ARBITRATION AND MEDIATION CENTER ADMINISTRATIVE PANEL DECISION JCDECAUX SA v. 张艳平 (zhangyanping), 上海骏邮网络科技有限公司 (shang hai jun you wang luo ke ji you xian gong si) Case No. DCC2023-0014 1. The Parties The Complainant is JCDECAUX SA, France, represented by Nameshield, France. The Respondent is 张艳平 (zhangyanping), 上海骏邮网络科技有限公司 (shang hai jun you wang luo ke ji you xian gong si), China. 2. The Domain Name and Registrar The disputed domain name is registered with Xin Net Technology Corporation (the "Registrar"). 3. Procedural History The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the "Center") on September 4, 2023. On September 5, 2023, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrar a request for registrar verification in connection with the disputed domain name. On September 12, 2023, 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 September 13, 2023, 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 September 14, 2023. 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 September 19, 2023. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5, the due date for Response was October 9, 2023. The Respondent did not submit any response. Accordingly, the Center notified the Respondent's default on October 11, 2023. page 2 The Center appointed Jonathan Agmon as the sole panelist in this matter on November 1, 2023. 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, JCDECAUX SA, is a multinational corporation based in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris, France, operating in field of advertising and providing bus-stop advertising systems, billboards, public bicycle rental systems, and street furniture. It is one of the largest outdoor advertising corporations in the world since its establishment in 1964. For the past 50 years, the Complainant has been offering solutions that combine urban development and the provision of public services in more than 80 countries. The Complainant now has more than 1,061,630 advertising panels in airports, rail and metro stations, shopping malls, on billboards and street furniture. The Complainant is listed on the Premier Marché of the Euronext Paris stock exchange and is part of Euronext 100 index. Employing a total of 13,210 people, the Complainant is present in more than 80 different countries and 3,890 cities and has generated revenues of EUR 3,890 million in 2019. The Complainant is the owner of International Trademark Registration no. 803987 for JCDecaux, with an international registration date of November 27, 2001 (the "JCDECAUX trademark"). The Complainant also states that it has owned the domain name since June 23, 1997. The Respondent registered the disputed domain name on September 2, 2023. The disputed domain name is currently inactive. 5. Parties' Contentions A. Complainant The Complainant argues that the disputed domain name is identical to the Complainant's registered JCDECAUX mark as the Respondent has intentionally registered a domain name that incorporates the Complainant's mark in its entirety. The Complainant also argues that the Respondent lacks any rights or legitimate interests in the marks or the disputed domain name as it has not licensed or permitted the Respondent to use any of its trademarks or register the disputed domain name and that the Respondent registered and continues to use the disputed domain name in bad faith. B. Respondent The Respondent did not reply to the Complainant's contentions. 6. Discussion and Findings 6.1 Preliminary Issue: Language of the Proceeding The language of the Registration Agreement for the disputed domain name is Chinese. In the Complainant's email to the Center dated September 14, 2023, the Complainant requested that the language of the proceeding be English for the following main reasons: (i) the English language is the language most widely used in international relations and is one of the working languages of the Center; page 3 (ii) The disputed domain name consists of Latin characters rather than Chinese characters; and (iii) requiring the Complaint to be translated into Chinese would result in the Complainant having to incur substantial expenses for translation. The Respondent did not comment on the language of the proceeding. Paragraph 11(a) of the Rules provides that: "Unless otherwise agreed by the Parties, or specified otherwise in the Registration Agreement, the language of the administrative proceeding shall be the language of the Registration Agreement, subject to the authority of the Panel to determine otherwise, having regard to the circumstances of the administrative proceeding." Section 4.5.1 of the WIPO Overview of WIPO Panel Views on Selected UDRP Questions, Third Edition ("WIPO Overview 3.0") states the following: "Noting the aim of conducting the proceedings with due expedition, paragraph 10 of the UDRP Rules vests a panel with authority to conduct the proceedings in a manner it considers appropriate while also ensuring both that the parties are treated with equality, and that each party is given a fair opportunity to present its case. Against this background, panels have found that certain scenarios may warrant proceeding in a language other than that of the registration agreement. Such scenarios include (i) evidence showing that the respondent can understand the language of the complaint, (ii) the language/script of the domain name particularly where the same as that of the complainant's mark, (iii) any content on the webpage under the disputed domain name, (iv) prior cases involving the respondent in a particular language, (v) prior correspondence between the parties, (vi) potential unfairness or unwarranted delay in ordering the complainant to translate the complaint, (vii) evidence of other respondent-controlled domain names registered, used, or corresponding to a particular language, (viii) in cases involving multiple domain names, the use of a particular language agreement for some (but not all) of the disputed domain names, (ix) currencies accepted on the webpage under the disputed domain name, or (x) other indicia tending to show that it would not be unfair to proceed in a language other than that of the registration agreement." Having considered the relevant factors and interests of the respective Parties, the Panel determines that it would be appropriate for English be the language of the proceeding. The Panel is persuaded that the Respondent would not be prejudiced as the disputed domain name consists of Latin characters instead of Chinese characters. Further, the Respondent had been notified by the Center, in both Chinese and English, of the commencement of the proceeding, the language of the proceeding, and deadline for filing a Response in Chinese or English. The Respondent therefore had ample opportunity to object to the Complainant's language request and/or propose to submit his Response in Chinese but did not do so. In the absence of any rebuttal argument or justification therefore by the Respondent, the Panel does not find it procedurally efficient to have the Complainant translate the Complaint into Chinese. 