Decisión del Panel Administrativo nº D2019-1833 of WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, October 15, 2019 (case IMVU, Inc. v. Linda Lysippe)
| Resolution Date | October 15, 2019 |
| Issuing Organization | WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center |
| Decision | Transfer |
| Dominio | Generic Domains |
The Complainant is IMVU, Inc., United States of America (“United States”), represented by CSC Digital Brand Services AB, Sweden.
The Respondent is Linda Lysippe, United States, self-represented.
The disputed domain names [fuckimvu.com] and [imvufuck.com] are registered with CloudFlare, Inc. The disputed domain name [imvusex.com] is registered with Google LLC. The disputed domain names are referred to in this Decision as the “Domain Names”, and the registrars are referred to as the “Registrars”.
The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) on July 31, 2019 regarding the Domain Names [fuckimvu.com], [imvufuck.com], and [imvusex.com], and also regarding the domain names [imvu.info] and [imvustaff.com], which were registered with the registrar GoDaddy.com, LLC. On July 31, 2019, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrars and to GoDaddy.com, LLC a request for registrar verification in connection with all five disputed domain names. On August 1, 2019, the Registrar Google LLC transmitted by email to the Center its verification response confirming that the Respondent is listed as the registrant and providing the contact details for the Domain Name [imvusex.com]. On August 1, 2019, GoDaddy.com, LLC informed the Center that [imvu.info] and [imvustaff.com] were repossessed by GoDaddy.com, LLC from their former holder Mr. Miller, and that they were willing to transfer those domain names to the Complainant. On August 1, 2019, the Complainant communicated to the Center concerning those domain names. On August 5, 2019, the Registrar CloudFlare, Inc. transmitted by email to the Center its verification response confirming that the Respondent is listed as the registrant and providing the contact details for the Domain Names [fuckimvu.com] and [imvufuck.com].
On August 7, the Complainant requested the suspension of the proceedings to explore settlement. The Center granted this request, and the proceedings were suspended until September 1, 2019. On August 8, 2019 and August 11, 2019, the Respondent sent informal email communications to the Center requesting that it “cancel” the proceedings because they are based on a “false complaint”. On August 13, 2019, the Complainant sent the completed settlement form signed by the Complainant and GoDaddy.com, LLC regarding the domain names [imvu.info] and [imvustaff.com]. On August 13, 2019 and August 15, 2019, the Center received informal email communications from the Respondent (along the same lines as her earlier communications) and from a third party, Mr. Linn, claiming to be the rightful owner of the domain names [imvu.info] and [imvustaff.com]. The Center replied that those domain names were already repossessed by the registrar, and on August 16, 2019, the Center issued the Notice of Settlement regarding the domain names [imvu.info] and [imvustaff.com]. From August 16, 2019 to August 28, 2019, the Center received several additional email communications from the Respondent and Mr. Linn objecting to the conduct of the Complainant, its representative, and the Center, and demanding dismissal of the Complaint.
The Complainant requested the reinstitution of the proceedings with respect to the Domain Names and filed an amended Complaint on August 23, 2019. The Center notified the dismissal regarding the domain names [imvu.info] and [imvustaff.com] and the reinstitution of the proceedings regarding the Domain Names on August 26, 2019. In response to a notification by the Center that the Complaint was administratively deficient, the Complainant filed the second amended Complaint on August 28, 2019.
The Center verified that the Complaint together with the amended Complaints 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 August 29, 2019. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5, the due date for Response was September 18, 2019. The Respondent sent email communications to the Center on August 29, 2019, August 30, 2019, September 6, 2019, September 17, 2019, and September 18, 2019. The Response was filed with the Center on September 16, 2019.
The Center appointed W. Scott Blackmer as the sole panelist in this matter on October 8, 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.
On October 8, 2019, the Complainant’s representative sent the Center an email announcing that the Complainant had decided to “withdraw the case”. The Panel issued Procedural Order No. 1 on October 9, 2019, asking the Respondent to confirm its agreement or objection to the withdrawal request by October 11, 2019. The Respondent replied by email to the Center on October 9, 2019 that “If they wanna withdraw the case they don’t have the right to complain me again”. This response goes beyond accepting the simple dismissal stated in the Complainant’s message and suggests a settlement of future claims, but there is no evidence that the Parties have reached such an agreement. In any event, the Complainant’s representative sent another, contradictory email to the Center on October 9, 2019, asking the Center to “disregard” the request to “suspend” the proceeding, which was “made in error”. The Respondent sent the Center an email on October 10, 2019 expressing the view that the Complainant was “trying to get an extra time” and calling attention to matters raised earlier in the Response. On October 14, 2019, the Complainant indicated in an email to the Center that the Complainant’s security team had confirmed that the email requesting withdrawal of the Complainant was “spoofed” and came from an unknown party. The Respondent sent additional emails to the Center on October 14, 2019 questioning the Center’s neutrality, which the Center duly forwarded to the Panel as in the case of prior communications.
As there was clearly no “meeting of the minds” with respect to a settlement, and the Complainant evidently did not intend to abandon the Complaint, the Panel issued Procedural Order No. 2 on October 14, 2019 cancelling Procedural Order No. 1 and reinstating the proceeding.
The Complainant is a business corporation organized under the law of the state of Delaware, United States, and headquartered in Redwood City, California, United States. The Complainant describes itself as an “online metaverse and website”, operating a website at “www.imvu.com” since 2004. The website is linked to several mobile apps and social media accounts. According to the Complaint, “IMVU is the world’s largest avatar-based social network”, with more than six million mostly youthful users, 40% from the United States and 60% from other countries, primarily the United Kingdom, France, Canada, and Brazil. Users chat, role-play, and share virtual experiences with each other through their three-dimensional avatars. There is also commercial activity in this “metaverse” of colorful, three-dimensional environments: virtual products are created and sold, and products and events in the real world are advertised. Users can shop the in-game official catalog for avatars, clothing, rooms, furniture, and other items provided by creators, paying with credits earned in-game, purchased for cash, or provided by marketing promotions. Participants are subject to Community Guidelines, and content creators must agree to the Content Agreement and Policy to upload their files to the IMVU Shop.
According to the Complainant’s co-founder, Eric Ries, the Complainant’s name is fanciful. The Complaint cites his words to an audience in 2012: “It’s not an acronym; it doesn’t stand for anything.” The Complainant holds numerous trademark registrations comprising or incorporating “imvu”, including the following:
| MARK | JURISDICTION | REGISTRATION NUMBER | REGISTRATION DATE |
| IMVU (standard characters) | United States | 3323487 | October 30, 2007 |
| IMVU (standard characters) | United States | 3323488 | October 30, 2007 |
| IMVU (standard characters) | United States | 3323489 | October 30, 2007 |
| IMVU (standard characters) | United States | 3384205 | February 19, 2008 |
| IMVU (standard characters) | Canada | TMA722451 | August 27, 2008 |
| IMVU (standard characters) | European Union | 005734124 | March 28, 2008 |
According to the Registrar Google LLC, the Respondent Linda Lysippe registered the Domain Name [imvusex.com] on June 19, 2018, using a postal address in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.
The Domain Names...
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