The Complainant is Doğan Gazetecilik Anonim Sirketi, Istanbul, Turkey, represented by Ankara Patent Bureau Ltd., Ankara, Turkey.
The Respondent is Murat Akgenç, Istanbul, Turkey.
The disputed domain name <postagazetesi.com> is registered with Directi Internet Solutions Pvt. Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com.
The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) on February 19, 2009. On February 20, 2009, the Center transmitted by email to Directi Internet Solutions Pvt. Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com a request for registrar verification in connection with the disputed domain name. On February 23, 2009, Directi Internet Solutions Pvt. Ltd. d/b/a PublicDomainRegistry.com transmitted by e-mail 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(a) and 4(a), the Center formally notified the Respondent of the Complaint, and the proceedings commenced on February 27, 2009. In accordance with the Rules, Paragraph 5(a), the due date for Response was March 19, 2009. The Respondent did not submit any Response. Accordingly, the Center notified the Respondent's default on March 20, 2009.
The Center appointed Gökhan Gökçe as the sole panelist in this matter on March 31, 2009. 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.
No further submissions were received by the Center or the Panel. The date scheduled for the issuance of the Panel's decision is April 14, 2009.
Finally, in accordance with Paragraph 11 of the Policy, the language of the administrative proceeding will be the language of the registration agreement (i.e. English) since the Parties have not agreed otherwise and since the registration agreement, which the present dispute is based upon, does not provide otherwise.
The Complainant is one of the largest media companies under Doğan Sirketler Grubu A.S. which is Turkey's leading media group. The Complainant is primarily active in newspaper and magazine publishing and releases seven daily newspapers namely, Hurriyet, Milliyet, Radikal, Fanatik, Referans, Turkish Daily News and Posta.
The Complainant offers a broad selection of newspapers appealing to a wide audience and enjoys 40% market share of circulation in Turkish newspaper media with an average circulation of 4.1 million of newspapers daily. The Complainant is well known by the general public, its newspapers are recognised to be the Complainant's products and provide an attractive platform for advertisers.
Posta is one of the Complainant's dailies and is a mass market newspaper that has achieved its own loyal readership in the past ten years and is the highest selling newspaper in Turkey.
The Complainant has registered and uses the trademark POSTA for a comprehensive list of good and services. The trademark POSTA was registered at the Turkish Patent Institute on May 31, 1995 and renewed in 2005, and the trademark DUNDEN BUGUNE POSTA on January 31, 2003.
The Respondent is an individual and he registered the disputed domain name <postagazetesi.com> on November 6, 2002.
In accordance with Paragraph 4 of the Policy, the Complainant requests that the domain name <postagazetesi.com> should be transferred to the Complainant.
The Complainant submits the grounds for these proceedings are listed in Paragraph 4(a) of the Policy.
Identical or Confusingly Similar
The Complainant registered its trademark POSTA with Turkish Patent Institute on May 31, 1995, and renewed it in 2005. Furthermore, the Complainant submits that its trademark POSTA is a well known trademark and Posta is a daily newspaper commonly known by the public.
The Complainant contends that the disputed domain name <postagazetesi.com> is identical or confusingly similar to the Complainant's trademark POSTA as the distinctive part of the domain name is identical to the Complainant's trademark.
Rights or Legitmate Interests
The Complainant submits that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name. The Complainant contends the Respondent is not using the domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services, is not commonly known by the disputed domain name and is not using the domain name for legitimate non-commercial or fair use.
The Complainant asserts that significant sums of money have been invested in the promotion and achieving distinctiveness of “Posta Gazetesi” establishing a reputation. As “Posta Gazetesi” is one of the best selling dailies, it is common knowledge that Posta is a newspaper published by Doğan Gazetecilik which is part of Doğan Sirketler Grubu A.S. and therefore the public identify and associate “Posta Gazetesi” with the Complainant. The Complainant has achieved recognition and the use of the name Posta Gazetesi is recognised by the public as indicating association with the Complainant.
The Complainant notes that the disputed domain name redirects users to another website “www.taraf.com.tr/makale/1315” and resolves to a site that criticises Doğan Sirketler Grubu A.S. and as the Complainant is part of this group, therefore effecting the Complainant.