6.2 Substantive Issues A. Identical or Confusingly Similar Paragraph 4(a)(i) of the Policy requires the Complainant to show that the disputed domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the Complainant has rights. A registered trademark provides a clear indication that the rights in the mark shown on the trademark certificate belong to its respective owner. The Complainant has provided evidence that it owns the JCDECAUX international registration trademark, designating and registered in several countries. The trademark, JCDECAUX, is reproduced entirely in the disputed domain name and is recognizable. The disputed domain name comprises the Complainant's JCDECAUX mark in its entirety with no other additions. Thus, the disputed domain name, which in this case incorporates the Complainant's mark in its entirety, is identical to the Complainant's mark. page 4 Further, it is well established that the addition of a country code Top-Level Domain ("ccTLD"), here ".cc", is typically disregarded under the first element when considering the confusing similarity between the Complainant's trademark and the disputed domain name (see WIPO Overview 3.0, section 1.11.1). Consequently, the Panel finds that the Complainant has shown that the disputed domain name is identical to a trademark in which the Complainant has rights. B. Rights or Legitimate Interests Once the complainant establishes a prima facie case that the respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name, the burden of production shifts to the respondent to show that it has rights or legitimate interests in respect to the disputed domain name (see WIPO Overview 3.0, section 2.1). In the present case, there is no evidence that the Respondent is commonly known by the name "Jcdecaux". The Complainant has demonstrated prima facie that the Respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name and the Respondent has failed to assert any such rights or legitimate interests. The Complainant has provided evidence that it owns trademark registrations of the JCDECAUX mark long before the date that the disputed domain name was registered and that the Complainant is not affiliated with nor has it licensed or otherwise permitted the Respondent to use the Complainant's trademark (see LEGO Juris A/S v. DomainPark Ltd, David Smith, Above.com Domain Privacy, Transure Enterprise Ltd, Host master, WIPO Case No. D2010-0138). Further, the Respondent did not submit a Response in the present case and did not provide any explanation or evidence to show rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name which would be sufficient to rebut the Complainant's prima facie case. In the particular circumstances of the present case, the disputed domain name is inactive, and therefore is obviously not being used for a bona fide offering of goods or services nor a legitimate noncommercial or fair use. Additionally, the disputed domain name identical to the Complainant's mark poses a high risk of implied affiliation. WIPO Overview 3.0, section 2.5.1. The Panel is therefore of the view that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name and accordingly, paragraph 4(a)(ii) of the Policy is satisfied. C. Registered and Used in Bad Faith The complainant must also show that the respondent registered and is using the disputed domain name in bad faith (see Policy, paragraph 4(a)(iii)). Paragraph 4(b) of the Policy provides circumstances that may evidence bad faith under paragraph 4(a)(iii) of the Policy. The Complainant has submitted evidence that the Respondent registered the disputed domain name long after the Complainant registered its JCDECAUX trademark. Given the accumulation of good will and distinctiveness of the Complainant's mark in the media industry over the course of its approximately 60-year history, it is highly unlikely that the Respondent did not know of the Complainant and its JCDECAUX mark prior to the registration of the disputed domain name. The Complainant has also submitted evidence that the disputed domain name is being passively held by the Respondent as it resolves to an inactive website. Panels have found that the non-use of a domain name (including a blank or "coming soon" page) would not prevent a finding of bad faith under the doctrine of passive holding. While panelists will look at the totality of the circumstances in each case, factors that have been considered relevant in applying the passive holding doctrine include: (i) the degree of distinctiveness or reputation of the complainant's mark, (ii) the failure of the respondent to submit a response or to provide any evidence of actual or contemplated good faith use, (iii) the respondent's concealing its identity or use of page 5 false contact details (noted to be in breach of its registration agreement), and (iv) the implausibility of any good faith use to which the domain name may be put. (See WIPO Overview 3.0, Section 3.3.) In this case, (1) the mark JCDECAUX is distinctive in the advertising industry, (2) the Complainant has submitted evidence showing that the JCDECAUX mark has reputation in its field, (3) the Respondent failed to submit a response and did not provide any evidence, and (4) it is the Panel's finding that it is implausible that the Respondent can put the disputed domain name to any good faith use under the circumstances of this case. Based on the evidence presented to the Panel, including the identity between the disputed domain name and the Complainant's mark, the passive holding of the disputed domain name by the Respondent, and the fact that no Response was submitted by the Respondent in response to the Complaint, the Panel finds that the disputed domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith. The Panels also notes that delivery of documents by the Center to the Respondent was refused by the Respondent, and draws an adverse inference accordingly. Accordingly, having regard to the circumstances of this particular case, the Panel finds that the Complainant has met its burden 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, , be transferred to the Complainant. /Jonathan Agmon/ Jonathan Agmon Sole Panelist Date: November 15, 2023
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