Source: https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/text.jsp?case=D2012-1691
Timestamp: 2019-04-26 08:22:27+00:00

Document:
Complainant is Monsoon Accessorize Limited of London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, represented by Eversheds, LLP, United Kingdom.
Respondents are Wu Jia of Yueyang, China (Respondent 1); Kang Bai Yi of Fushun, China (Respondent 2); and xu zhonghong of Hangzhou, China (Respondent 3).
The disputed domain names <buymonsoondresses.com>, <monsoondressesonline.com>, <shopmonsoondresses.com>, <ukmonsoondresses.com> are registered with Xin Net Technology Corp. (the “Registrar”).
The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) on August 23, 2012. On August 24, 2012, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrar a request for registrar verification in connection with the disputed domain names. On August 27, 2012, the Registrar transmitted by email to the Center its verification response confirming that Respondents are listed as the registrants and providing the contact details. In response to a notification by the Center that the Complaint was administratively deficient, Complainant filed an amendment to the Complaint on August 29, 2012. On August 29, 2012, the Center transmitted an email to the parties in both Chinese and English language regarding the language of the proceedings. On August 29, 2012, Complainant confirmed its request that English be the language of the proceedings. Respondents did not comment on the language of the proceeding by the specified due date. On August 31, 2012, Complainant sent an email communication to the Center requesting that additional domain names <monsoondressesonline.com> and <buymonsoondresses.com> be added to the Complaint and submitted an Amended Complaint. On September 6, 2012, Complainant submitted by email a formal request to add the additional domain names to the Complaint. On September 10, 2012, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrar a request for registrar verification in connection with the additional disputed domain names. On September 11, 2012, the Registrar transmitted by email to the Center its verification response confirming that Respondents are listed as the registrants and providing the contact details. On September 13, 2012, the Center transmitted a new email communication to the parties in both Chinese and English language regarding the language of the proceedings for the additional disputed domain names. On September 13, 2012, Complainant confirmed its request that English be the language of the proceedings. Respondents did not comment on the language of the proceeding by the specified due date.
In accordance with the Rules, paragraphs 2(a) and 4(a), the Center formally notified Respondents of the Complaint, and the proceedings commenced on September 20, 2012. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5(a), the due date for Response was October 10, 2012. Respondents did not submit any response. Accordingly, the Center notified Respondent’s default on October 12, 2012.
The Center appointed Yijun Tian as the sole panelist in this matter on November 2, 2012. 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.
Complainant, Monsoon Accessorize Limited, is a company incorporated in London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (“UK”). Complainant is one of the UK’s most well-known ladies’ fashion retailers and it has been trading in UK under the name MONSOON since 1973. For many years, Complainant’s business has been international; there are now over 400 MONSOON stores in the UK and over 600 stores worldwide.
Complainant has exclusive rights in the MONSOON Marks. Complainant is the exclusive owner of well-known registered trademarks globally, including the UK trademark registration (since 1980) and CTM registration (since 2006) (see Annex 20 to the Complaint). It also owns the domain name registration <monsoon.co.uk>, which was launched about 15 years ago.
Respondent 1 is Wu Jia of Yueyang, who registered the disputed domain name <ukmonsoondresses.com> on July 13, 2012. Respondent 2 is Kang Bai Yi of Fushun, China, who registered the disputed domain names <buymonsoondresses.com> and <shopmonsoondresses.com> both on August 2, 2012. Respondent 3 is xu zhonghong of Hangzhou, China, who registered the disputed domain name <monsoondressesonline.com> on June 6, 2012. The registration dates of all these disputed domain names are long after the MONSOON Marks became internationally famous.
(a) The disputed domain names are identical and confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which Complaint has rights.
Complainant first started to use the name MONSOON in London in 1973. It has now opened over 400 stores in the UK and over 600 stores internationally.
In the last financial year, Complainant’s turnover in respect of its Monsoon ladies’ clothing business alone was GBP 288 million and the group’s turnover was well in excess of GBP 600 million.
