The Petitioner is Klarna Bank AB,Sweden, represented by SILKA Law AB, Sweden.
The Domain Holder is P. I., Bulgaria.
This Alternative Dispute Resolution proceeding relates to the domain name <wwwklarna.se>.
This Petition was filed under the Terms and Conditions of registration (the “.se Policy”) and the Instructions governing Alternative Dispute Resolution proceeding for domain names in the top-level domain .se (the “.se Rules”).
The WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (“the Center”) verified that the Petition satisfied the formal requirements of the .se Policy and the .se Rules. In accordance with Section 13 of the .se Rules, the Center formally notified the Domain Holder of the Petition on July 31, 2019. The Domain Holder did not submit any response and, accordingly, the Center notified the Domain Holder's default on September 2, 2019.
The Center appointed Johan Sjöbeck as the sole Arbitrator in this matter on September 11, 2019. The Arbitrator has submitted the Statement of Acceptance and Declaration of Impartiality and Independence, as required by the Center to ensure compliance with Section 1 of the .se Rules.
The Petitioner is the owner of a number of trademark registrations including the following:
KLARNA, European Union Trade Mark (EUTM) registration with registration number 009199803 and registration date December 6, 2010;
KLARNA, Swedish trademark with registration number 012656658 and registration date July 30, 2014.
In addition, the Petitioner is the owner of the Swedish trade name Klarna Bank AB with company registration number 556737-0431.
The disputed domain name <wwwklarna.se> was registered by the Domain Holder on March 21, 2019. The Petitioner has requested that the dispute should be decided as Accelerated Proceeding if the Domain Holder does not reply to the Petition.
The Petitioner has requested that the disputed domain name <wwwklarna.se> shall be transferred from the Domain Holder to the Petitioner.
The Petitioner, founded in 2005, is one of Europe’s largest banks providing payment solutions for 60 million consumers across 70 000 merchants in 18 countries. The Petitioner offers direct payments, pay after delivery options and installment plans.
Given that the disputed domain name <wwwklarna.se> is a misspelled version of the Petitioner’s trademark KLARNA where the period (“.”) has been omitted after the “www”, the Petitioner argues that the disputed domain name is confusingly similar to the trademark.
The Petitioner contacted the Domain Holder on April 17, 2019 regarding the disputed domain name. The Domain Holder claimed that since it holds more than 500K domain names it is impossible for the Domain Holder to know if any of its domain names infringe any trademarks. The Domain Holder offered to cancel or transfer the disputed domain name. However, given the administrative burden, the Domain Holder would charge a fee of EUR 80. Again, the Petitioner requested that the Domain Holder should transfer the disputed domain name without any compensation. The request was rejected by the Domain Holder.
The Domain Holder has registered and used the disputed domain name in bad faith. The Domain Holder has had ample time to create a website for a genuine business but has failed to do so. The Domain Holder’s website is a pay-per-click website and is offered for sale. The Domain Holder is not known by the name KLARNA. The word KLARNA is an invented word by the Petitioner and does not exist in any known language. The word does not exist as a trademark registration other than the Petitioner’s own registration.
The Domain Holder has no rights or legitimate interest in the disputed domain name. The Domain Holder has no authorization or permission to make use of the KLARNA trademark and the Domain Holder is not commonly known by the term that constitutes the disputed domain name.
The Domain Holder has been given the opportunity to respond to the Petition, but have not provided any response.
A domain name may, in accordance with the .se Policy paragraph 7.2, be deregistered or transferred to the party requesting dispute resolution proceedings if all of the following three conditions are fulfilled:
1. The disputed domain name is identical or similar to a name which is legally recognized in Sweden and to which the party requesting dispute resolution can prove its rights, and
2. The disputed domain name has been registered or used in bad faith, and
3. The Domain Holder has no rights or justified interest in the disputed domain name.
All three conditions must be met in order for a petitioner to succeed in its action.
The Petitioner is the owner of the EUTM registration KLARNA with registration number 009199803 dated 2010 and the Swedish registration KLARNA with registration number 012656658 dated 2014. The Arbitrator finds that the disputed domain name <wwwklarna.se> is similar to the Petitioner’s trademarks.
The evidence in the case before the Arbitrator indicates that the disputed domain name <wwwklarna.se> has been registered with the Petitioner’s trademark and business in mind. There is no evidence in the case file that refutes the Petitioner’s submissions. The Arbitrator therefore concludes that the disputed domain name has been registered and used in bad faith.
The Domain Holder has not submitted any reply to the Petition and there is nothing in the case indicating that the Domain Holder has a right or justified interest in the disputed domain name. Consequently, the Arbitrator therefore concludes that the Domain Holder has no right or justified interest in the disputed domain name.
The disputed domain name <wwwklarna.se> shall be transferred to the Petitioner.
Johan Sjöbeck
Date: September 13, 2019