Decisión del Panel Administrativo nº D2014-0344 of WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, May 26, 2014 (case Genting Berhad v. DomainsByProxy.com / Hans Kam, Nature Malaysia)
| Resolution Date | May 26, 2014 |
| Issuing Organization | WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center |
| Decision | Complaint denied |
| Dominio | Generic Domains |
The Complainant is Genting Berhad of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, represented by Naqiz & Partners, Malaysia.
The Respondent is DomainsByProxy.com / Hans Kam of Scottsdale, Arizona, United States of America / Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The disputed domain name [gentinghighlands.info] is registered with GoDaddy.com, LLC (the “Registrar”).
The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) on March 6, 2014. On March 6, 2014, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrar a request for registrar verification in connection with the disputed domain name. On the same date, the Registrar transmitted by email to the Center its verification response disclosing registrant and contact information for the disputed domain name which differed from the named Respondent and contact information in the Complaint. The Center sent an email communication to the Complainant on March 11, 2014, 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 March 14, 2014.
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(a) and 4(a), the Center formally notified the Respondent of the Complaint, and the proceedings commenced on April 7, 2014. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5(a), the due date for Response was April 27, 2014. The Response was filed with the Center on April 15, 2014.
The Center appointed Susanna H.S. Leong as the sole panelist in this matter on May 12, 2014. 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 is the investment holding and management company of the Genting Group of Companies. The Complainant is a listed company in Malaysia and its core business is in leisure, hospitality and the casino operations.
The Complainant operates its leisure, hospitality and casino business under the GENTING trademark and it owns the Resorts World Genting (formerly known as Genting Highlands Resort) which is an integrated leisure and entertainment resort in Asia.
The Complainant is the owner of the GENTING trademark (as early as 2001) and has secured registrations of variations of this mark (including device marks) in Malaysia and in other foreign jurisdictions. Some of the trademark registrations and applications are standing in the name of Genting International Management Limited, an indirect subsidiary.
The Complainant also operates a website located at “http://www.genting.com/” that being the corporate website for the Genting Group as well as “http://www.rwgenting.com” being the website related to the Complainant’s resorts which commands heavy internet traffic. The Complainant has also registered numerous other domain names comprising of the trademark GENTING including “www.genting.com”. Aside from these domain names, the Complainant is an affiliate of Genting Hong Kong Limited who owns a number of domain names comprising of the trademark GENTING.
The Respondent operates a website located at “www.gentinghighlands.info” which brings the web users to page consisting of information regarding Genting Highlands Malaysia including the hotels available at the resort. The website is an information portal providing travel tips and planning advice for visiting Genting Highlands which is one of the many tourist destinations in Malaysia and is part of a collection of such websites comprising “www.visitmalaysia.info”.
The disputed domain name is created on July 23, 2009.
The Complainant contends that the disputed domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the Complainant has rights on the following grounds:
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It comprises the Complainant’s trademark GENTING in its entirety followed by the descriptive word “highlands”.
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The mere addition of the descriptive term “highlands” to the Complainant’s GENTING trademark, does not alter the overall impression of the domain name as one connected to the Complainant.
The Complainant contends that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name on the following grounds:
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The Respondent has no connection with the Complainant whatsoever. In particular, the Respondent has not been licensed or authorized by the Complainant to use the disputed domain name. Furthermore the domain name is not similar or in any way connected with the name under which the Respondent holds the domain name registrations. It does not appear that the Respondent has at any time been commonly known by the disputed domain name. Furthermore, the Complainant is not aware of any trademarks in which the Respondent may have rights that are identical or similar to the disputed domain name.
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The Respondent is not making a legitimate noncommercial or fair use of the disputed domain name.
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The Respondent is intentionally engaging in conduct which is misleading to consumers by diverting Internet traffic away from the Complainant’s website at “www.genting.com” and “www.rwgeting.com”. It is submitted that the Respondent is attempting to obtain commercial gain, whether directly or indirectly, by luring the Complainant’s customers to the Respondent’s own website by exploiting the Complainant’s trademark in conjunction with the word “highlands” which is synonymous with...
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