#210 - kay.ca - COMPLAINT DISMISSED

The Complainant did not establish its case and the panelists therefore dismissed the kay.ca Complaint. 

The registrant (Hiba Alnatour) responded to the Complaint. The Complainant asserts it has used the KAY JEWELERS and KAY trade-marks in Canada since 1999 to distinguish its provisions of jewelry retail services.    The Domain Name was not registered until February 16, 2011.  The Registrant, as a domain investor, acquired several three-letter generic Domain Names, including kay.ca.   The Complainant offered to purchase the Domain Name for the advertised bidding price of $2,500.00 but then received a counter-offer in the amount of $17,500.00.  The Complainant was unsuccessful because the panel found that persons in Canada would not confuse KAY JEWELERS with the Domain Name kay.ca, which is a generic three-letter word.  The panel was not able to conclude that the Domain Name was registered in bad faith.  The Registrant successfully argued that there are numerous KAY trade-mark registrations, and the Complainant does not even operate any retail stores in Canada.  

You can read the decision here. 

#209 - gbing.ca - TRANSFER GRANTED

The Complainant established its case and the Panelists transferred the domain name to the Complainant.

The Registrant registered the domain name on August 4, 2009. The Complainant, Microsoft Corporation, was founded in 1975 and is a worldwide leader in software services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. The Panelists concluded that the Domain Name GBING.CA was confusingly similar and that the Registrant had no legitimate interest in the Domain Name at all, despite the addition of the letter “G” in front of BING. As part of their bad faith analysis, the Panelists found that the Registrant was providing a competing internet search service using the whole of the Complainant’s BING trade-mark.  Further, the Registrant’s home page appears to copy Google’s use of different colours for each letter of GBING, generates ad revenue and has several click-through advertisements for some of Canada’s largest banks.   The panelists noted there are no applications or registrations for GBING or GBING.CA.  

You can read the decision here. 

#208 - norlevo.ca - TRANSFER GRANTED

The Complainant established its case and the Panelist transferred the domain name to the Complainant.

The Complainant and the Registrant had previously entered into a distribution agreement for the commercialization of a contraceptive product, NORLEVO. The agreement provided that upon its termination, the Registrant would cease all use of the NORLEVO trade-mark. The Registrant registered the Domain Name in 2006 and the agreement terminated in 2011. The Panelist held that the Domain Name was confusingly similar because it was comprised exclusively of the Complainant’s trade-mark “Norlevo”. In terms of bad faith, the Panelist referred to the agreement holding that the domain name should have been transferred to the Complainant upon its termination. Terminated licensee should not be permitted to leverage a licensor’s intellectual property with a view of extracting some sort of benefit. This cannot possibly be seen as a bona fide or good faith dealing with a domain name.'

You can read the decision here. 

#207 - albertafoundationandconcretelifting.ca - TRANSFER GRANTED

Following David Chamber's CDRP complaint dismissed on July 7, 2012, Alberta Foundation and Concrete Lifting Ltd. commenced this proceeding for the same two domain names. The Complainant is not the owner of any registered trade-marks and therefore must prove use of its Mark prior to August 23, 2010 (date of registration of the Domain Names). The Complainant provided supporting documents, including City of Calgary Building permits, Yellow Pages advertisements, Annual Corporation filings and Province of Alberta and Banking records. This time, the panelist determined the Mark was in use. The Registrant did not respond to the Complaint and the panelist found this business was a competitor of the Complainant, and had no legitimate interest in domain names, given they both resolved to www.concretespecialistsltd.ca. 

You can read the decision here. 

#206 - jared.ca - COMPLAINT DISMISSED

The Registrant registered the domain name on April 26, 2001. The Complainant, Sterling Jewellers Inc. has been in business since 1993 but only registered its Jared trademark in Canada in 2008. The Complainant did not satisfy its onus in proving that the Domain name was registered in bad faith. The panel was persuaded that the domain name was registered by Jared's father with the intention of having his son establish an online presence once he was old enough. This was persuasive based on the surrounding circumstances - the Domain Name had not been used since 2001, there were no attempts at selling the domain; and Jared was born just before the registration date. Wish my dad was that smart!!! (and that my name was Jared - I'm certain I would be receiving a large monetary offer to purchase my domain following this decision). 

You can read the decision here. 

#205 - blancofaucet.ca - TRANSFER GRANTED

The Complainant established its case and the Panelist transferred the Domain Name to the Complainant.

The Complainant, BLANCO GmbH + Co KG was recently successful in a Complaint against Abdou Al-Khoulani (blancosinks.ca). This Complaint was commenced against the same registrant for transfer of the BLANCOFAUCET.CA Domain Name.  The Panelist held that a descriptive term such as “faucet” is not enough to distinguish the Domain Name from the Complainant’s trade-mark. As a result, the domain name was held to be confusingly similar. Regarding the bad faith of the Registrant, the Panelist found that although the Registrant did not engage in a pattern of such conduct (it was not clear whether Blanco’s Complaint referenced the previously transferred domain), nor was a competitor of the Complainant, the Registrant would have been aware of the Complainant’s trade-mark at the time of registration and therefore chose the Domain Name for the purpose of commercial gain.