Decisión del Panel Administrativo nº D2021-3559 of WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, December 30, 2021 (case Bybit Fintech Limited v. Liqian (李黔))
Resolution Date | December 30, 2021 |
Issuing Organization | WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center |
Decision | Complaint denied |
Dominio | Generic Domains |
The Complainant is Bybit Fintech Limited, Seychelles, represented by Norton Rose Fulbright Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
The Respondent is Liqian (李黔), China.[1 ]
The disputed domain name [bybt.com] is registered with Dynadot, LLC (the “Registrar”).
The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) on October 26, 2021. On the same day, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrar a request for registrar verification in connection with the disputed domain name. On the following day, the Registrar transmitted by email to the Center its verification response disclosing registrant and contact information for the disputed domain name that differed from the named Respondent and contact information in the Complaint. The Center sent an email communication to the Complainant on November 1, 2021, providing the registrant and contact information disclosed by the Registrar, and inviting the Complainant to submit an amendment to the Complaint. The Complainant filed an amendment to the Complaint on November 3, 2021. The Complainant also made a further filing on November 9, 2021, and submitted a correction of that filing on November 10, 2021.
The Center verified that the Complaint together with the amendment to 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 of the Complaint, and the proceedings commenced on November 9, 2021. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5, the due date for Response was November 29, 2021. The Respondent sent email communications to the Center on November 10 and 11, 2021 in which he requested the use of Chinese in this proceeding. On November 15, 2021, the Respondent sent email communications to the Center and the Registrar, respectively, in which he provided an acceptance notice issued by the Intermediate People’s Court of Changsha City of Hunan Province, China, and submitted that the Center was required to reject the Complaint and the Registrar was required to keep the disputed domain name on lock status until it received the Court’s judgement. The Response was filed with the Center on November 28, 2021.
The Center appointed Matthew Kennedy as the sole panelist in this matter on December 16, 2021. 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 was established in March 2018 and operates a cryptocurrency exchange. At the time of filing the Complaint, its website claimed that it had more than two million registered users. It also offers a mobile application or app known as “Bybit”. On June 24, 2021, the Complainant filed Hong Kong, China trademark applications numbers 305667229, 305667238, and 305667247 for two BYBIT logos and a BYBIT wordmark, respectively, each specifying goods and services in classes 9, 35, 36, 41, and 42. Those trademark applications were published for acceptance for registration on August 13, 2021, prior to the filing of the Complaint. They were not registered until November 30, 2021, after the filing of the Complaint, the Complainant’s further filing, and the Response.[2 ] The Complainant has also registered the domain name [bybit.com] that it uses in connection with a website where it provides information about itself and its cryptocurrency exchange.
A company named Shanghai Yun’an Information Technology Co. Ltd. (上海云桉信息科技有限公司) owns Chinese trademark registrations numbers 38353102, 38368695, 38377138, 38362398, 38362408, and 38370273, all for BYBIT, and each specifying services in class 35 or 36. These trademarks were registered between January 14, 2020 and February 7, 2020.
The disputed domain name was created on June 19, 2004. The Registrar indicated in its Verification Response that the Respondent transferred the disputed domain name into its system on January 7, 2020, and the Registrar did not know if the Respondent was the registrant of the disputed domain name prior to that date.
The Respondent operates a cryptocurrency futures trading and information platform that was known as “Bybt” at the time when the Complaint was filed. The platform operates via the website associated with the disputed domain name and an app. According to web analytics provided by the Respondent, Alexa ranked the website 7,611th in global Internet traffic and engagement in a 90 day period, while Similarweb has calculated a total of 3.45 million visitors to the website. The website presents data for different cryptocurrency exchanges, including the Complainant’s exchange, each of which is indicated by its respective logo. Internet users who click on the Complainant’s BYBIT logo are shown a page on the website displaying charts regarding the Complainant’s cryptocurrency futures data. The website displays banner advertisements for different cryptocurrency exchanges, including the Complainant’s, which promote special offers and link to the websites of the relevant exchanges. At the time of this Decision, the disputed domain name now redirects to [coinglass.com], which resolves to the same website, now rebranded as “coinglass”. The Respondent’s app has now also been rebranded as “coinglass”.
According to evidence provided by the Respondent, the Complainant’s business development manager contacted the Respondent on November 27, 2020 via email proposing cooperation, according to which the Respondent would bring in traders to the Complainant’s exchange in return for a profit share and customer support. The evidence shows that on March 8, 2021, the Complainant sent a copy of one of its BYBIT logos to the Respondent, asking the Respondent to try it, evidently in a banner advertisement, and...
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