WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center

ADMINISTRATIVE PANEL DECISION

Alstom v. Perfect Privacy, LLC / Risk Management

Case No. D2020-0049

1. The Parties

The Complainant is Alstom, France, represented by Lynde & Associes, France.

The Respondent is Perfect Privacy, LLC, United States of America / Risk Management, Canada.

2. The Domain Name and Registrar

The disputed domain name <alstomgroup-corp.com> (“Disputed Domain Name”) is registered with Register.com (the “Registrar”).

3. Procedural History

The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) on January 10, 2020. On January 13, 2020, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrar a request for registrar verification in connection with the Disputed Domain Name. On January 15, 2020, 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 January 16, 2020 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 amendment to Complaint on January 20, 2020.

The Center verified that the Complaint together with the amendment to 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 21, 2020. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5, the due date for Response was February 10, 2020. The Respondent did not submit any response. Accordingly, the Center notified the Respondent’s default on February 20, 2020.

The Center appointed Pablo A. Palazzi as the sole panelist in this matter on March 6, 2020. 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 French company founded in 1928. The Complainant is global leader of power generation, power transmission and rail infrastructure. The Complainant has 36,000 employees in more than 60 countries.

In addition, the Complainant has important activities in Canada, where the Respondent indicates having its address. In this sense, the Complainant has been present in Canada for more than 80 years. The Complainant most recent project in Canada is based in Ottawa.

The Complainant owns numerous trademark registrations worldwide including, among others:

- European Union trademark (“EUTM”) No. 000948729 for ALSTOM, registered on August 8, 2001;
- United States (“US”) Trademark registration No. 4570546 for ALSTOM, registered on July 22, 2014; and
- US Trademark registration No. 4236514 for ALTOM (& Design), registered on November 6, 2012.

Furthermore, the Complainant owns numerous domain names incorporating the ALSTOM trademark including <alstom.com> registered since January 20 1998; and <alstomgroup.com> registered on November 14, 2000.

The Respondent registered the Disputed Domain Name <alstomgroup-corp.com> on December 6, 2018. At first, the Disputed Domain Name led to a page advising that the website was inaccessible. However, at present, the Disputed Domain Name redirects to a parking page showing multiple tabs and links related to company organization and recruitment.

5. Parties’ Contentions

A. Complainant

The Complainant’s contentions can be summarized as follows:

Identical or confusingly similar

The Complainant contends that the Disputed Domain Name <alstomgroup-corp.com> is confusingly similar to the Complainant’s ALSTOM trademark, since the Disputed Domain Name uses the combination of the element ALSTOM and the elements “group” and “corp”, these abbreviations refers to a group of corporations.

Accordingly, Internet users will directly recognize the Complainant trademark and trade name within the Disputed Domain Name and will believe that the Disputed Domain Name belongs to the Complainant.

In addition, the Disputed Domain Name only differs by the addition of the term “corp” from the <alstomgroup.com>, domain name owned by the Complainant.

Rights or legitimate interests

The Complainant states that the Respondent is not affiliated in any way to ALSTOM. In addition, the Complainant has not authorized, licensed or permitted the Respondent to register or use a domain name incorporating the Complainant trademark.

Furthermore, the Complainant claims that the Respondent has not applied for or obtained any trademark registration related to the sign ALSTOM. Moreover, the Respondent is not commonly known under the Disputed Domain Name.

Registration and use in bad faith

The Complainant alleges that the Disputed Domain Name incorporates in its entirety the Complainant’s trademark and was registered long after the Complainant trademark became well known.

In addition, the Complainant claims that the Respondent renewed the Disputed Domain Name, despite the claims and attempted contact from the Complainant. Moreover, this renewal came after leaving the URL “www.alstomgroup-corp.com” to redirect to an inaccessible web page for a year, to only redirect the URL to a parking page.

Furthermore, the Respondent attempts by any means to conceal its identity, and appears to have taken significant measures not to be traced.

Finally, the Complainant claims that the Respondent name and email address are associated with more than a hundred domain names.

Consequently, the Respondent registered the Disputed Domain Name to take unfair advantage of the Complainant’s trademark.