Complainant has its website “www.monsoon.co.uk” launched about 15 years ago and it presently receives over 1.3 million visitors per month.
Complainant has an exclusive worldwide trademark portfolio for its MONSOON brand, including the UK trademark registration (since 1980) and CTM registration (since 2006) (see Annex 20 to the Complaint).
The disputed domain names are virtually identical to the name MONSOON. The only difference between the disputed domain names and Complainant’s mark is the addition (in all cases) of the words “dresses” and; in the other case, “uk”, “buy”, “online” and “shop”. These are generic words and the word “dresses” describes the most well-known range of garments sold in shops by Complainant in the UK and overseas.
Previous UDRP decisions have found this type of domain name (brand name plus descriptive word) to be confusingly similar. In the present case, MONSOON is the distinctive feature of all of the disputed domain names. The addition of generic words is not sufficient to avoid confusion.
The disputed domain names are confusingly similar to a trademark in which Complainant has rights.
(b) Respondents have no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain names.
Respondents are not connected to or authorized by Complainant in any way and have no legitimate interests in the mark MONSOON or any rights in the disputed domain names.
None of Respondents is using the disputed domain names in the course of any legitimate trade or bona fide offering of goods or services. By contrast, they are using the websites to which the disputed domain names resolve for fraudulent purposes.
There is no evidence that Respondents have ever used or been known by the name “monsoon” and/or “monsoon dresses” and/or “UK monsoon dresses” and/or “shop monsoon dresses” and/or “buy monsoon dresses” and/or “monsoon dresses online”.
The content of all of the websites make it plain that Respondents do not claim to have any legitimate entitlement to use the disputed domain names and websites for their own business but, rather, they make a deliberate misrepresentation that websites are in fact that of Complainant or are connected to it or affiliated with it.
When Respondents registered the disputed domain names they knew of Complainant and were aware of its reputation for selling women’s clothing.
Some of these disputed domain names resolve to websites which were active within (at most) a few week of registration and are clearly all designed to give the impression to consumers that they are connected to Complainant.
Respondents are not connected to Complainant and their offer to supply Complainant’s range of clothing to consumers at substantially reduced prices has been clearly designed to elicit money from consumers who are deceived into believing that they are able to purchase Complainant’s products from the websites.
The websites are also diverting sales away from Complainant and causing damage to its business. Complainant’s reputation is also being damaged by Respondents’ fraudulent activities.
(a) Respondents clearly understand English. The websites to which the disputed domain names resolve are in English and all communications received from the operators of the websites after placing an order are in English.
(c) The distinctive element of the disputed domain names is MONSOON which is one of the UK’s most well-known brand names for women’s fashion.
(d) The websites to which the disputed domain names resolve are (as with Complainant’s website) clearly aimed at English speaking visitors.
(e) Respondents are engaged in fraudulent activities through the websites to which disputed domain names resolve. The targets of their fraudulent activities are English-speaking Internet users located principally in the UK who are familiar with the well-known UK MONSOON brand, as they give the impression to consumers that the websites operated by them are connected to, or operated by, Complainant.
(f) Complainant is the subject of a sustained campaign by parties, acting in concert, who intend to damage Complainant and defraud its customers. Complainant has already incurred substantial legal costs attempting to stop Respondents’ fraudulent activities. It would now be inherently unfair and unjust if Complainant had to incur further costs and delay arranging for the translation of the Complaint into Chinese, prolonging the damage being caused to both Complainant and Internet users who are the victims of the registrants’ fraudulent activities.
Respondents did not make any submissions with respect to the language of the proceedings and did not object to the use of English as the language of the proceedings.
“in certain situations, where the respondent can apparently understand the language of the complaint (or having been given a fair chance to object has not done so), and the complainant would be unfairly disadvantaged by being forced to translate, the WIPO Center as a provider may accept the language of the complaint, even if it is different from the language of the registration agreement”. (WIPO Overview 2.0; see also L’Oreal S.A. v. MUNHYUNJA, WIPO Case No. D2003-0585).
