ARBITRATION AND MEDIATION CENTER ADMINISTRATIVE PANEL DECISION The Chemours Company FC, LLC v. Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 7151571251 / Edward Case No. D2022-3511 1. The Parties Complainant is The Chemours Company FC, LLC, United States of America, represented by Bates & Bates LLC, United States of America ("United States"). Respondent is Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 7151571251, Canada / Edward, United States. 2. The Domain Name and Registrar The disputed domain name (the "Domain Name") is registered with Google LLC (the "Registrar"). 3. Procedural History The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the "Center") on September 21, 2022. On September 22, 2022, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrar a request for registrar verification in connection with the Domain Name. On September 22, 2022, the Registrar transmitted by email to the Center its verification response disclosing registrant and contact information for the Domain Name which differed from the named Respondent and contact information in the Complaint. The Center sent an email communication to Complainant on September 26, 2022, providing the registrant and contact information disclosed by the Registrar, and inviting Complainant to submit an amendment to the Complaint. Complainant filed an amendment to the Complaint on September 29, 2022. The Center verified that the Complaint together with the amendment to the 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 Respondent of the Complaint, and the proceedings commenced on October 4, 2022. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5, the due date for Response was October 24, 2022. Respondent did not submit any response. Accordingly, the Center notified Respondent's default on October 26, 2022. page 2 The Center appointed Kimberley Chen Nobles as the sole panelist in this matter on October 31, 2022. 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 Complainant is a spin-off of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, offering TEFLON branded products worldwide. TEFLON coatings are used on products ranging from cookware, apparel, automotive, home and garden, eyeglass lenses to wires and cables. Complainant owns numerous registered TEFLON marks worldwide, including: - United States registered trademark number 559331 for TEFLON, registered on May 27, 1952; - United Kingdom registered trademark number 733336 for TEFLON, registered on August 23, 1954; - Australian registered trademark number A119893 for TEFLON, registered on August 31, 1954; - Brazilian registered trademark number 3320464 for TEFLON, registered on June 4, 1956; - Canadian registered trademark number UCA27180 for TEFLON, registered on September 10, 1946; and - German registered trademark number DD611506 for TEFLON, registered on June 7, 1955. Complainant also owns over 200 TEFLON domain names, including and , which were registered on June 13, 1997 and February 12, 2000 respectively. The Domain Name was registered on May 10, 2022 and resolves to an inactive site. 5. Parties' Contentions A. Complainant Complainant contends that (i) the Domain Name is identical or confusingly similar to Complainant's trademarks; (ii) Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the Domain Name; and (iii) Respondent registered and is using the Domain Name in bad faith. In particular, Complainant contends that it has trademark registrations for TEFLON and that Respondent registered and is using the Domain Name with the intention to confuse Internet users looking for bona fide and well known TEFLON products and services. Complainant notes that Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the registration and use of the Domain Name. Rather, Complainant contends that Respondent has acted in bad faith in registering and using the Domain Name, when Respondent clearly knew of Complainant's rights. B. Respondent Respondent did not submit a formal Response to Complainant's contentions. 6. Discussion and Findings Under paragraph 4(a) of the Policy, to succeed Complainant must satisfy the Panel that: (i) the Domain Name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which Complainant has rights; and page 3 (ii) Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the Domain Name; and (iii) the Domain Name was registered and is being used in bad faith. Section 4.3 of the WIPO Overview of WIPO Panel Views on Selected UDRP Questions, Third Edition ("WIPO Overview 3.0") states that failure to respond to the complainant's contentions would not by itself mean that the complainant is deemed to have prevailed; a respondent's default is not necessarily an admission that the complainant's claims are true. Thus, although in this case Respondent has failed to formally respond to the Complaint, the burden remains with Complainant to establish the three elements of paragraph 4(a) of the Policy by a preponderance of the evidence. A. Identical or Confusingly Similar Ownership of a trademark registration is generally sufficient evidence that a complainant has the requisite rights in a mark for purposes of paragraph 4(a)(i) of the Policy. See WIPO Overview 3.0, section 1.2.1. Complainant provided evidence of its rights in the TEFLON trademarks, as noted above. Complainant has also submitted evidence, which supports that the TEFLON trademarks are widely known and a distinctive identifier of Complainant's products and services. Complainant has therefore proven that it has the requisite rights in the TEFLON trademarks. With Complainant's rights in the TEFLON trademark established, the remaining question under the first element of the Policy is whether the Domain Name, typically disregarding the generic Top-Level Domain ("gTLD") in which it is registered (in this case, ".com"), is identical or confusingly similar to Complainant's trademark. See, e.g., B & H Foto & Electronics Corp. v. Domains by Proxy, Inc. / Joseph Gross, WIPO Case No. D2010-0842. Here, the Domain Name is confusingly similar to Complainant's TEFLON trademark. This trademark is recognizable in the Domain Name. In particular, the Domain Name includes Complainant's trademark TEFLON in its entirety, followed by the term "operations". The addition of the