The Complainants established their case and the panelist
therefore directed the transfer of hmvcanada.ca to the Complainants.
The registrant (Michael Mateescu) did not respond to the
Complaint. HMV (IP) Limited and HMV Canada Inc. are well known throughout the
world for their association with music and associated goods and retail services
(including DVD’s, headphones and books).
The HMV related trade-marks were registered as early as 1989. The Registrant
registered the Domain Name (hmvcanada.ca) in September, 2011. The Registrant
responded to Complainants’ cease and desist letter by offering to “modify” his
website rather than transfer the disputed Domain Name to its rightful owners. The
section 3.5 (c) analysis will assist rights-holders given the Panelist’s acceptance
of famous marks and the failure of registrants to provide any rational
explanations for the registration of Domain Names containing reproductions of these
marks.
Note: the section 3.5(d)/4.1(c) regarding disclaimers is
also noteworthy– a disclaimer on a website cannot legitimize an illegitimate
domain name registration.
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