Decisión del Panel Administrativo nº D2020-3503 of WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, March 03, 2021 (case Bytedance Ltd. v. Whois Agent (389631871), Whois Privacy Protection Service, Inc. / Victor Hugo)

• Resolution Date: March 03, 2021
• Issuing Organization: WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center
• Decision: Transfer
• Dominio: Generic Domains

WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center

ADMINISTRATIVE PANEL DECISION

Bytedance Ltd. v. Whois Agent (389631871), Whois Privacy Protection Service, Inc. / Victor Hugo

Case No. D2020-3503

1. The Parties

The Complainant is Bytedance Ltd., Cayman Islands, United Kingdom, represented by CSC Digital Brand Services Group AB, Sweden.

The Respondent is Whois Agent (389631871), Whois Privacy Protection Service, Inc., United States of America (“United States”) / Victor Hugo, Dominica.

2. The Domain Name and Registrar

The disputed domain name [freetiktok.com] (the “Domain Name”) is registered with eNom, LLC (the “Registrar”).

3. Procedural History

The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) on December 23, 2020. On December 23, 2020, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrar a request for registrar verification in connection with the Domain Name. On December 23, 2020, the Registrar transmitted by email to the Center its verification response disclosing registrant and contact information for the Domain Name, which differed from the named Respondent and contact information in the Complaint. The Center sent an email communication to the Complainant on January 5, 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 amended Complaint on January 6, 2021.

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 the Respondent of the Complaint, and the proceedings commenced on January 19, 2021. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5, the due date for Response was February 8, 2021. The Respondent did not submit any response. Accordingly, the Center notified the Respondent’s default on February 15, 2021.

The Center appointed Nicholas Smith as the sole panelist in this matter on February 23, 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.

4. Factual Background

The Complainant is a company located in the Cayman Islands that owns a series of content platforms on the Internet that enable users to share content. One of the Complainant’s most popular platforms is TikTok, which allows users to create and share short-form mobile video. The Complainant’s TikTok app has more than 500 million downloads and the Complainant’s website at “www.tiktok.com” had close to 500 million viewers in the 6-month period between April and September 2020.

The Complainant is the owner of numerous trade mark registrations of the word mark TIKTOK[ ] (the “TIKTOK Mark”) including registrations in the United States (registration number 5653614, registered on January 15, 2019, with a...