Decisión del Panel Administrativo nº D2007-1063 of WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, October 04, 2007 (case Atlantic, Société Française de Développement Thermique v. Dowd, Kevin)

• Judge: Jacques de Werra
• Resolution Date: October 04, 2007
• Issuing Organization: WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center
• Decision: Complaint denied
• Dominio: Generic Domains

WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center

ADMINISTRATIVE PANEL DECISION

Atlantic, SociÈtÈ FranÁaise de DÈveloppement Thermique v. Dowd, Kevin

Case No. D2007-1063

1. The Parties

   The Complainant is Atlantic, SociÈtÈ FranÁaise de DÈveloppement Thermique, La Roche Sur Yon, of France, represented by Lepeudry et AssociÈs, France.

   The Respondent is Dowd, Kevin, Niantic, Connecticut, of the United States of America.

2. The Domain Name and Registrar

   The disputed domain name [atlantic.com] (the "Disputed Domain Name") is registered with Network Solutions, LLC.

3. Procedural History

   The Complaint was filed in French with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the "Center") on July 18, 2007. On July 23, 2007, the Center transmitted by email to Network Solutions, LLC a request for registrar verification in connection with the domain name(s) at issue. On July 23, 2007, Network Solutions, LLC 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"), 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"), subject to the issue of the language of the proceedings which shall be addressed below.

   In accordance with the Rules, paragraphs 2(a) and 4(a), the Center formally notified the Respondent of the Complaint, and the proceedings commenced August 6, 2007. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5(a), the due date for Response was August 26, 2007. However, the Respondent already filed a Response with the Center on August 3, 2007. On this basis, the Center contacted the Respondent by email of August 6, 2007 in order to acknowledge good receipt of his early response and to inform him that the 20 days period for the Response was starting that day so that the Respondent shall have the opportunity to change the Response or make additional submissions. The Respondent did not change his early Response and did not file either any additional submission.

   The Center appointed Jacques de Werra, Christian Gassauer-Fleissner and David H. Bernstein as panelists in this matter on September 20, 2007. The Panel finds that it was properly constituted. Each member of 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 email of July 23, 2007, Network Solutions, LLC informed the Center that the language of the registration agreement relating to the Disputed Domain Name was English. By an email of August 6, 2007 to the Parties, the Center informed them that the Center accepted the Complaint which was filed in the French language, that it also accepted the Response in the English language, and that the Panel shall decide on the issue of the language of the proceedings. On this basis, the Panel decides pursuant to paragraph 11 of the Rules that the language of the proceedings shall be English which is the language of the registration agreement relating to the Disputed Domain Name, even though the Complaint was filed in French and the exhibits attached to the Complaint are also in French. The Panel did not consider it necessary to request an English translation of these documents given that it understood them in their original language.

4. Factual Background

   The Complainant is a French company which is in the business of manufacturing and selling heating and air conditioning systems. The corporate name of the Complainant contains the term "atlantic" since 1987 (i.e. "ATLANTIC SociÈtÈ franÁaise de dÈveloppement thermique").

   The Complainant is the owner of the following trademarks (hereafter: the "Trademarks"):

   - French word trademark ATLANTIC, number 1656415 filed on October 12, 1957, and periodically renewed since then covering various goods in classes 6, 7, 9, 11, 19, 20 and 21;

   - International word trademark ATLANTIC, number 634551, registered on March 29, 1995 for various goods in classes 6, 11 and 19 and covering several countries (including Australia, Benelux, China, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom).

   The Disputed Domain Name was registered by the Respondent on January 22, 1993. Based on the evidence provided by the Respondent as well as on publicly available sources consulted by the Panel1, including the "wayback machine"2, it appears that the Disputed Domain Name was used by the Respondent as the website of the Respondent's company which provided information technology services (most specifically IT security services) and was called "Atlantic Computing Technology Corporation".

   Based on evidence filed by the Parties and on independent research conducted by the Panel, it appears that the Disputed Domain Name was more recently used by the Respondent in order to refer to a category of sailboats (the Atlantic class sailboats) one of which Respondent claimed is owned and actively used by him. Respondent states that a picture of the Atlantic sailboat that is owned by him can be seen on the homepage of the Disputed Domain Name.

   Based on the exhibits filed by both the Complainant and the Respondent (i.e...