Source: https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2006/d2006-0271.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 00:04:24+00:00

Document:
The Complainants are Credit Industriel et Commercial S.A. and Conf�d�ration Nationale du Credit Mutuel, both of France and both represented by Meyer & Partenaires, Strasbourg, France.
The Respondent is Spiral Matrix, Eldoret, Kenya.
The disputed domain names <cicenterprise.com>, <creditmutuelocean.com> and <filban.com> are registered with Intercosmos Media Group d/b/a directNIC.com.
The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) on March 3, 2006. On March 6, 2006, the Center transmitted by email to Intercosmos Media Group d/b/a directNIC.com a request for registrar verification in connection with the domain names at issue. On the same date, Intercosmos Media Group d/b/a directNIC.com transmitted by email to the Center its verification response confirming that the Respondent is listed as the registrant and providing the contact details for the administrative and technical contact. The Center verified that the Complaint satisfied the formal requirements of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the “Policy”), 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(a) and 4(a), the Center formally notified the Respondent of the Complaint, and the proceedings commenced on March 14, 2006. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5(a), the due date for Response was April�3,�2006. The Respondent did not submit any response. Accordingly, the Center notified the Respondent’s default on April 7, 2006.
The Center appointed Adam Samuel as the sole panelist in this matter on April�19,�2006. 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.
The three domain names in dispute were registered on July 21, 2005, (<cicenterprise.com>), August 6, 2005 (<creditmutuelocean.com>), and August�12,�2005 (<filban.com>).
The first Complainant is a French banking group with branches in a number of different countries around the world. It uses CIC as a common acronym and trade name. It offers Internet facilities through its online banking service, named “Filbanque” which it has offered since 1998, through the domain name, <filbanque.com>.
The first Complainant registered the trademark C.I.C. in 1976, in France, renewing it in 1986 and 1996. It has registered the trademark CIC BANQUES in 1991, renewing it in 2001. It has a trademark registration for FILBANQUE that it last renewed in 2002.
The second Complainant offers banking and insurance services in France. Its domain name <creditmutuel.com> describes those services. Its western France subsidiary, Credit Mutuel Ocean has been registrant of the domain name <cmocean.fr> since 1998.
The second Complainant owns trademark registrations for CREDIT MUTUAL dating back to 1988. One of the second Complainant’s branches, F�d�ration du Credit Mutuel Ocean has owned a trademark registration for CREDIT MUTUEL OCEAN CMO since July�1999.
In 1998, the Complainants merged to form the Group Credit Mutuel-CIC.
On October 26, 2005, the Complainants’ trademark attorneys wrote to the Respondent asking it to transfer the domain names in dispute to the Complainants. They did not receive a reply to this letter and e-mail.
The domain name, <cicenterprise.com> is confusingly similar to the first Complainant’s trademark CIC, which is reproduced in the domain name with the generic word “enterprise” added to it. The mere addition of a generic or descriptive word to a trademark does not prevent a domain name from being confusingly similar to the trademark. The domain name, <cicenterprise.com> provides hyperlinks to banking and financial services providers.
The domain name, <filban.com> is confusingly similar to the first Complainant’s trademark FILBANQUE reproducing as it does the first six letters of the trademark. Again, the domain name provides hyperlinks to banking and financial services providers.
Filban has no independent meaning in English or French. Considering the other domain names that seem to refer to the two other members of the same banking group, one must assume that the domain name, <filban.com> is aimed at diverting traffic from people seeking the “Filbanque” service of the first Complainant.
The second Complainant claims that this domain name is confusingly similar to its trademark CREDIT MUTUEL, which is reproduced at the start of the domain name. The addition of the word “ocean” to the trademark adds to the confusion because it identifies the domain name with the second Complainant’s western France subsidiary’s name.
As regards <creditmutuelocean.com>, the Respondent could not have selected the second Complainant’s subsidiary’s name randomly. It must have been done to attract users seeking the website associated with the subsidiary concerned.
The Complainants argue that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in any of the domain names in question. The Respondent has no connection with the Complainants’ business. The Respondent is not known nor has it ever been known by the names “CIC”, “CICenterprise”, “Credit Mutuel”, “Credit Mutuel Ocean”, “Filbanque” or “Filban”. The Complainants have not licensed the Respondent to use or apply for registration of the domain names in issue.
The domain names have been registered to take advantage of the Complainants’ renown in order to divert Internet users to competing websites through a “pay-per-click” domain parking solution. The Respondent must have known of the Complainants’ trademarks since the company’s names are well known.
