WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center

ADMINISTRATIVE PANEL DECISION

LIDL Stiftung & Co. KG v. Amadeo Pruvost

Case No. D2020-3016

1. The Parties

The Complainant is LIDL Stiftung & Co. KG, Germany, represented by HK2 Rechtsanwälte, Germany.

The Respondent is Amadeo Pruvost, France.

2. The Domain Name and Registrar

The disputed domain name, <achats-lidl.com> (the “Domain Name”), is registered with Hosting Concepts B.V. d/b/a Openprovider (the “Registrar”).

3. Procedural History

The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) on November 12, 2020. On November 13, 2020, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrar a request for registrar verification in connection with the Domain Name. On November 16, 2020, the Registrar transmitted by email to the Center its verification response disclosing registrant and contact information for the Domain Name, which differed from the named Respondent and contact information in the Complaint. The Center sent an email communication to the Complainant on November 17, 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 the Complaint on November 19, 2020.

The Center verified that the Complaint together with the amendment to 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 the Respondent of the Complaint, and the proceedings commenced on November 23, 2020. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5, the due date for Response was December 13, 2020. The Respondent did not submit any response. Accordingly, the Center notified the Respondent’s default on December 18, 2020.

However, it subsequently transpired that although the proceedings had been properly served on the Respondent by courier, the email address provided by the Registrar contained an error. Out of an abundance of caution, on January 11, 2021 the Center re-notified the Complaint by way of the correct email address and notified the Parties that the Respondent had until January 16, 2021 to indicate whether the Respondent wished to participate in the proceeding.

The Center appointed Tony Willoughby as the sole panelist in this matter on February 2, 2021. 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 invitation to the Complainant to file an amendment to the Complaint stemmed from the fact that the Domain Name was registered in the name of a privacy service. In response to the Center’s registrar verification request, the Registrar disclosed the name and address of the entity in whose name the Domain Name is currently registered. The amended Complaint names the underlying registrant as the Respondent.

4. Factual Background

The Complainant is a member company of the LIDL-Group, an international supermarket chain based in Germany. The Complainant is the registered proprietor of numerous trade mark registrations comprising or including the name “Lidl”. Those registrations include:

European Union Trade Mark No. 001779784 LIDL (figurative) registered on November 12, 2001 for a wide variety of goods and services.

European Union Trade Mark No. 001778679 LIDL (word) registered on August 22, 2002 for a wide variety of goods and services.

The Domain Name was registered on September 17, 2020, and was used in October, 2020 for a range of fraudulent emails purporting to be emails from the Complainant. Those emails made liberal use of both the above-mentioned registered trade marks of the Complainant. There is no active website connected to the Domain Name.

5. Parties’ Contentions

A. Complainant

The Complainant contends that the Domain Name is identical or confusingly similar to the Complainant’s LIDL registered trade mark; that the Respondent has no rights in respect of the Domain Name; and that the Domain Name has been registered and is being used in bad faith for a fraudulent purpose, namely the impersonation of the Complainant in emails purporting to come from the Complainant.

B. Respondent

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

6. Discussion and Findings

A. General

According to paragraph 4(a) of the Policy, for this Complaint to succeed in relation to the Domain Name, the Complainant must prove each of the following, namely that:
(i) the Domain Name is identical or confusingly similar to a trade mark or service mark in which the Complainant has rights; and
(ii) the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the Domain Name; and
(iii) the Domain Name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.

B. Identical or Confusingly Similar

The Domain Name comprises the word “achats” (meaning “purchases” in English), a hyphen and the Complainant’s name and trade mark, “LIDL”, followed by the “.com” generic Top Level Domain identifier.

Section 1.7 of the WIPO Overview of WIPO Panel Views on Selected UDRP Questions, Third Edition (“WIPO Overview 3.0”) explains the test for identity or confusing similarity under the first element of the Policy and includes the following passage:

“While each case is judged on its own merits, in cases where a domain name incorporates the entirety of a trademark, or where at least a dominant feature of the relevant mark is recognizable in the domain name, the domain name will normally be considered confusingly similar to that mark for purposes of UDRP standing.”

The Complainant’s LIDL trade mark is readily recognizable in its entirety in the Domain Name. The Panel finds that the Domain Name is confusingly similar to a trade mark in which the Complainant has rights.

C. Rights or Legitimate Interests

The evidence filed by the Complainant is clear. The Respondent has been using the Domain Name for emails to French food suppliers, purporting to be a purchasing arm of the Complainant. The emails state that they are from “LIDL FRANCE” seeking supplies in the name of the Complainant. The emails feature a copy of the Complainant’s distinctive logo registered under European Union Trade Mark Registration No. 001779784, along with the correct name and contact details of Lidl SNC in Strasbourg.

On no basis can such a use of a domain name lead to rights or legitimate interests in respect of the Domain Name in the hands of the Respondent. The Panel finds that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the Domain Name.

D. Registered and Used in Bad Faith

The Panel is satisfied that the Respondent registered the Domain Name for the purpose for which he is using it, namely to deceive addressees of his emails that he is employed by or representing the Complainant. The Domain Name featuring the Complainant’s trade mark facilitates the fraud.

The Panel finds that the Domain Name has been registered and is being used in bad faith within the meaning of paragraph 4(a)(iii) 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 Domain Name, <achats-lidl.com>, be transferred to the Complainant.

Tony Willoughby
Sole Panelist
Date: February 12, 2021