Decisión del Panel Administrativo nº D2017-1882 of WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, December 05, 2017 (case Equifax Inc. v. Robert Dow, Warpaint Resources LLC)

Resolution DateDecember 05, 2017
Issuing OrganizationWIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center
DecisionTransfer, denied in part
DominioGeneric Domains

WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center

ADMINISTRATIVE PANEL DECISION

Equifax Inc. v. Robert Dow, Warpaint Resources LLC

Case No. D2017-1882

1. The Parties

The Complainant is Equifax Inc. of Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America ("United States" or "US"), represented by The GigaLaw Firm, Douglas M. Isenberg, Attorney at Law, LLC, United States.

The Respondent is Robert Dow, Warpaint Resources LLC of Frisco, Texas, United States, represented by Locke Lord LLP, United States.

2. The Domain Names and Registrars

This proceeding concerns 135 disputed domain names (the "Domain Names"), as follows:

[efxbreach.biz], [efxbreach.club], [efxbreach.co], [efxbreach.info], [efxbreach.life], [efxbreach.me], [efxbreach.mobi], [efxbreach.online], [efxbreach.org], [efxbreach.store], [efxbreach.today], [efxbreach.website], [efxbreach.xyz], [efxhack.attorney], [efxhack.biz], [efxhack.club], [efxhack.co], [efxhack.info], [efxhack.life], [efxhack.me], [efxhack.mobi], [efxhack.online], [efxhack.org], [efxhack.store], [efxhack.tips], [efxhack.website], [efxhack.xyz], [efxlawsuit.attorney], [efxlawsuit.com], [efxlawsuit.info], [efxlawsuit.net], [efxlawsuit.org], [efxsuit.attorney], [efxsuit.info], [efxsuit.online], [efxsuit.org], [equifaxbreach.attorney], [equifaxbreach.club], [equifaxbreach.co], [equifaxbreach.email], [equifaxbreach.guru], [equifaxbreach.info], [equifaxbreach.me], [equifaxbreach.mobi], [equifaxbreach.net], [equifaxbreach.online], [equifaxbreach.org], [equifaxbreach.solutions], [equifaxbreach.store], [equifaxbreach.today], [equifaxbreach.website], [equifaxbreach.xyz], [equifaxfuckedme.com], [equifaxhack.attorney], [equifaxhack.biz], [equifaxhack.club], [equifaxhack.co], [equifaxhacked.attorney], [equifaxhacked.me], [equifaxhackedme.biz], [equifaxhackedme.club], [equifaxhackedme.co], [equifaxhackedme.com], [equifaxhackedme.email], [equifaxhackedme.info], [equifaxhackedme.me], [equifaxhackedme.mobi], [equifaxhackedme.net], [equifaxhackedme.online], [equifaxhackedme.org], [equifaxhackedme.solutions], [equifaxhackedme.store], [equifaxhackedme.today], [equifaxhackedme.website], [equifaxhackedme.xyz], [equifaxhackedus.com], [equifaxhackeduse.com], [equifaxhackedyou.com], [equifaxhack.email], [equifaxhack.info], [equifaxhack.me], [equifaxhack.mobi], [equifaxhack.online], [equifaxhack.org], [equifaxhack.solutions], [equifaxhack.store], [equifaxhack.tips], [equifaxhack.today], [equifaxhack.website], [equifaxhack.xyz], [equifaxlawsuit.info], [equifaxlawsuit.me], [equifaxlawsuit.net], [equifaxlawsuit.online], [equifaxsuit.info], [equifaxsuit.me], [equifaxsuit.net], [equifaxsuit.online], [equifaxsuit.org], [equifaxsuit.xyz], [equihacks.attorney], [equihacks.biz], [equihacks.club], [equihacks.co], [equihacks.guru], [equihacks.info], [equihacks.life], [equihacks.me], [equihacks.mobi], [equihacks.net], [equihacks.online], [equihacks.org], [equihacks.store], [equihacks.today], [equihacks.vip], [equihacks.website], [equihacks.xyz], [equihax.attorney], [equihax.biz], [equihax.club], [equihax.co], [equihax.company], [equihax.info],[equihax.life], [equihax.me], [equihax.mobi], [equihax.online], [equihax.org], [equihax.rocks], [equihax.solutions], [equihax.store], [equihax.today], [equihax.website], [equihax.work], and [equihax.xyz].

