entitled to accept all reasonable allegations set forth in a complaint; however, the Panel may deny relief where a complaint contains mere conclusory or unsubstantiated arguments. See WIPO Overview of WIPO Panel Views on Selected UDRP Questions, § 4.3 (3d ed. 2017), available at http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/overview3.0/; see also eGalaxy Multimedia Inc. v. ON HOLD By Owner Ready To Expire, FA 157287 (Forum June 26, 2003) (dismissing complaint where complainant failed to "produce clear evidence to support its subjective allegations"). Identical and/or Confusingly Similar Complainant owns a United States trademark registration for ENERBANKUSA in stylized form, rendered in a standard serif typeface. The disputed domain name <enrebankusa.com> corresponds to that mark, transposing the letters "E" and "R" and appending the ".com" top-level domain. Such alterations do not substantially diminish the similarity between the domain name and Complainant's mark. See, e.g., Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP v. Francisc Rodriguez / Francisc, FA 1891213 (Forum May 4, 2020) (finding <bakretilly.com> confusingly similar to BAKER TILLY). The Panel considers the disputed domain name to be confusingly similar to a mark in which Complainant has rights. Rights or Legitimate Interests Under the Policy, the Complainant must first make a prima facie case that the Respondent lacks rights and legitimate interests in the disputed domain name, and then the burden shifts to the Respondent to come forward with concrete evidence of such rights or legitimate interests. See Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. v. Entertainment Commentaries, FA 741828 (Forum Aug. 18, 2006). The disputed domain name incorporates Complainant's registered mark without authorization, and its sole apparent use has been to impersonate Complainant in email messages in connection with a fraudulent scheme. Such use does not give rise to rights or legitimate interests under the Policy. See, e.g., Vulcan Materials Co. v. Mike Mattice / vulcan materials Co, FA 2014111 (Forum Nov. 5, 2022) (finding lack of rights or interests in similar circumstances); Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP v. Francisc Rodriguez / Francisc, supra (same). Complainant has made a prima facie case that Respondent lacks rights and legitimate interests in the domain name, and Respondent has failed to come forward with any evidence of such rights or interests. Accordingly, the Panel finds that Complainant has sustained its burden of proving that Respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name. Registration and Use in Bad Faith Finally, Complainant must show that the disputed domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith. Under paragraph 4(b)(iii) of the Policy, bad faith may be shown by evidence that Respondent registered the disputed domain name "primarily for the purpose of disrupting the business of a competitor." Under paragraph 4(b)(iv), bad faith may be shown by evidence that "by using the domain name, [Respondent] intentionally attempted to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to [Respondent's] 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 [Respondent's] web site or location or of a product or service on [Respondent's] web site or location." Respondent used incomplete and likely false registration data to register a domain name corresponding to Complainant's registered mark and domain name, but for the introduction of a typographical error; and is using the domain name to impersonate Complainant in connection with a fraudulent scheme. Such conduct is indicative of bad faith registration and use under the Policy. See, e.g., Vulcan Materials Co. v. Mike Mattice / vulcan materials Co, supra (finding bad faith registration and use in similar circumstances); Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP v. Francisc Rodriguez / Francisc, supra (same). The Panel so finds. DECISION Having considered the three elements required under the ICANN Policy, the Panel concludes that relief shall be GRANTED. Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <enrebankusa.com> domain name be TRANSFERRED from Respondent to Complainant. David E. Sorkin, Panelist Dated: December 2, 2022 Click Here to return to the main Domain Decisions Page. Click Here to return to our Home Page

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