WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center

ADMINISTRATIVE PANEL DECISION

Singapore Pools (Private) Limited v. Ben John, OSG

Case No. D2016-1996

1. The Parties

Complainant is Singapore Pools (Private) Limited of Singapore, Singapore, represented by Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP, Singapore.

Respondent is Ben John, OSG of Malino, Indonesia.

2. The Domain Name and Registrar

The disputed domain name <singaporepools-lottery.com> (the “Disputed Domain Name”) is registered with GoDaddy.com, LLC (the “Registrar”).

3. Procedural History

The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) on October 3, 2016. On October 3, 2016, 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 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 Respondent of the Complaint, and the proceedings commenced on October 12, 2016. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5, the due date for Response was November 1, 2016. Respondent did not submit any response. Accordingly, the Center notified Respondent’s default on November 2, 2016.

The Center appointed Douglas M. Isenberg as the sole panelist in this matter on November 21, 2016. 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

Complainant states that it “was established in 1968 under it present corporate name and is the only gaming operator that is legally allowed to offer lotteries and sports betting in Singapore.” Complainant further states that it “operates its official website at <http://www.singaporepools.com.sg> ... which was created on March 12, 1998” and “allows customers to obtain information about the products and services offered by the Complainant and also the latest lotteries and sports betting results.”

Complainant states, and provides evidence to support, that it is the owner of a number of trademark registrations in Singapore that include the text “Singapore Pools,” including Reg. Nos. T9308803Z (registered November 10, 1993); T9308804H (registered November 10, 1993); T9609016G (registered August 24, 1996); and T9609017E (registered August 24, 1996). These registrations are referred to hereafter as the “SINGAPORE POOLS Trademark”.

The Disputed Domain Name was created on October 15, 2015, and is being used in connection with a website that displays what Complainant describes as “a table titled ‘Singapore Pools Lottery’ which contains a list of dates” and “runs for 19 pages (as of the date of this Complaint) and the table as a whole appears to be devoid of any meaning or useful purpose.”

Complainant states, and provides evidence to support, that it sent a demand letter to Respondent on August 28, 2016, but that it “has not received any response from the Respondent as of the date of the submission of this Complaint.”

5. Parties’ Contentions

A. Complainant

Complaint contends, in relevant part, as follows:

- The Disputed Domain Name is confusingly similar to the SINGAPORE POOLS Trademark because, inter alia, “it is clear that the words ‘SINGAPORE POOLS’ are wholly incorporated within the [D]isputed Domain Name” and “the generic word ‘lottery’ in this case is unable to distinguish between the [Disputed] Domain Name and the Complainant’s [SINGAPORE POOLS Trademark].”

- The Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the Disputed Domain Name because, inter alia, “there is no relation between the Complainant and Respondent here”; and “there is no evidence of the Respondent’s use of or demonstrable preparations to use the [Disputed] Domain Name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods and/or services” because the content on Respondent’s website using the Disputed Domain Name “appears to be devoid of any meaning or useful purpose.”

- The Disputed Domain Name was registered and is being used in bad faith because, inter alia, Respondent “registered the Domain Name using false contact details” because “[a] search on Google Maps shows that the address [for Respondent] does not exist” and “Respondent’s alleged telephone number, when dialed, is answered by the message: ‘The number you have dialed is incorrect. Please try again or call the operator for assistance’”; Respondent “had cyber-squatted on, and had registered and used in bad faith, another domain name <SGPOOLS.NET> that was confusingly similar to” the SINGAPORE POOLS Trademark, which Complainant won in Singapore Pools (Private) Limited v. Registration Private, Domains By Proxy, LLC / Ben John, OSG, WIPO Case No. D2016-0291; “there is no actual or contemplated good faith use by the Respondent of the [Disputed] Domain Name”; Respondent failed to respond to Complainant’s demand letter; and “Respondent’s use of the [Disputed] Domain Name amounts to passing off [and] infringement of” the SINGAPORE POOLS Trademark.

B. Respondent

Respondent did not reply to Complainant’s contentions.

6. Discussion and Findings

Pursuant to the Policy, Complainant is required to prove the presence of each of the following three elements to obtain the relief it has requested: (i) the Disputed Domain Name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which Complainant has rights; (ii) 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. Policy, paragraph 4(a).

A. Identical or Confusingly Similar

Based upon the trademark registrations cited by Complainant, it is apparent that Complainant has rights in and to the SINGAPORE POOLS Trademark.

