Decisión del Panel Administrativo nº DME2014-0006 of WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, November 10, 2014 (case Michael Jastremski v. Jaisen Mathai)
| Resolution Date | November 10, 2014 |
| Issuing Organization | WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center |
| Decision | Complaint denied |
| Dominio | Montenegro (.me) |
The Complainant is Michael Jastremski of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America ("United States"), represented by Markery Law LLC, United States.
The Respondent is Jaisen Mathai of Sunnyvale, California, United States.
The disputed domain name [openphoto.me] (the "Domain Name") is registered with GoDaddy.com, LLC (the "Registrar").
The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the "Center") on September 18, 2014. On September 19, 2014, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrar a request for registrar verification in connection with the Domain Name. The same day, the Registrar transmitted by email to the Center its verification response confirming that the Respondent is listed as the registrant and providing the contact details.
The Center verified that the Complaint satisfied the formal requirements of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Policy") as adopted by doMEn, d.o.o. ("doMEn"), the registry operator of the .me TLD on April 30, 2008, the Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Rules") approved by doMEn on October 1, 2012, 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 September 30, 2014. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5(a), the due date for Response was October 20, 2014. The Respondent did not submit any response. Accordingly, the Center notified the Respondent's default on October 21, 2014.
The Center appointed W. Scott Blackmer as the sole panelist in this matter on October 24, 2014. 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.
The Complainant is an individual who resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. According to the Complaint, the Complainant has provided "peer-to-browser photosharing services that enables [sic] users to upload, view and download digital photos on its website "www.openphoto.net" and under its mark OPENPHOTO since 2002."
The Complainant registered the domain name [openphoto.net] in 2001 and states that he has used it continuously since January 2002 for his website (the "Complainant's website"), which displays photographs contributed by a variety of photographers and includes a photography blog. The Complaint claims 300,000 page views monthly. The Complainant's website describes his service as follows:
"The Open Photo Project is a photo sharing platform created in 1998 by Michael Jastremski. Contributors have offered their images free of charge under terms of Creative Commons licensing."
It is not clear from the Complaint or from the Complainant's website if and how the website generates revenues. However, the Panel notes that the Complainant's website displays third-party advertising links, which presumably produce some pay-per-click ("PPC") advertising revenues for the Complainant.
The Complainant holds United States Trademark Registration No. 4253868 (registered December 4, 2012) for OPENPHOTO as a standard character mark. The Complainant claims January 1, 2002 as the date of first use in commerce and asserts that the mark was protected under common law for years before it was registered.
The Domain Name was created on February 18, 2011 and is currently registered in the name of the Respondent, who appears to be an individual residing in Sunnyvale, California, United States. At the time of this Decision, the Domain Name redirects Internet users to a website at "www.trovebox.com" (the "Respondent's website").
The Respondent's website does not display a name corresponding to the Domain Name; rather, it displays the "Trovebox" name and logo. The Respondent's website offers a commercial photo sharing service:
"Trovebox is an online photo and video management service for businesses that is used by small businesses, non-profits and enterprises. We offer secure photo sharing, group photo collaboration features, multi-user accounts and whitelabeling."
Monthly subscriptions are priced according to the number of users, the size of data storage, and customer support options.
The Privacy Policy on the Respondent's website identifies the...
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