Decisión del Panel Administrativo nº D2016-0403 of WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, April 25, 2016 (case Volkswagen AG v. Zhan Jie)

• Resolution Date: April 25, 2016
• Issuing Organization: WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center
• Decision: Transfer
• Dominio: Generic Domains

WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center

ADMINISTRATIVE PANEL DECISION

Volkswagen AG v. Zhan Jie

Case No. D2016-0403

1. The Parties

The Complainant is Volkswagen AG of Wolfsburg, Germany, represented by Drzewiecki, Tomaszek & Wspólnicy Spólka Komandytowa, Poland.

The Respondent is Zhan Jie of Haikou, Hainan, China.

2. The Domain Name and Registrar

The disputed domain name [volkswagen.wiki] is registered with Alibaba Cloud Computing Ltd. d/b/a HiChina (www.net.cn) (the "Registrar").

3. Procedural History

The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the "Center") on February 29, 2016. On February 29, 2016, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrar a request for registrar verification in connection with the disputed domain name. On March 1, 2016, 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.

On March 2, 2016, the Center sent an email communication to the parties in both Chinese and English regarding the language of the proceeding. On March 3, 2016, the Complainant requested that English (or both English and Chinese) be the language of the proceeding. The Respondent did not comment on the language of the proceeding by the specified due date.

The Center verified that the 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 and 4, the Center formally notified the Respondent (in both English and Chinese) of the Complaint, and the proceedings commenced on March 14, 2016. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5, the due date for Response was April 3, 2016. The Respondent did not submit any response. Accordingly, the Center notified the Respondent's default on April 4, 2016.

The Center appointed Jonathan Agmon as the sole panelist in this matter on April 12, 2016. 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.

4. Factual Background

The Complainant was founded in May 1937 and is one of the leading automobile manufacturers in the world. The Complainant is Europe's largest car manufacturer. The Complainant's group delivered a 12.9 percent share of the world's passenger cars in 2014. The Complainant's group comprises twelve brands from seven European countries: Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Audi, SEAT, SKODA, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Ducati, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Scania and MAN.

The Complainant owns registrations and applications for the VOLKSWAGEN mark.

VOLKSWAGEN trademark registrations owned by the Complainant cover a range of goods and services in 45 trademark classes. For example, the Complainant owns the following trademark registrations:

VOLKSWAGEN – International Registration serial number 702679 registered on July 2, 1998, designating inter alia China; VOLKSWAGEN – Community Trademark serial number 009383506 registered on February 25, 2011; VOLKSWAGEN – Chinese Trademark serial number 227481 registered on May 30, 1985; and

VOLKSWAGEN – Chinese Trademark serial number 777328 registered on February 7, 1995.

The Complainant also owns multiple domain...