The Panel has taken into consideration the facts that Complainant is a company from the UK, and Complainant will be spared the burden of working in Chinese as the language of the proceedings. The Panel has also taken into consideration the facts that the websites at the disputed domain names include English words “monsoon”, “dresses”, “uk”, “buy”, “online” and “shop”. (Compagnie Gervais Danone v. Xiaole Zhang, WIPO Case No. D2008-1047).
On the record, Respondents appear to be Chinese individuals and are thus presumably not native English speakers, but the Panel finds persuasive evidence in the present proceeding to suggest that Respondents have sufficient knowledge of English. In particular, the Panel notes that, based on the evidence provided by Complainant, (a) the disputed domain names are registered in Latin characters and particularly in English language, rather than Chinese script; (b) the websites resolved by the disputed domain names are English-based websites and Respondents are apparently doing business in English through these websites (Annexes 5-8 and 23 to the Complaint); (c) the websites appear to have been directed to users worldwide (particularly English speakers) rather than Chinese speakers; (d) the Center has notified Respondents of the proceedings in both Chinese and English, and Respondents have indicated no objection to Complainant’s request that English be the language of the proceedings; (e) the Center informed Respondents that it would accept a Response in either English or Chinese.
Accordingly, the Panel accepts Complainant’s contentions that the first, second and third Respondents are the same individual or that the first and third Respondents are closely associated with the second Respondent. The disputed domain names are subject to common control and the consolidation would be fair and equitable to all parties. Consequently, the Panel will address the three Respondents as “Respondents” for purposes of the discussion below.
The Panel finds that Complainant has rights in the MONSOON Marks acquired through registration. The MONSOON Marks have been registered worldwide, particularly in the UK and European countries, and Complainant has a widespread reputation as one of the UK’s most well-known ladies’ fashion retailers.
The disputed domain names <buymonsoondresses.com>, <shopmonsoondresses.com>, <ukmonsoondresses.com> and <monsoondressesonline.com> comprise the MONSOON Mark in their entirety. The disputed domain names only differ from Complainant’s trademark by the addition (in all cases) of the words “dresses” and; in the other case, “uk”, “buy”, “online” and “shop” to the mark MONSOON. This does not seem to eliminate the identity or at least the similarity between Complainant’s registered trademark and the disputed domain names.
The mere addition of the descriptive terms of “dresses” (in all cases) and “uk”, “buy”, “online” and “shop” (in the other case) as prefixes and/or suffixes to Complainant’s mark fails to distinguish to this Panel the disputed domain names from Complainant’s trademark. By contrast, it may increase the likelihood of confusion. These are general words and the word “dresses” describes the most well-known range of garments sold in shops by Complainant in the UK and overseas. Internet users who visit disputed domain names are likely to be confused and may falsely believe that they are online shops operated by Complainant for selling MONSOON-branded products, particularly dresses. Thus, the Panel finds that the additions are not sufficient to negate the confusing similarity between the disputed domain names and the MONSOON Marks.
Complainant has rights in the MONSOON Marks globally, including registration in the UK since 1980 and CTM registration since 2006 (see Annex 20 to the Complaint) which long precedes Respondents’ registrations of the disputed domain names in 2012.
According to Complainant, Complainant is one of the UK’s most well-known ladies’ fashion retailers. Complainant first started to use the name MONSOON in London in 1973. It has now opened over 400 stores in the UK and over 600 stores internationally. In the last financial year, Complainant’s turnover in respect of its Monsoon ladies’ clothing business alone was GBP 288 million and the group’s turnover was well in excess of GBP 600 million.
Moreover, Respondents are not authorized dealers of MONSOON branded products. Complainant has therefore established a prima facie case that Respondents have no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain names and thereby shifted the burden to Respondents to produce evidence to rebut this presumption (The Argento Wine Company Limited v. Argento Beijing Trading Company, supra; 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).
(b) There has been no evidence adduced to show that Respondents have been commonly known by the disputed domain names. There has been no evidence adduced to show that Respondents have any registered trademark rights with respect to the disputed domain names. Respondents registered the disputed domain names in 2012 long after the MONSOON Marks became internationally famous. The disputed domain names are identical or confusingly similar to Complainant’s MONSOON Marks.