As to whether the Disputed Domain Name is identical or confusingly similar to the SINGAPORE POOLS Trademark, the relevant comparison to be made is with the second-level portion of this domain name only (i.e., “singaporepools-lottery”), as it is well established that the Top-Level Domain (i.e., “.com”) may generally be disregarded for this purpose. See the WIPO Overview of WIPO Panel Views on Selected UDRP Questions, Second Edition (“WIPO Overview 2.0”), paragraph 1.2 (“[t]he applicable top-level suffix in the domain name (e.g., ‘.com’) would usually be disregarded under the confusing similarity test (as it is a technical requirement of registration), except in certain cases where the applicable top-level suffix may itself form part of the relevant trademark”).

The Disputed Domain Name contains the textual element of the SINGAPORE POOLS Trademark. The Panel agrees with the decisions cited by Complainant, EFG Bank European Financial Group SA v. Jacob Foundation, WIPO Case No. D2000-0036 (finding confusing similarity where “[o]nly the graphic elements of [complainant’s] trademark (triangular device and special font), which anyway cannot be reproduced in a domain name, were left out [of the disputed domain name]”); and Sweeps Vacuum & Repair Center, Inc. v. Nett Corp., WIPO Case No. D2001-0031 (finding identicality where “graphic elements… not being reproducible in a domain name, need not be considered when assessing identity or confusing similarity”).

Further, inclusion of the word “lottery” in the Disputed Domain Name is “totally applicable to the field in which the Complainant … has played such a prominent role” – and, the addition of this word is “calculated to increase” the confusing similarity. Bentley Motors Limited v. Adeeb Khaleel, WIPO Case No. D2012-2313.

Accordingly, the Panel finds that Complainant has proven the first element of the Policy.

B. Rights or Legitimate Interests

Complainant has argued that Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the Disputed Domain Name because, inter alia, “there is no relation between the Complainant and Respondent here”; and “there is no evidence of the Respondent’s use of or demonstrable preparations to use the [Disputed] Domain Name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods and/or services” because the content on Respondent’s website using the Disputed Domain Name “appears to be devoid of any meaning or useful purpose.”

Under the Policy, “a complainant is required to make out a prima facie case that the respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests. Once such prima facie case is made, the burden of production shifts to the respondent to come forward with appropriate allegations or evidence demonstrating rights or legitimate interests in the domain name. If the respondent fails to come forward with such appropriate allegations or evidence, a complainant is generally deemed to have satisfied paragraph 4(a)(ii) of the UDRP.” WIPO Overview 2.0, paragraph 2.1.

The Panel finds that Complainant has established its prima facie case and without any evidence from Respondent to the contrary, the Panel is satisfied that Complainant has satisfied the second element of the Policy.

C. Registered and Used in Bad Faith

Whether a domain name is registered and used in bad faith for purposes of the Policy may be determined by evaluating four (non-exhaustive) factors set forth in the Policy: (i) circumstances indicating that the respondent has registered or the respondent has acquired the domain name primarily for the purpose of selling, renting, or otherwise transferring the domain name registration to the complainant who is the owner of the trademark or service mark or to a competitor of that complainant, for valuable consideration in excess of the respondent’s documented out-of-pocket costs directly related to the domain name; or (ii) the respondent has registered the domain name in order to prevent the owner of the trademark or service mark from reflecting the mark in a corresponding domain name, provided that the respondent has engaged in a pattern of such conduct; or (iii) the respondent has registered the domain name primarily for the purpose of disrupting the business of a competitor; or (iv) by using the domain name, the respondent has intentionally attempted to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to the respondent’s website or other online location, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the complainant’s mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of the respondent’s website or location or of a product or service on the respondent’s website or location. Policy, paragraph 4(b).

In this case, Complainant argues that “the present case contains cumulative circumstances indicating bad faith.”

The Panel agrees that, especially given Complainant’s previous winning decision against Respondent also regarding the SINGAPORE POOLS Trademark (Singapore Pools (Private) Limited v. Registration Private, Domains By Proxy, LLC / Ben John, OSG, WIPO Case No. D2016-0291) that “it is clear that the Respondent knows the Complainant and its business very well.” The Panel further agrees that, given the website associated with the Disputed Domain Name, Respondent “has made an effort to be seen as being associated with and/or passing off as the Complainant”. Accordingly, the Panel finds bad faith pursuant to both paragraphs 4(b)(ii) and 4(b)(iv) of the Policy. See, e.g., The Dow Chemical Company v. dowaychemical [email protected] +86.7508126859, WIPO Case No. D2008-1078 (transfer of <dowaychemical.com>). In that case, as here, the respondent was “in effect fraudulently impersonating the Complainant.” As a result, the panel found bad faith because “[t]he Respondent was clearly specifically targeting the Complainant’s trademark and attempting to divert Internet users searching for the Complainant’s product to the Respondent’s website.”

Accordingly, the Panel finds that Complainant has proven the third element of the Policy.

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 <singaporepools-lottery.com> be transferred to Complainant.

Douglas M. Isenberg
Sole Panelist
Date: November 26, 2016