The Complainant is Cash Converters Pty Ltd of Perth, Western Australia, Australia, represented by Wrays, Australia.
The Respondent is Park Kyoung Suk of Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
The disputed domain name <cashconverters.net> is registered with Gabia, Inc. (the "Registrar").
The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the "Center") on May 5, 2016. On May 6, 2016, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrar a request for registrar verification in connection with the disputed domain name. On May 9, 2016, 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.
On May 10, 2016, the Center notified the Parties in both English and Korean that the language of the Registration Agreement for the disputed domain name was Korean. On May 12, 2016, the Complainant requested for English to be the language of the proceeding. On May 16, 2016, the Respondent requested for Korean to be the language of the proceeding.
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 the Respondent of the Complaint, and the proceeding commenced on May 17, 2016. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5, the due date for Response was June 6, 2016. On May 30, 2016, the Center received an email from the Respondent. The Respondent did not however submit any formal response. Accordingly, the Center notified the Parties about the commencement of the panel appointment process on June 7, 2016.
The Center appointed Ik-Hyun Seo as the sole panelist in this matter on June 16, 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. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Panel found it necessary to extend the due date for the decision to July 7, 2016, and the Parties were so notified.
The Complainant is in the business of international pawn broking and short-term loans. The Complainant was established in Australia in 1984 and now has 150 locations throughout Australia and over 700 stores in 21 countries.
The Respondent appears to be a Korean individual with a residence in the Republic of Korea.
According to the information in the WhoIs record, the disputed domain name was registered on March 7, 2016.
The Complainant contends that the disputed domain name is identical to CASH CONVERTERS in which the Complainant has trademark registrations in a number of jurisdictions including the Republic of Korea, Australia, and the United States of America.
The Complainant also contends that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name, and confirms that the Complainant has not authorized or licensed rights to the Respondent in any respect.
Finally, the Complainant contends that the disputed domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith. First, the Complainant notes that the Respondent has linked the disputed domain name to a parking service which shows bad faith intent to profit from the fame of the CASH CONVERTERS mark. Further, the Complainant notes that the Respondent has a history of cybersquatting, and was named as the respondent in a past UDRP proceeding.
The Center received an email from the Respondent on May 30, 2016, indicating that the disputed domain name was not associated with the registrar OnlineNIC or the email address linked to that registrar. The Respondent did not submit any reply to the Complainant's contentions.
Paragraph 11(a) of the Rules provides that the language of the proceeding shall be the language of the registration agreement, unless otherwise agreed to by the parties, subject to the authority of the panel to determine otherwise. In this case, the language of the Registration Agreement is Korean, and both Parties have had an opportunity to argue their position on this point. The Center issued a notice in Korean and English stating that it would accept the Complaint filed in English, and that the Response would be accepted in either Korean or English.
The Respondent has requested the proceeding to be in Korean, yet chose not to submit a formal response. Further, based on the Respondent's communication with the Center, which was in English, the Panel finds that the Respondent has at least a fair understanding of English.
Under these circumstances, the Panel finds it proper and fair to render this Decision in English in this case.
The Complainant has demonstrated with supporting evidence that it holds a number of trademark registrations for CASH CONVERTERS in plain simple text which is identical to the disputed domain name, disregarding the generic Top-Level Domain ("gTLD") ".net", which is technically required and can generally be disregarded in considering confusing similarity. The CASH CONVERTERS mark is registered in several countries including in Australia since 1989 and in the Republic of Korea since 2001. The lack of space in the disputed domain name is inconsequential since embedded spaces are not permissible in domain names.
For the reasons mentioned above, the Panel finds that the first element has been established.
On the basis of the present record, the Panel finds that the Complainant has made the required allegations to support a prima facie showing that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. Once such a prima facie basis has been established, the Respondent carries the burden of demonstrating his rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name. However, the Respondent in this case has chosen to file no formal response to these assertions by the Complainant, and there is no evidence or allegation in the record that would warrant a finding in favor of the Respondent on this point.
For the reasons provided above, the Panel finds that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name, and that the second element has been established.
The Panel finds that there are sufficient reasons to find bad faith registration and use of the disputed domain name in this case.
First, the Respondent has linked the disputed domain name with a parking service that includes pay-per-click links that reference or compete with the Complainant. Such commercial use benefitting from the Complainant's mark does not constitute bona fide use, and evidences bad faith as indicated in paragraph 4(b)(iv) of the Policy..
Further, the disputed domain name displays an advertisement offering it for sale for USD 3,700. This amount is clearly well in excess of any out-of-pocket costs the Respondent may have reasonably incurred in registering and maintaining the disputed domain name, and yet another indication of the Respondent's bad faith registration and use. Further, the open offer for sale suggests that there is no intention or plan to use the disputed domain name.
Lastly, the Respondent was named the respondent in another UDRP proceeding, Associazione Radio Maria v. Park Kyoung Suk, WIPO Case No. D2010-2173. In this case, the panel found the Respondent to have registered and used the domain name in bad faith, and ordered that it be transferred to the complainant.
For the reasons given above, the Panel finds that the third and final element has been sufficiently established.
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, <cashconverters.net>, be transferred to the Complainant.
Ik-Hyun Seo
Sole Panelist
Date: July 5, 2016