Decisión del Panel Administrativo nº DCO2011-0026 of WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, June 21, 2011 (case Comité Interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne v. Steven Vickers)

Resolution DateJune 21, 2011
Issuing OrganizationWIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center
DecisionComplaint denied
DominioColombia (.co)

WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center

ADMINISTRATIVE PANEL DECISION

Comité Interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne v. Steven Vickers

Case No. DCO2011-0026

1. The Parties

The Complainant is Comité Interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne of Épernay, France, represented by Lee Bolton Monier-Williams, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The Respondent is Steven Vickers of London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, represented by Adlex Solicitors, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

2. The Domain Name and Registrar

The disputed domain name [champagne.co] (“the Domain Name”) is registered with Tucows Inc.

3. Procedural History

The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) on April 12, 2011. On April 13, 2011, the Center transmitted by email to Tucows Inc. a request for registrar verification in connection with the Domain Name. On April 13, 2011, Tucows Inc. transmitted by email to the Center its verification response confirming that the Respondent is listed as the registrant and providing the contact details for the Domain Name. The Complainant filed an amended Complaint on April 13, 2011. The Center verified that the amended Complaint satisfied 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 April 18, 2011. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5(a), the due date for Response was May 8, 2011. The Response was filed with the Center on May 6, 2011.

The Center appointed Warwick Smith as the sole panelist in this matter on May 11, 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.

By Procedural Order No. 1 the Panel requested a further statement from the Complainant answering three questions relating to the Complainant’s assertion that it holds trademark rights in a “Champagne” mark. A copy of Procedural Order No. 1 is annexed to this decision.

By email dated May 24, 2011, the Complainant’s representative sought an extension of time until June 10, 2011 to respond to the Panel’s questions in Procedural Order No. 1. By further direction dated May 26, 2011, the Panel granted an extension of time until May 31, 2011, and advised that any request for a further extension beyond that date would need to be supported by compelling reasons. The Panel also noted that in the event of any such request being made he would wish to hear the Respondent’s views on the further time extension request.

By email dated May 26, 2011 the Complainant did request a further extension. That request was opposed by the Respondent. By further procedural direction made on May 29, 2011, the Panel allowed the Complainant one further day to (June 1, 2011) to submit its answer to the Panel’s questions. The Panel’s reasons for limiting the further time extension to one day are set out in Section 6A(i) of this decision. The time for the Panel to give its decision in the case was further extended to June 7, 2011.

In the event, the Complainant elected not to provide any further statement. By email to the Center dated June 1, 2011, it requested that the Complaint “be withdrawn at this stage”. It submitted that (given that request) it was unnecessary to continue with the proceeding. It asked the Panel to terminate the proceeding.

By email dated June 1, 2011, the Respondent’s representative opposed the Complainant’s request that the proceeding be terminated.

By further procedural order made on June 6, 2011, the Panel declined to terminate the proceeding. Reasons for that decision are set out in section 6 A (ii) of this decision.

Having regard to the unusually complex nature of some of the issues in this case, the date for the Panel to give its decision is hereby further extended to June 21, 2011.

4. Factual Background

The Complainant

The Complainant is a body established by statute under the laws of France. Among the Complainant’s statutory purposes is the purpose of defending, preserving, and promoting the interests of all those involved in the production and marketing of the wines sold under the appellation of origin “Champagne”. All producers of champagne in the Champagne district of France are required by law to subscribe to the Complainant. The Complainant’s powers include the power to sue and be sued, and the Complainant represents all such producers in this Complaint.

Sales of wine under the name “Champagne” in Europe and elsewhere have been very substantial for over two centuries, both in volume and value. The Complainant says that a valuable worldwide reputation and goodwill in the name “Champagne” has been built up over that period, and that goodwill is said to be part of the trading assets the champagne producers represented by the Complainant. The Complainant says that it has spent large sums of money to promote and enhance the name “Champagne”, over and above the separate brand advertising undertaken by the individual producers represented by the Complainant.

According to the Complainant, the expression “champagne” has not become the common name of a wine in the European Union – it is distinctive only of wine produced in the Champagne region of France. The use of the word “champagne” is regulated throughout the European Union, in particular as a “designation of origin” under Regulation (EC) No. 491/2009.

The Complainant referred to, but did not produce, Court decisions of the Paris District Court in a 2001 case brought by the Complainant against parties known as Rockynet Com Inc. and Saber Enterprises Inc., and the United Kingdom Court of Appeal in Taittinger & Ors v Allbev Limited. In those cases, the name “champagne” was said to have been protected respectively as a registered appellation of origin, and under the United Kingdom law of passing off (“the latter decision on the basis that any product, not being champagne, which was allowed to describe itself as such, would inevitably … erode the singularity and exclusiveness of the description Champagne and so cause … damage of an insidious but serious kind”). The Complainant was a co-plaintiff with Taittinger in the United Kingdom Court of Appeal case.

The Complainant also produced copies of decisions of panels appointed by the Center, the .be Dispute Resolution Center, and the Nominet dispute resolution system operated for the .UK domain name space, in which “champagne-related” disputed domain names were transferred to the Complainant.

The Complainant holds 27 gTLDs and ccTLDs consisting of the word “champagne”, and a further 101 domain names which include “champagne” as part of the name. These domain names include [champagne.eu], [champagne.biz], [champagne.com], [champagne.fr], and [champagne.co.uk]. The domain names [champagne.co.uk] and [champagne.com] both revert to the Complainant’s websites.

Having regard to the foregoing matters, the Complainant says that it holds unregistered trademark rights in a “CHAMPAGNE” mark.

The Complainant says that it has repeatedly sought to prevent abuse of the name “Champagne” by third party use of domain names, most of which situations are resolved without the necessity for formal action; and through applications before the appropriate registration authorities in many countries.

The Complainant has not authorized or licensed the Respondent to use the name “champagne”.

The Respondent and the Domain Name

The Domain Name was registered on July 21, 2010. It does not resolve to any active website.

The Respondent operates an IT consultancy and computer sales business in London. He does not trade in champagne or beverages of any kind.

In his Response, the Respondent states that he became aware of the proposed .co launch in July 2010, and decided to register a batch of generic “.co” domain names with a view to future sale. He applied for over 100 such domain names, and all were registered in July/August 2010. A sub-group of these domain names consisted of 13 names which related generally to food or drink. One of them was the Domain Name; two others were [brandy.co] and [gin.co].

In response to a letter from the Complainant’s representative dated February 3, 2011, in which the Complainant offered to purchase the Domain Name for a sum equal to the Respondent’s out-of-pocket expenses incurred in registering the Domain Name, the Respondent’s representative advised that the Respondent “registered the domain name because he thought that it was an attractive generic domain name to own”, and that he intended at some point to sell [the Domain Name] as a generic domain name to somebody who might be interested in using it” (Respondent’s solicitors’ letter dated February 17, 2011).

The Respondent produced a number of extracts from online dictionaries in which the word “champagne” is defined. Generally, they included one entry with the “C” in “champagne” written in upper case – a reference to the Champagne region in France – and another with the “c” in lower case, the latter referring to the sparkling wine. The Respondent also produced the results of a Google search run on the expression “champagne”, showing 19 million results on United Kingdom websites.

The Respondent says that when he registered the Domain Name he had no knowledge of the Complainant or of any particular legal status attaching to the term “champagne” – he simply regarded “champagne” as a kind of sparkling wine.

5. Parties’ Contentions

A. Complainant

The Complainant contends:

  1. The Domain Name is identical...

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