Source: https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/text.jsp?case=D2011-0081
Timestamp: 2019-04-26 08:00:00+00:00

Document:
The Complainant is Karen Millen Fashions Limited of Witney, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, represented by Heatons LLP, United Kingdom.
The Respondent is Chen Zhenling of Putian, Fujian Province, the People’s Republic of China.
The disputed domain name <karenmillensell.com> is registered with Beijing Innovative Linkage Technology Ltd. dba dns.com.cn.
The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) on January 14, 2011. On January 17, 2011, the Center transmitted by email to Beijing Innovative Linkage Technology Ltd. dba dns.com.cn a request for registrar verification in connection with the disputed domain name. On January 18, 2011, Beijing Innovative Linkage Technology Ltd. dba dns.com.cn transmitted by email to the Center its verification response confirming that the Respondent is listed as the registrant and providing the Respondent’s contact details. On January 19, 2011, the Center transmitted an email communication to the parties in both Chinese and English regarding the language of the proceeding. On the same day, the Center requested the Complainant to submit an amendment regarding the information of the concerned Registrar.
On January 19, 2011, the Complainant submitted a request that English be the language of the proceeding. The Respondent did not comment on the language of the proceeding by the specified due date. The Complainant filed an amended Complaint on January 19, 2011.
The Center has verified that the Complaint together with the amended Complaint satisfy 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(a) and 4(a), the Center formally notified the Respondent of the Complaint, and the proceedings commenced on January 25, 2011. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5(a), the due date for the Response was February 14, 2011. The Respondent did not submit any Response. Accordingly, the Center notified the parties of the Respondent’s default on February 15, 2011.
The Center appointed Sebastian M.W. Hughes as the sole panelist in this matter on February 21, 2011. 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 Complainant is a company incorporated in the United Kingdom and the owner of an international portfolio of registrations for the trade mark KAREN MILLEN (the “Trade Mark”), including in particular a CTM registration and a United Kingdom national registration.
The disputed domain name was registered on August 14, 2010.
The Complainant has been using the Trade Mark in connection with the retail sale of women’s fashion clothing since 1981. The Complainant currently operates 288 stores in 39 countries and has an international website, “www.karenmillen.com”, from which it sells and delivers clothing. Sales by the Complainant of clothing under the Trade Mark are expected to be £254.8 million for the year ended January 31, 2011 and were £215.2 million in the previous year.
The disputed domain name is virtually identical to the Trade Mark. The distinctive element of the disputed domain name is the Trade Mark.
The Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name. The Respondent is in no way connected to the Complainant and is not licensed by the Complainant to use the disputed domain name. The website to which the disputed domain name is resolved (the “Website”) offers for sale unauthorised counterfeit products under the Trade Mark. This is causing considerable damage to the Complainant’s business.
The Respondent has registered and is using the disputed domain name in bad faith. The disputed domain name has been registered solely for the purpose of offering for sale and selling counterfeit clothing under the Trade Mark at aggressively low prices via the Website. Members of the public have been confused into thinking that the Website is owned and operated by the Complainant and upon receipt of poor quality garments purchased from the Website, have made complaints to the Complainant’s customer service representatives. The Complainant included its customer service log relating to such complaints as an exhibit to the Complaint.
The language of the Registration Agreement for the disputed domain names is Chinese. Pursuant to the Rules, paragraph 11, in the absence of an agreement between the parties, or unless specified otherwise in the registration agreement, the language of the administrative proceeding shall be the language of the registration agreement. No agreement has been entered into between the Complainant and the Respondent to the effect that the proceeding should be English.
Paragraph 11(a) of the Rules allows the Panel to determine the language of the proceeding having regard to all the circumstances. In particular, it is established practice to take paragraphs 10(b) and (c) of the Rules into consideration for the purpose of determining the language of the proceeding. In other words, it is important to ensure fairness to the parties and the maintenance of an inexpensive and expeditious avenue for resolving domain name disputes. Language requirements should not lead to undue burdens being placed on the parties and undue delay to the proceeding (Whirlpool Corporation, Whirlpool Properties, Inc. v. Hui’erpu (HK) electrical appliance co.ltd., WIPO Case No. D2008-0293; Solvay S.A. v. Hyun-Jun Shin, WIPO Case No. D2006-0593).
(4) The Registration Agreement does not specify a language in which the Complaint should be filed.
The Panel finds that sufficient evidence has been adduced by the Complainant to suggest the likely possibility that the Respondent is conversant and proficient in the English language (Finter Bank Zurich v. Shumin Peng, supra).
Having considered all the matters above, the Panel determines under paragraph 11(a) of the Rules that English shall be the language of the proceeding.
The Panel finds that the Complainant has rights in the Trade Mark acquired through use and registration which predate the date of registration of the disputed domain name by 30 years.
In the present case, the disputed domain name contains the Trade Mark in its entirety. The Panel concludes that the addition of the non distinctive word “sell”, a word frequently used in retailing and marketing of branded goods, does not serve to distinguish the disputed domain name from the Trade Mark in any way.
There is no evidence that the Complainant has authorised, licensed, or permitted the Respondent to register or use the disputed domain name or to use the Trade Mark. The Complainant has prior rights in the Trade Mark which precede the Respondent’s registration of the disputed domain name by three decades. There is therefore a prima facie case that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name, and the burden is thus on the Respondent to produce evidence to rebut this presumption (Do The Hustle, LLC v.Tropic Web, WIPO Case No. D2000-0624; Croatia Airlines d.d. v. Modern Empire Internet Ltd., WIPO Case No. D2003-0455).
The Complainant has asserted that the Website is used by the Respondent to market and sell counterfeit goods under the Trade Mark at aggressively low prices and that, as a result of such conduct, the Complainant’s customer service representatives have received complaints. There can be no legitimate interest in the sale of counterfeits (Lilly ICOS LLC v. Dan Eccles, WIPO Case No. D2004-0750).
The Complainant has submitted compelling evidence that the disputed domain name has been used to offer for sale counterfeit products under the Trade Mark via the Website. This is strong evidence of bad faith (Prada S.A. v. Domains For Life, WIPO Case No. D2004-1019).
The Panel further notes that, at some stage following the filing of the Complaint, the Respondent ceased active use of the Website. In the present circumstances, the Panel finds these amounts to further evidence of bad faith as was held in Telstra Corporation Limited v. Nuclear Marshmallows, WIPO Case No. D2000-0003.
For all 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 <karenmillensell.com> be transferred to the Complainant.

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