All of the Domain Names are registered with GoDaddy.com, LLC (the "Registrar").

3. Procedural History

The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the "Center") on September 26, 2017. On September 27, 2017, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrar a request for registrar verification in connection with the Domain Names. On September 28, 2017, 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.

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 of the Complaint, and the proceedings commenced on October 4, 2017. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5, the due date for the Response was October 24, 2017. The Response was filed with the Center on October 24, 2017.

The Complainant submitted a Supplemental Filing on October 26, 2017, to which the Respondent objected and replied on October 31, 2017. The Center received an additional email communication from the Complainant on November 7, 2017.

The Center appointed W. Scott Blackmer as the sole panelist in this matter on November 8, 2017. 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 business corporation organized under the laws of the State of Georgia, United States, and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1899 as Retail Credit Company, the Complainant changed its name to Equifax in 1975 and is one of the "big three" US credit reporting agencies, with large subsidiaries in Canada, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ("United Kingdom"), and Brazil. In addition to consumer and business credit information services, the Complainant offers a range of information database management, marketing information, decision-making and analytical tools, and identity verification services, as well as fraud detection and prevention services and personal financial management offerings. The Complainant is listed on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") and reports annual revenues in excess of USD 3 billion. The Complainant operates a principal website at "www.equifax.com".

The Complainant holds numerous trademark registrations in the US and other countries consisting of, or incorporating, EQUIFAX or the abbreviation EFX (which is also the Complainant's stock market "ticker" symbol on the NYSE). These include the following US standard-character trademark registrations:

TRADEMARK REGISTRATION NUMBER REGISTRATION DATE
EQUIFAX 1027544 December 16, 1975
EQUIFAX 1045574 August 3, 1976
EQUIFAX 1644585 May 14, 1991
EFX 3990312 July 5, 2011
EFX ID 3906451 January 18, 2011

On September 7, 2017, the Complainant announced a cybersecurity incident compromising consumer information in its databases and "potentially impacting approximately 143 million U.S. consumers", as well as hundreds of thousands of consumers in Canada and the United Kingdom. According to the announcement, a criminal attack on the Complainant's systems, over a period of months, extracted names, Social Security Numbers, birthdates, addresses, and in some cases driver's license numbers and credit card numbers. The Complainant's press release pointed to a dedicated website with information about the incident and the Complainant's offer of credit file monitoring and identity theft protection at "www.equifaxsecurity2017.com". The announcement of this security breach instantly attracted intense media attention in the US and abroad because of its scale and sensitivity.

The Respondent, a Texas limited liability company which, it appears, is normally engaged in the "acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and gas assets in the United States", registered the 135 Domain Names on September 8, 2017, the day after the Complainant announced the massive security breach. At the time of this Decision, however, none of the Domain Names is associated with a developed website relating to the security incident.

Many of the Domain Names resolve to a standard landing page generated by the Registrar, which is headed with the words, "Welcome to", followed by the Domain Name in question and the statement, "This Web page is parked for FREE, courtesy of GoDaddy.com." The landing page features advertising for the Registrar's domain registration services and includes a link inviting the owner of the Domain Name to purchase services to develop an associated website, as well as a link for those who might be interested in purchasing the Domain Name itself. In addition, the landing page displays pay-per-click ("PPC") "Related Links" to third-party advertisers, which the search software used by the Registrar has determined to be potentially relevant to the Domain Name. In the case of the Domain Names in this proceeding, the "Related Links" generated by the Registrar's ad servers include advertisers under such topics as "Data Breach", "Computer Security", "Legal", and "Privacy". Some of these advertisers are the Complainant's competitors. From a perusal of the Registrar's website, it appears that this form of "free parking" generates revenue for the Registrar but not for a domain name owner, who must pay to subscribe to a PPC program in order to share revenues with the Registrar.

The other Domain Names show slightly more attention by the Respondent to date, in that they are not parked by default to the Registrar's PPC landing page but rather to a landing page that must be selected by the Respondent. This landing page contains no advertising but merely the message, "website coming soon! Please check back soon to see if the site is available."

5. Parties' Contentions

A. Complainant

The Complainant asserts that the Domain Names are confusingly similar to its registered EQUIFAX and EFX trademarks and that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the Domain Names. The Complainant argues that the Respondent does not have permission to use the Complainant's marks, is not known by a name corresponding to any of the Domain Names, and has not shown demonstrable preparations to...

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