The Complainants further contend that many of the hyperlinks on the domain names in question relate to banking products or services indicating clearly that the Respondent was aware of the Complainants’ activities. It can be deduced from this that the names were selected to divert the Complainants’ customers to the Respondent’s website and through it to companies that would pay it by pay-for-clicks. The Respondent has registered the disputed domain names only for the purpose of taking advantage of Internet traffic from Internet users seeking the Complainants’ products and services on the Internet.
The Respondent also has a lengthy history of cybersquatting as indicated by UDRP domain name cases reported in the past.
The Complainants claim that the Respondent uses the domain names in issue to divert Internet users to parking webpages on which several hyperlinks are displayed, some of which lead to hyperlinks in French covering banking and financial services. By clicking on the hyperlinks, users are led to websites of businesses that compete with the Complainants.
The domain name, <cicenterprise.com> is confusingly similar to the first Complainant’s trademark CIC, which is reproduced in the domain name with the generic word “enterprise” added to it. The mere addition of a generic or descriptive word to a trademark name does not prevent a domain name from being confusingly similar to the trademark.
“There can be no serious dispute that the prefix “BARCLAYCARDBUSINESS” is confusingly similar to the word mark “BARCLAYCARD” which the Complainant has registered”.
The domain name, <filban.com> is confusingly similar to the first Complainant’s trademark FILBANQUE reproducing as it does the first six letters of the trademark. The word “filban” has no meaning in French or English. In auditory terms, there is only one consonant sound missing from the domain name for it to reproduce the trademark concerned.
In that case, Volvo was associated with an ocean race. Here, the second Complainant has a subsidiary with the name “ocean” added to its name.
The Respondent is not called any of the domain names in question or by a similar name and does not appear to trade under those names. There is no evidence that the owners of the trademarks in question, the Complainants, have authorized it to use the trademarks concerned. The Respondent has never asserted any rights or legitimate interests in the name. For these reasons and the on the basis of the case file, notably the absence of a Response, the Panel concludes that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain names.
The domain name <cicenterprise.com> currently links to a website promoting mainly holidays but also some financial services products and services. The website gives no indication that the site has no connection with the Complainant.
The domain name <filban.com> currently links to a website promoting a variety of lifestyle products and services including those relating to financial services.
The domain name, <creditmutuelocean.com> currently links to a website promoting mainly financial services and banking-related products and services although it also contains links to lifestyle and travel sites.
Of the three trademarks in question, two are reasonably well known even outside France. “Filban” has no independent meaning and must be aimed at people who mistype “filbanque”. It seems highly likely that the Respondent knew that it was registering the domain names in issue in probable breach of a trademark. At best, it closed its eyes to the possibility.
The Respondent is using the Complainants’ trademarks to attract visitors to a website to profit, presumably through “click-throughs” to a number of other websites. It is irrelevant to the question of bad faith as to whether this is likely to be successful.
The Respondent’s motive in registering and using the sites seems to be either to attract Internet users for commercial gain or simply to disrupt the Complainants’ relationship with its customers or potential customers. Both these motives constitute evidence of registration and use in bad faith: paragraphs 4(b)(iii) and (iv) of the Policy.
As the Complainants point out, the Respondent has an extensive record of being involved in cybersquatting. In the following WIPO UDRP cases, domain name panels have made findings of bad faith against the Respondent: The Sutton Corporation v. Spiral Matrix, WIPO Case No. D2006-0167; PRL USA Holdings, Inc. v. Spiral Matrix, WIPO Case No. D2006-0189; Soci�t� des H�tels Meridien v. Spiral Matrix / Kentech Inc., WIPO Case No.�D2005-1196; Finaxa S.A. v. Spiral Matrix, WIPO Case No. D2005-1044; Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG v. Kentech, Inc. a.k.a. Helois Lab a.k.a. Orion Web a.k.a. Titan Net a.k.a. Panda Ventures a.k.a. Spiral Matrix and Domain Purchase, NOLDC, Inc., WIPO Case No. D2005-0890; Staples, Inc., Staples The Office Superstore, LLC, and Staples Contract & Commercial,�Inc. v. Spiral Matrix a/k/a Kenyatech.com a/k/a Kentech.com, WIPO Case No.�D2006-0227; Consitex S.A., Lanificio Ermenegildo Zegna & Figli S.p.A., and Ermenegildo Zegna Corporation v. Spiral Matrix, WIPO Case No. D2006-0169; Deutsche Telekom AG v. Spiral Matrix, WIPO Case No.�D2005-1145.
For all these reasons, the Panel concludes that the domain names in dispute have been registered and are being used in bad faith.
For all the foregoing reasons, in accordance with paragraphs 4(i) of the Policy and 15 of the Rules, the Panel orders that the domain names, <cicenterprise.com>, <creditmutuelocean.com> and <filban.com> be transferred to the Complainant.

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