Decisión del Panel Administrativo nº D2018-1363 of WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, August 13, 2018 (case ABSA Bank Limited v. Domain ID Shield Service / Roy Chika, Roy Chika Investment)
| Resolution Date | August 13, 2018 |
| Issuing Organization | WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center |
| Decision | Transfer |
| Dominio | Generic Domains |
Complainant is ABSA Bank Limited of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa, represented by Moore Attorneys Incorporated, South Africa.
Respondent is Domain ID Shield Service of Hong Kong, China / Roy Chika, Roy Chika Investment of Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria.
The disputed domain name [absaprivatebank.com] is registered with OnlineNic, Inc. d/b/a China-Channel.com (the “Registrar”).
The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) on June 19, 2018. On June 19, 2018, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrar a request for registrar verification in connection with the disputed domain name. On June 22, 2018, the Registrar transmitted by email to the Center its verification response disclosing registrant and contact information for the disputed domain name which differed from the named Respondent and contact information in the Complaint. The Center sent an email communication to Complainant on June 26, 2018 providing the registrant and contact information disclosed by the Registrar, and inviting Complainant to submit an amendment to the Complaint. Complainant filed an amended Complaint on June 28, 2018.
The Center verified that the Complaint together with 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 and 4, the Center formally notified Respondent of the Complaint, and the proceedings commenced on July 4, 2018. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5, the due date for Response was July 24, 2018. Respondent did not submit any response. Accordingly, the Center notified Respondent’s default on July 25, 2018.
The Center appointed Yijun Tian as the sole panelist in this matter on July 31, 2018. 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.
Complainant, ABSA Bank Limited, is a company incorporated in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. Founded in 1991, Complainant is one of Africa’s major financial service providers offering personal and business banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management, and insurance. It is one of South Africa’s biggest retail banks with an estimate of 42,000 employees throughout South Africa. It operates and manages about 1,251 branches of its banks and more than 10,378 automated teller machines (“ATMs”). As of 2017 Complainant has over 1,753,000 customers who utilize its Internet banking service and has over 9,400,000 customers in South Africa.
Complainant has registered a number of ABSA-related trademarks in South Africa, such as ABSA (since 1991, South Africa trademark registration number 1991/01263), and ABSA PRIVATE BANK (since 1998, South Africa trademark registration number 1998/13132. 857230) (Annexure I to the Complaint). Complainant also owns many domain names, which contain ABSA or ABSA PRIVATE BANK trademarks, such as [absa.co.za] (registered on January 1, 1995), and [absaprivatebank.co.za] (registered on August 29, 2006)
Respondent is Domain ID Shield Service of Hong Kong, China / Roy Chika, Roy Chika Investment of Ikeja, Lagos...
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