(c) There has been no evidence adduced to show that Respondents are making a legitimate noncommercial or fair use of the disputed domain names. By contrast, according to the information provided by Complainant, Respondents were in actuality advertising, offering and selling purported MONSOON products via the disputed domain names (Annexes 5-8 to the Complaint).
The Panel finds that Respondents have failed to produce any evidence to establish their rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain names. The Panel therefore holds that the Complaint fulfills the second condition of paragraph 4(a) of the Policy.
(iv) by using the disputed domain names, Respondents have intentionally attempted to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to Respondents’ websites or other online location, by creating a likelihood of confusion with Complainant’s mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of Respondents’ websites or location or of a product or service on Respondents’ websites or location.
The Panel concludes that the circumstances referred to in paragraph 4(b)(iv) of the Policy are applicable to the present case and upon the evidence of these circumstances and other relevant circumstances, it is adequate to conclude that Respondents have registered and used the disputed domain names in bad faith.
The Panel finds that Complainant has a widespread reputation in the MONSOON Mark with regard to its products. Complainant has registered its MONSOON Marks internationally, including registration in the UK (since 1980) and CTM registration (since 2006). Moreover, the websites resolved by the disputed domain names advertise for sale various purported MONSOON products. Respondents would likely not have advertised products purporting to be MONSOON products on the websites if they were unaware of Complainant‘s reputation. In the other words, it is not conceivable to the Panel that Respondents would not have had actual notice of Complainant’s trademark rights at the time of the registration of the disputed domain names. The Panel therefore finds that the MONSOON Mark is not one that traders could legitimately adopt other than for the purpose of creating an impression of an association with Complainant. (The Argento Wine Company Limited v. Argento Beijing Trading Company, supra).
Moreover, Respondents have chosen not to formally respond to Complainant’s allegations. According to the panel’s decision in The Argento Wine Company Limited v. Argento Beijing Trading Company, supra, “the failure of the Respondent to respond to the Complaint further supports an inference of bad faith”. (See also Bayerische Motoren Werke AG v. (This Domain is For Sale) Joshuathan Investments, Inc., WIPO Case No. D2002-0787). Thus, the Panel concludes that the disputed domain names were registered in bad faith with the intent to create an impression of an association with Complainant’s MONSOON branded products.
Given the widespread reputation of the MONSOON Marks (as well as the content on the websites mentioned above), the Panel finds that the public is likely to be confused into thinking that the disputed domain names have a connection with Complainant, contrary to the fact. There is a strong likelihood of confusion as to source, sponsorship, affiliation or endorsement of the websites to which the disputed domain names resolved (see Annexes 5-8, 15-18 and 19 to the Complaint). In other words, Respondents have through the use of confusingly similar domain names and webpage contents created a likelihood of confusion with the MONSOON Marks. Noting also that apparently no clarification as to Respondents’ relationship to Complainant is made on the homepages of the disputed domain names, potential Internet users are led to believe that the websites resolved by the disputed domain names are either Complainant’s sites or the sites of official authorized agents of Complainant, which it is not. Moreover, Respondents have not responded formally to the Complaint. The Panel therefore concludes that the disputed domain names were used by Respondents in bad faith.
In summary, Respondents, by choosing to register and use the disputed domain names which are confusingly similar to Complainant’s trademark, intended to ride on the goodwill of Complainant’s trademark in an attempt to exploit, for commercial gain, Internet users destined for Complainant. In the absence of evidence to the contrary and rebuttal from Respondents, the choice of the disputed domain names and the conducts of Respondents as far as the websites to which the disputed domain names resolve are indicative of registration and use of the disputed domain names in bad faith.
The Panel therefore holds that the Complaint fulfills the third condition of paragraph 4(a) of the Policy.
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 names <buymonsoondresses.com>, <monsoondressesonline.com>, <shopmonsoondresses.com> and <ukmonsoondresses.com> be transferred to Complainant.

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