Decisión del Panel Administrativo nº DRO2019-0001 of WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, March 06, 2019 (case Facebook Inc. v. Bogdan Surdu and Arcanite Media Ltd.)
| Resolution Date | March 06, 2019 |
| Issuing Organization | WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center |
| Decision | Transfer |
| Dominio | Rumanía (.ro) |
The Complainant is Facebook Inc. of Menlo Park, California, United States of America (“US”), represented by Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP, France.
The Respondent is Bogdan Surdu of Bucharest, Romania and Arcanite Media Ltd. of Belize City, Belize, self-represented.
The disputed domain name [facebook.ro] is registered with RoTLD (the “Registrar”).
The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) on January 15, 2019. On January 15, 2019, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrar a request for registrar verification in connection with the disputed domain name. On January 16, 2019, the Registrar transmitted by email to the Center its verification response disclosing registrant and contact information for the disputed domain name. The Center sent an email communication to the Complainant on January 16, 2019 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 22, 2019.
On January 16, 2019, the Center sent a communication in both Romanian and English to the Parties regarding the language of the proceeding. On the same day, the Complainant submitted a request for English to be the language of proceeding. The Respondent did not comment on the language of the proceeding by the specified due date.
On January 17, 2019, the Center received an email communication from the Respondent informing the Center it registered the disputed domain name on behalf of a third party. The Center received two email communications from said third party on January 24, 2019 and another one on February 15, 2019.
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 25, 2019. On the same date, the Center received an additional filing from the Complainant. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5, the due date for Response was February 14, 2019. The Respondent did not submit any formal response. Accordingly, the Center notified the Parties on February 15, 2019 it will proceed to panel appointment.
The Center appointed Mihaela Maravela as the sole panelist in this matter on February 20, 2019. 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.
According to the Rules, paragraph 11(a) and (b), based on the circumstances of this case, the Panel finds that the language of the proceeding should be English for the following reasons:
- the Complainant requested English to be the language of the administrative proceedings arguing, inter alia, that it does not understand Romanian, the disputed domain name consists of the English term “facebook” and it would be disproportionate to require the Complainant not to submit the Complaint in English as this would result in additional expense and unnecessary delay for the Complainant for translation;
- the Center sent all the communications in both languages, Romanian and English;
- the Respondent did not object to English being the language of the proceedings, and transmitted an email to the Center in English; also, the third party referred to above, Arcanite Media Ltd., transmitted three emails to the Center in English;
- the Registration agreement for “.ro” domain names is available both in Romanian and English and there is no provision for a domain name applicant to choose between English or Romanian as the controlling language of the registration agreement;
- the correspondence between the Registrar and the Respondent Bogdan Surdu when registering the disputed domain name on October 4, 2018 as well as the subsequent correspondence of the same day from the Respondent Bogdan Surdu to Arcanite Media Ltd. for delivery of the transfer key for the disputed domain name was carried in English;
- the Respondent Bogdan Surdu was involved in prior alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) proceedings involving an “.eu” domain name carried in English; also, Arcanite Media Ltd. was involved in prior UDRP proceedings, one of which was carried also in English; and
- it should also be noted that the spirit of paragraph 11 of the Rules is to ensure fairness in the selection of language by giving full consideration to the Parties’ level of comfort with each language. In the present case, although the Registration Agreement for the disputed domain name is in Romanian, the Complainant is not able to communicate in Romanian, while both the Respondent Bogdan Surdu and Arcanite Media Ltd. seem to understand English, as mentioned above.
The Complainant contends that it is the world’s leading provider of online social networking services. Founded in 2004, Facebook allows Internet users to stay connected with friends and family, and to share information mainly via its website...
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