B. Respondent

The Respondent did not reply to the Complainant’s contentions.

6. Discussion and Findings

Paragraph 4(a) of the Policy lists the three elements, which the Complainant must satisfy with respect to the Disputed Domain Name at issue in this case:

(i) The Disputed Domain Name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which Complainant has rights;

(ii) The Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the Disputed Domain Name; and

(iii) The Disputed Domain Name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.

A. Identical or Confusingly Similar

Based on the evidence submitted, the Panel finds that the Disputed Domain Name <alstomgroup-corp.com> is confusingly similar to the Complaint’s trademark ALSTOM. The Disputed Domain Name wholly incorporates the Complainant’s trademark and is clearly recognizable in it.

Furthermore, the Disputed Domain Name contains the Complainant’s ALSTOM trademark in its entirety; the addition of the terms “group” and “corp” after the Complainant trademark does not change this finding of confusing similarity.

Therefore, the Panel finds that the Complainant has satisfied the first requirement of paragraph 4(a) of the Policy.

B. Rights or Legitimate Interests

Paragraph 4(c) of the Policy provides a list of circumstances any of which is sufficient to demonstrate that the Respondent has rights or legitimate interests in the Disputed Domain Name:

(i) before any notice to you of the dispute, your use of, or demonstrable preparations to use, the domain name or a name corresponding to the domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services; or

(ii) you (as an individual, business, or other organization) have been commonly known by the domain name, even if you have acquired no trademark or service mark rights; or

(iii) you are making a legitimate noncommercial or fair use of the domain name, without intent for commercial gain to misleadingly divert consumers or to tarnish the trademark or service at issue.

There is no evidence of the existence of any of those rights or legitimate interests. The Complainant has not authorized, licensed, or permitted the Respondent to register or use the Disputed Domain Name or to use the trademark in the Disputed Domain Name. The Complainant has prior rights in the trademark, which precede the Respondent’s registration of the Disputed Domain Name. In addition, the Respondent is not known by the Disputed Domain Name.

The Respondent has failed to show that it has acquired any rights with respect to the Disputed Domain Name.

Moreover, the Respondent had the opportunity to demonstrate its rights or legitimate interests, but it did not reply to the Complainant’s contentions.

As such, the Panel finds that the Complainant has satisfied the second requirement of paragraph 4(a) of the Policy.

C. Registered and Used in Bad Faith

Paragraph 4(a)(iii) of the Policy provides that the Complainant must establish that the Respondent registered and subsequently used the Disputed Domain Name in bad faith.

The Disputed Domain Name was registered on December 6, 2018, while the Complainant EUTM ALSTOM Trademark No. 000948729 was registered on August 8, 2001.

The Complainant’s trademarks are well known as it has been recognized by previous UDRP decisions under the Policy (See, Alstom S.A. v. Name Redacted, WIPO Case No. D2019-2544 and ALSTOM v. Daniel Bailey (Registrant I D: tuuROSvPJbZdd2XO), WIPO Case No. D2010-1150).

Therefore, the Panel concludes that the Respondent was aware of the Complainant’s rights when it registered the Disputed Domain Name.

Furthermore, the Complainant has not licensed or otherwise permitted the Respondent to use any of its trademarks or to register the Disputed Domain Name incorporating its ALSTOM trademark.

In addition, the Respondent has taken active steps to conceal its true identity through a privacy service. The Panel is of the view that this particular conduct evidences the Respondent bad faith.

The circumstances in the case before this Panel indicate that the Respondent was aware of the Complainant’s trademark when registering the Disputed Domain Name and it has intentionally created a likelihood of confusion with the Complainant’s ALSTOM trademark in order to attract Internet users for its own commercial gain and/or to disrupt the Complainant’s business.

Therefore, taking all circumstances into account and for all above reasons, this Panel concludes that the Respondent has registered and using the Disputed Domain Name in bad faith.

7. Decision

For the foregoing reasons, in accordance with paragraphs 4(i) of the Policy and 15 of the Rules, the Panel orders that the disputed domain name <alstomgroup-corp.com> be transferred to the Complainant.

Pablo A. Palazzi
Sole Panelist
Date: March 20, 2020