The Complainant is Accenture Global Services Limited, Ireland, represented by McDermott Will & Emery LLP, United States of America (“United States” or “US”).
The Respondent is Gustavo Calero, E-DCT, United States. 2. The Domain Name and Registrar
The disputed domain name The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) on May 14, 2021. On May 14, 2021, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrar a request for registrar verification in connection with the disputed domain name. On May 14, 2021, 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 and contact information in the Complaint. The Center sent an email communication to the Complainant on May 17, 2021 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 May 18, 2021. 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 May 20, 2021. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5, the due date for Response was June 9, 2021. The Respondent did not submit any response. Accordingly, the Center notified the Respondent’s default on June 21, 2021. The Center appointed Andrea Mondini as the sole panelist in this matter on June 29, 2021. 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 an international business that provides management consulting, technology services, and outsourcing services under the company name and trademark ACCENTURE and has offices and operations worldwide and is a Fortune Global 500 company. The Complainant owns numerous registrations for the trademark ACCENTURE, including US registration no. 3,091,811 registered on May 16, 2006, which is registered in numerous classes. The disputed domain name was registered on May 5, 2021, and resolves to a page displaying an Internet browsing error message stating “this site can’t be reached”. 5. Parties’ Contentions A. Complainant The Complainant in essence contends the following: The ACCENTURE mark is a leading global brand. The Complainant is the owner of more than 1,000 trademark registrations for the ACCENTURE mark and ACCENTURE & Design mark in more than 140 countries. The ACCENTURE marks have become distinctive and famous globally long prior to the date on which the Respondent registered the disputed domain name. The disputed domain name incorporates the ACCENTURE mark in its entirety. The addition of the characters “aip” (which might refer to the Complainant’s “Accenture Insight Platform” or one of the Complainant’s business tool offerings) does not dispel confusion. The Complainant has not licensed or otherwise authorized the Respondent to use the ACCENTURE trademark. The Respondent therefore has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name, or any rights in the ACCENTURE trademarks, or association with the Complainant whatsoever. The disputed domain name has been registered in bad faith because, given the Complainant’s worldwide reputation, the Respondent was or should have been aware of the ACCENTURE marks prior to registering the disputed domain name. The Respondent used the disputed domain name in bad faith by passively holding it without a legitimate purpose. B. Respondent The Respondent did not reply to the Complainant’s contentions. 6. Discussion and Findings According to paragraph 4(a) of the Policy, in order to succeed, a complainant must establish each of the following elements: (i) the disputed domain name is identical or confusingly similar to the 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 The Complainant has shown that it holds numerous registrations for the trademark ACCENTURE, including US registration no. 3,091,811 registered on May 16, 2006 and that this trademark is well-known internationally. The Panel finds that the disputed domain name is confusingly similar to the Complainant’ trademark, because it incorporates in its entirety the trademark ACCENTURE. The addition of the characters “aip” and the generic Top-Level Domain (“gTLD”) “.xyz” does not prevent a finding of confusing similarity between the disputed domain name and the Complainant’s trademark. See sections 1.8 and 1.11 of WIPO Overview of WIPO Panel Views on Selected UDRP Questions, Third Edition (“WIPO Overview 3.0”). Accordingly, the Panel finds that the Complainant has satisfied the requirement under paragraph 4(a)(i) of the Policy. B. Rights or Legitimate Interests The Complainant contends, credibly, that it has not authorized the Respondent to register or use the Complainant’s trademark ACCENTURE in the disputed domain name, and that there is no relationship whatsoever between the Parties. In the absence of any Response, the Panel concludes that the Respondent was not authorized or licensed to use the Complainant’s trademark in the disputed domain name and that there is no indication of any legitimate noncommercial or fair use of the disputed domain name. The Complainant has put forward a prima facie case that the Respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name, which has not been rebutted by the Respondent. Furthermore, the nature of the disputed domain name, wholly incorporating the Complainant’s trademark with additional characters, carries a risk of implied affiliation (see WIPO Overview of WIPO Panel Views on Selected UDRP Questions, Third Edition (“WIPO Overview 3.0”, section 2.5.1). Accordingly, the Panel finds that the Respondent does not have rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. Therefore, the Panel finds that the Complainant has satisfied the requirement under paragraph 4(a)(ii) of the Policy. C. Registered and Used in Bad Faith The Complainant has demonstrated that the ACCENTURE mark is distinctive and well-known throughout the world. The Panel thus concludes that the Respondent must have been aware of this trademark and its reputation when it registered the disputed domain name, so that the disputed domain name was registered in bad faith (see Accenture Global Services Limited v. Domains By Proxy LLC/ Norman Shaaban,WIPO Case No. D2018-0731). Considering the high degree of distinctiveness and worldwide reputation of the Complainant’s trademark ACCENTURE and the inactive holding of the disputed domain name without a legitimate purpose, the Panel concludes that the disputed domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith. Indeed, the trademark ACCENTURE is so obviously connected with the Complainant and its services, that its use by someone with no connection with the Complainant would be in opportunistic bad faith. The Panel therefore finds that the Complainant has satisfied the requirement under 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 Andrea Mondini
Sole Panelist
Date: July 13, 2021
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