Registered and Used in Bad Faith
The Complainant notes that it registered its trademark POSTA long before the disputed domain name which was registered in 2002. The Complainant submits that the disputed domain name has been registered in bad faith as the Respondent had knowledge of the Complainant's ownership rights in the trademark POSTA at the time of registration of the domain name. The Complainant relies on this fact and asserts that the Respondent knew that the disputed domain name was identical to the Complainant's trademark which is an indication of registration in bad faith.
The Complainant submits that the Respondent knew that the disputed domain name was identical or confusingly similar to the Complainant's trademark and it is with that purpose that the registration was made.
The Complainant submits that the Respondent registered the domain name for the purpose of confusing Internet users and to divert them to an unofficial website. The Complainant points to the fact the disputed domain name <postagazetesi.com> will cause the Complainant's customers confusion as they would expect the disputed domain name to resolve to the Complainant's well known newspaper but they are redirected to a website that contains misleading information and criticises the Complainant.
The Complainant states that there is nothing to suggest good faith and the disputed domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith.
The Respondent did not reply to the Complainant's contentions. Pursuant to Paragraph 5(e) of the Rules, if a respondent does not submit a response, in the absence of exceptional circumstances, the panel shall decide the dispute based upon the complaint.
However, failure to respond in a Policy proceeding does not constitute an admission of any pleaded matter. The Panel will proceed to evaluate Complainant's evidence and his own examination of the Respondent's website against the requirements of Paragraph 4(a) of the Policy, Stanworth Development Limited v. E Net Marketing Ltd., WIPO Case No. D2007-1228.
Paragraph 4(a) of the Policy sets forth the following three elements which the Complainant must prove, during the administrative proceedings, to merit a finding that the domain name of the Respondent be transferred to the Complainant:
(a) The domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the Complainant has rights; and
(b) The respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; and
(c) The domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.
Pursuant to Paragraph 15(a) of the Rules, the Panel shall decide a complaint on the basis of the statements and documents submitted and in accordance with the Policy, the Rules and any rules and principles of law that it deems applicable.
In the absence of a reply from the Respondent the Complainant must still establish the elements of Paragraph 4(a) of the Policy, however the Panel may accept as true factual allegations in the complaint, Belupo d.d. v. WACHEM d.o.o., WIPO Case No. D2004-0110.
The Policy requires the Complainant to demonstrate that the disputed domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark in which the Complainant has rights.
The Complainant registered its trademark POSTA with Turkish Patent Institute on May 31, 1995 and renewed it in 2005. POSTA is a trademark with figurative elements with the most dominant element being the word POSTA. The Complainant at Annex 3 has provided evidence of ownership of trademark registrations consisting of or including the word POSTA. The Panel therefore accepts that the Complainant is the owner and has exclusive rights in the trademark POSTA, T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. v. J A Rich, WIPO Case No. D2001-1044.
The Panel notes that the Complainant has established wide recognition of its Posta newspaper. It is common knowledge in Turkey that the Posta newspaper is published by the Complainant and the use of that newspaper name has come to be recognised by the general public as indicating an association with products produced exclusively by the Complainant. The Complainant at Annex 3 has provided evidence that the Posta newspaper has been circulated since 1995 and has since enjoyed steady growth and recognition.
Furthermore, the Complainant refers to the following decisions in relation to identity or confusing similarity, Patek Phillippe v. Kupfer Jewelry Inc., WIPO Case No. D2008-1193; Akbank v. Mr. Arda Alpar, WIPO Case No. D2008-0574; Gianni Versace v. Nicolino Colonnelli and Compagnie Gervais Danone v. Xiaole Zhang, WIPO Case No. D2008-0570. The Panel follows the two stage test to be applied under this first element of the UDRP, 1) does the Complainant have rights in the trademark; and 2) is the domain name identical or confusingly similar to the Complainant's trademark. Therefore once ownership is established the Complainant should establish that the domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark in which the Complainant has rights. There is no doubt that the Complainant owns the trademark POSTA and therefore the first stage of the test is satisfied. Whether the disputed domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark is based on an objective test. It has been stated in several decisions by other UDRP administrative panels that incorporating a trademark in its entirety into a domain name may be sufficient to establish that the domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a registered trademark, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, Sauber Motorsport AG v. Petaluma Auto Works, WIPO Case No. D2005-0941.
In this case POSTA is a trademark of a newspaper and “gazete” means newspaper in Turkish. The disputed domain name translates to Posta Newspaper and the Panel is satisfied that the addition of the word “gazetesi” is likely to cause more confusion. The Panel believes that a substantial number of users will be confused and misleadingly diverted to a website that they had no intention of visiting.