term "operations" after the TEFLON trademark in the Domain Name does not prevent a finding of confusing similarity between the Domain Name and the TEFLON trademark. Thus, the Panel finds that Complainant has satisfied the first element of the Policy. B. Rights or Legitimate Interests Under paragraph 4(a)(ii) of the Policy, a complainant must make a prima facie showing that a respondent possesses no rights or legitimate interests in a disputed domain name. See, e.g., Malayan Banking Berhad v. Beauty, Success & Truth International, WIPO Case No. D2008-1393. Once a complainant makes such a prima facie showing, the burden of production shifts to the respondent, though the burden of proof always remains on the complainant. If the respondent fails to come forward with relevant evidence showing rights or legitimate interests, the complainant will have sustained its burden under the second element of the UDRP. From the record in this case, it is evident that Respondent was, and is, aware of Complainant and the TEFLON trademarks, and does not have any rights or legitimate interests in the Domain Name. Respondent has not used the Domain Name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services or a legitimate noncommercial or fair use. Rather, the evidence demonstrates that the Domain Name resolves to an inactive parked page. Such use does not constitute a bona fide offering of goods or services or a legitimate noncommercial or fair use and cannot under the circumstances confer on Respondent any rights or legitimate interests in the Domain Name. See, e.g., Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. v. Charles Duke / Oneandone Private Registration, WIPO Case No. D2013-0875. Moreover, there is no evidence showing that Respondent has been commonly known by the Domain Name. page 4 Accordingly, Complainant has provided evidence supporting its prima facie claim that Respondent lacks any rights or legitimate interests in the Domain Name. Respondent has failed to produce countervailing evidence of any rights or legitimate interests in the Domain Name. Thus, the Panel concludes that Respondent does not have any rights or legitimate interests in the Domain Name and Complainant has met its burden under paragraph 4(a)(ii) of the Policy. C. Registered and Used in Bad Faith The Panel finds that Respondent's actions indicate that Respondent registered and is using the Domain Name in bad faith. Paragraph 4(b) of the Policy provides a non-exhaustive list of circumstances indicating bad faith registration and use on the part of a domain name registrant, namely: "(i) circumstances indicating that you have registered or you have acquired the domain name primarily for the purpose of selling, renting, or otherwise transferring the domain name registration to the complainant who is the owner of the trademark or service mark or to a competitor of that complainant, for valuable consideration in excess of your documented out-of-pocket costs directly related to the domain name; or (ii) you have registered the domain name in order to prevent the owner of the trademark or service mark from reflecting the mark in a corresponding domain name, provided that you have engaged in a pattern of such conduct; or (iii) you have registered the domain name primarily for the purpose of disrupting the business of a competitor; or (iv) by using the domain name, you have intentionally attempted to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to your website 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 your web site or location or of a product or service on your web site or location." The Panel finds that Complainant provided ample evidence to show that registration and use of the TEFLON trademarks long predate the registration of the Domain Name. Complainant is also well established and known. Indeed, the record shows that Complainant's TEFLON trademarks and related services are widely known and recognized. Therefore, Respondent was likely aware of the TEFLON trademarks when it registered the Domain Name, or knew or should have known that the Domain Name was confusingly similar to Complainant's trademarks. See WIPO Overview 3.0, section 3.2.2; see also TTT Moneycorp Limited v. Privacy Gods / Privacy Gods Limited, WIPO Case No. D2016-1973. The Panel therefore finds that Respondent's awareness of Complainant's trademark rights at the time of registration suggests bad faith. See Red Bull GmbH v. Credit du Léman SA, Jean-Denis Deletraz, WIPO Case No. D2011-2209; Nintendo of America Inc v. Marco Beijen, Beijen Consulting, Pokemon Fan Clubs Org., and Pokemon Fans Unite, WIPO Case No. D2001-1070; BellSouth Intellectual Property Corporation v. Serena, Axel, WIPO Case No. D2006-0007. Further, the registration of the Domain Name incorporating Complainant's TEFLON trademark in its entirety with the addition of the term "operations" suggests Respondent's actual knowledge of Complainant's rights in the TEFLON trademarks at the time of registration of the Domain Name. In addition, Respondent has not used the Domain Name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services or a legitimate noncommercial or fair use. Rather, the evidence demonstrates that the Domain Name resolves to an inactive page. From the inception of the UDRP, panels have found that the non-use of a domain name would not prevent a finding of bad faith under the doctrine of passive holding. See section 3.3 of the WIPO Overview 3.0. page 5 In the present circumstances, considering the distinctiveness and reputation of the TEFLON trademarks, the failure of Respondent to submit a response or to provide any evidence of actual or contemplated good faith use, and the implausibility of any good faith use to which the Domain Name may be put, the Panel finds that the use of the Domain Name supports a finding of bad faith. Accordingly, the Panel finds that Respondent has registered and is using the Domain Name in bad faith and Complainant succeeds under the third element of paragraph 4(a) 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 Domain Name, , be transferred to Complainant. /Kimberley Chen Nobles/ Kimberley Chen Nobles Sole Panelist Date: November 7, 2022.
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