WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center

ADMINISTRATIVE PANEL DECISION

Société Air France v. Zhichao Yang

Case No. D2014-0309

1. The Parties

The Complainant is Société Air France of Roissy, France, represented by MEYER & Partenaires, France.

The Respondent is Zhichao Yang of Hefei, Anhui, China.

2. The Domain Names and Registrar

3. Procedural History

The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) on February 27, 2014. On February 27, 2014, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrar a request for registrar verification in connection with the disputed domain names. On February 27, 2014, 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(a) and 4(a), the Center formally notified the Respondent of the Complaint, and the proceedings commenced on March 7, 2014. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5(a), the due date for Response was March 27, 2014. The Respondent did not submit any response. Accordingly, the Center notified the Respondent’s default on March 28, 2014.

The Center appointed Petter Rindforth as the sole panelist in this matter on April 8, 2014. 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 Panel shall issue its Decision based on the Complaint, the Policy, the Rules, the Supplemental Rules, and without the benefit of any Response from the Respondent. The case before the Panel was conducted in the English language.

4. Factual Background

The Complainant is a French airline and freight company, created on October 7, 1933.

The Complainant is the owner of a number of trademark registrations for AIR FRANCE, such as:

International trademark registration No. 828 334 AIR FRANCE, registered on October 20, 2003 in classes 6, 8, 9, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 44 and 45.

The disputed domain names <airfrabce.com>, <airfrancr.com>, <airfrancw.com>, <airfranve.com>, <airfranxe.com>, <airfrsnce.com>, <aorfrance.com> and <comairfrance.com> were registered on September 5, 2013. No detailed information is provided about the Respondent’s activities, apart from what is mentioned below by the Complainant.

5. Parties’ Contentions

A. Complainant

The Complainant refers to the fact that the Complainant’s trademark AIRFRANCE / AIR FRANCE is registered in many countries around the world, both as international trademark registration and national trademark registrations.

Also, since 2004, the Complainant has set up, activated and is operating a website using the domain name <airfrance.com>. For the Complainant’s Chinese customers, there are two special and separate websites in Chinese and English.

The Complainant has today 587 airplanes, serving 230 cities in 113 countries, representing 1, 500 flights per day.

The Complainant claims that the trademark AIR FRANCE has been recognized as well known in a number of previous UDRP cases.

According to the Complainant, all the disputed domain names are confusingly similar to the trademarks AIR FRANCE and AIRFRANCE. The typos inserted in all disputed domain names are especially constructed for the Chinese public.

The Complainant states that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain names.

Finally, the Complainant argues that the disputed domain names are all registered and used in bad faith. AIR FRANCE is well known in China, the home country of the Respondent. All eight disputed domain names were registered at the same date and time, thereby confirming the Respondent’s determination to register the trademark with knowledge of the notoriety of the trademark. Also, the special misspellings, obviously created to take advantage of Chinese users’ possible misspellings of the trademark AIR FRANCE is pure typosquatting.

The Complainant further, to illustrate the Respondent’s typosquatting practice, refers to the fact that the Respondent has already been involved in at least 21 UDRP cases between October 2012 and January 2014, covering 331 domain names. Referring to both the current UDRP case as well as previous UDRP cases, the Complainant concludes that the Respondent is using all the disputed domain names in bad faith.

The Complainant requests that the Panel issue a decision that the disputed domain names be transferred to the Complainant.

B. Respondent

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

6. Discussion and Findings

According to paragraph 4(a) of the Policy, the Complainant must prove each of the following:

(i) that the disputed domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the Complainant has rights; and

(ii) that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name; and

(iii) that the disputed domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.

A. Identical or Confusingly Similar

The Complainant is the owner the trademark AIR FRANCE, registered in a number of countries around the world. The Panel further finds it established that the trademark AIR FRANCE is very well known, also in China, the home country of the Respondent.

None of the eight disputed domain names are identical to the Complainant’s trademark. However, seven of them are obvious misspellings of the Complainant’s trademark AIR FRANCE, and one of the disputed domain names is in fact the right spelling of the trademark in direct combination with “.com” as a prefix.

Such combinations or misspellings are not sufficient to distinguish the disputed domain names from the Complainant’s trademark.

The Panel therefore concludes that <airfrabce.com>, <airfrancr.com>, <airfrancw.com>, <airfranve.com>, <airfranxe.com>, <airfrsnce.com>, <aorfrance.com> and <comairfrance.com> are all confusingly similar to the Complainant’s registered and well-known trademark AIR FRANCE.

B. Rights or Legitimate Interests

Once the Complainant makes a prima facie case in support of its allegations in respect of the second element of the Policy, the burden shifts to the Respondent to show that it does have rights or legitimate interests pursuant to paragraph 4(a)(ii) of the Policy, see WIPO Overview of WIPO Panel Views on Selected UDRP Questions, Second Edition (“WIPO Overview 2.0”), paragraph 2.1.

By not submitting a Response, the Respondent has failed to invoke any circumstance which could demonstrate, pursuant to paragraph 4(c) of the Policy or otherwise, any rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name, to rebut the Complainant’s prima facie case under paragraph 4(a)(ii) of the Policy.

The Respondent is not an authorized agent or licensee of the Complainant’s services and has no other permission to apply for any domain name incorporating the trademark AIR FRANCE or variations thereof.

As shown by the Complainant, the Respondent is using the disputed domain names in a five step redirection system, obviously used to give the Respondent economic benefits of pay-per-click programs in combination with the risk for ordinary users to hit the Respondents disputed domain names by misspelling the Complainant’s trademark. Such use does not establish rights or legitimate interests. See Chanel, Inc. v. Cologne Zone, WIPO Case No. D2000-1809, “Bona fide use does not exist when the intended use is a deliberate infringement of another’s rights”; see also CIMB Group Sdn. Bhd., CIMB-Principal Asset Management Berhad v. PrivacyProtect.org / Cyber Domain Services Pvt.Ltd., WIPO Case No. D2010‑1680(registration of a domain name “for the purpose of misleading or diverting consumers” cannotgive to rise rights or legitimate interests”).

The Panel finds that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain names.

C. Registered and Used in Bad Faith

As shown by the Complainant, the trademark AIR FRANCE is well known, also in China the home country of the Respondent. Here, the Panel agree with the Complainant that the fact that the Respondent the same day registered no less than eight obvious “misspelled” versions of the Complainant’s trademark AIR FRANCE as domain names are clear indications that the Respondent had knowledge of the trademark and the goal to register the disputed domain names in order to take advantage of Chinese users possibly misspelling the trademark AIR FRANCE.

The disputed domain names are in fact used in bad faith, in order to both create an illusion of some kind of commercial relationship with, or endorsement from, the Complainant and earn money from Internet users misspelling through pay-per-click programs.

Accordingly, all of the disputed domain names were registered and used 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 names, <airfrabce.com>, <airfrancr.com>, <airfrancw.com>, <airfranve.com>, <airfranxe.com>, <airfrsnce.com>, <aorfrance.com> and <comairfrance.com> be transferred to the Complainant.

Petter Rindforth
Sole Panelist
Date: April 22, 2014