The Panel recognises the Complainant's rights and concludes that the domain name in issue is identical or confusingly similar to the Complainant's trademark. The Panel finds that the addition of a generic word after the Complainant's registered trademark does not adequately distinguish the disputed domain name and that it is likely to increase the likelihood of confusion. The requirements in Paragraph 4(a)(i) of the Policy are fulfilled, consequently, the Panel finds for the Complainant on the first element of the Policy.
The Panel visited <postagazetesi.com> on April 1, 2009, and it resolved to a web page that had an animated link to “www.afrikagorecek.com” which is a site that requests donations for cataract problems in Africa and is apparently affiliated with IHH, a Turkish foundation for human rights and humanitarian relief. There was no redirection to any criticism site hosted by the Respondent as alleged by the Complainant when the Panel visited the website.
In order to satisfy the Policy, the Complainant must show a prima facie case that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name, Croatia Airlines d.d. v. Modern Empire Internet Ltd., WIPO Case No. D2003-0455. The Complainant submits the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests and that the Respondent has failed to demonstrate legitimate or fair use, the Respondent is not using the domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services, is not commonly known by the disputed domain name and is not using the domain name for legitimate non-commercial or fair use.
There is no clear evidence provided in the record to demonstrate that the disputed domain name was used to redirect Internet users to another website, namely “www.taraf.com.tr/makale/1315” allegedly displaying criticism of the Complainant. The Complainant has submitted a screen shot of the animated link to “www.afrikagorecek.com” which appears to contradict the Complainant's contention on the criticism site. Be this as it may, the Panel confirms that in addition to the submitted evidence when the disputed domain name is now visited, the web page has an animated link to “www.afrikagorecek.com”. Therefore, the Respondent is not making use of the domain name or a name corresponding to the domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services or for free speech purposes. The disputed domain name appears to be used as a bait to redirect Internet users to another website than the Complainant's website. Here, this is not a legitimate use of the domain name.
The Panel recognises the Complainant's reputation in its field of activities and as the Respondent is located in Turkey is satisfied that it is unlikely that he would not have known about the Complainant's trademark. The Panel finds that the Respondent registered the domain name in order to create an association with the Complainant and misleadingly divert customers to the above-referred website.
The Panel concludes that the Complainant has established a prima facie case which the Respondent has not rebutted and further notes that there is nothing before the Panel to support existence of Respondent's rights in the disputed domain name in line with the circumstances listed in Paragraph 4(c) of the Policy.
The Complainant has satisfied the requirements of 4(a)(ii) of the Policy and consequently the Panel finds in favour of the Complainant on the second element of the Policy.
As discussed above, the Respondent's domain name is confusingly similar to the Complainant's POSTA trademark which was registered long before the registration of the domain name in dispute. As the Respondent appears to be resident in Turkey the Panel finds it is unlikely that he was not aware of the Complainant's rights in its POSTA trademark, furthermore the disputed domain name translates to Posta Newspaper. The Panel is of the opinion that the Respondent had knowledge of the Complainant's trademark at the time of registration of the disputed domain name and draws an inference of bad faith, Parfums Christian Dior v. Javier Garcia Quintas and Christiandior.net, WIPO Case No. D2000-0226.
The Respondent is using the domain name to redirect users to another unrelated website. The Panel is of the opinion that the vast majority of Internet users who visit the disputed domain name would assume that the disputed domain name resolves to a site affiliated with the Complainant such misdirection of traffic to other websites suggests bad faith, General Electric Company v. Fisher Zvieli a/k/a Zvieli Fisher, WIPO Case No. D2000-0377; The Sportman's Guide, Inc. v. Zuccarini, WIPO Case No. D2001-0617.
The Panel further finds that the Respondent's lack of response suggests bad faith, Awesome Kids LLC and/or Awesome Kids L.L.C v. Selavy Communications, WIPO Case No. D2001-0210.
In light of the foregoing, the Panel is of the view that the Respondent has registered and is using the disputed domain name in bad faith.
For all the foregoing reasons, in accordance with Paragraphs 4(i) of the Policy and 15 of the Rules, the Panel orders that the domain name <postagazetesi.com> be transferred to the Complainant.
Gökhan Gökçe
Sole Panelist
Dated: April 14, 2009