The
Complainant operates an international chauffeured limousine service business in
association with the CAREY trademark. The Complainant has operated its limousine
service business in association with the CAREY trademark in Canada since 1982.
The Panel
noted that while the Complainant failed to provide evidence of
trademark searches to indicate that the Registrant does not have a
legitimate interest in the term “CAREY,” it found that the distinct nature of
the CAREY trademark, and the Registrant’s use of the Domain Name for a
deceptive web site (reproducing portions of the Complainant’s web site) were sufficient
to satisfy the Complainants’ evidentiary burden to provide some evidence
that the Registrant had no legitimate interest.
With respect to bad faith, the Panel noted that there is rarely “direct evidence”
of bad faith and in most cases it is based on common sense inferences of the
registrant’s conduct and other surrounding circumstances. In this case, the trademark was registered
for several years prior to the domain name registration, the domain name
contains additional descriptive terms implying the registrant knew of the Complainant’s
business, and the Registrant’s web site copied substantial parts of the
Complainant’s web site.
You can read the decision here.
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