WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center
Alternative Dispute Resolution Proceeding
Accelerated Proceeding
Case No. DSE2020-0045
1. Petitioner
The Petitioner is Klarna Bank AB, Sweden, represented by SILKA AB, Sweden.
2. Domain Holder
The Domain Holder is A.A., Sweden.
3. Domain Name and Procedural History
This Alternative Dispute Resolution Proceeding relates to the domain name <klarnakassan.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 October 1, 2020. The Domain Holder did not submit any response and, accordingly, the Center notified the Domain Holder’s default on November 2, 2020.
The Center appointed Henry Olsson as the sole Arbitrator in this matter on November 16, 2020. 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.
4. Factual Background
The Petitioner is a finance company, which was founded in 2005 in Sweden, with the main aim to facilitate shopping on-line by providing payment mechanisms, which are simple, safe and smooth. According to the Petitioner, it is now one of largest online banks within the European Union, providing payment solutions for around 60 million consumers across 70,000 merchants in 18 countries.
The Petitioner is the holder of several trademarks, for instance the European Union trademark word mark with registration number 009199803, registered on December 6, 2010, and the Swedish national trademark with registration number 012656658 registered on July 30, 2014 containing the word KLARNA.
The Petitioner also holds several domain names, which incorporate the trademark KLARNA, for instance <klarna.com.>, <klarna.se> and <klarnacheckout.com> registered from 2008 and onwards.
The domain name was registered on July 2, 2020, and resolves to a parking page.
5. Claim
The Petitioner claims that the domain name shall be transferred to the Petitioner.
The Domain Holder has not responded to the Claim.
6. Parties’ Contentions
A. Petitioner
The Petitioner submits that the domain name, which was registered on July 2, 2020, is identical or confusingly similar with the Petitioner’s EUTM sand national Swedish trademarks containing the word KLARNA. The domain name includes the trademarks with the addition of “.se” which should be disregarded for the purposes of assessing similarity between the Petitioner’s trademarks and domain names. The Petitioner furthermore notes that the domain name contains the trademark with the addition of the word “kassan” which, according to the Petitioner, is generic and not capable of dispelling the similarity between the domain name and the Petitioner’s trademarks.
The Petitioner indicates that cease and desist letters were sent to the Domain Holder in August 2020, to which no replies were received, and also that the domain name is parked at Loopia AB. The Petitioner stresses that the word KLARNA is unique and invented by the Petitioner. It does not, according to the Petitioner, exist as a trademark anywhere else than in the Petitioner’s own registration and can be verified by the Swedish and the European Union trademark databases.
The Domain Holder has, according to the Petitioner, no rights or justified interest in the domain name. There is, inter alia, no evidence that the Domain Holder has used, or has the intention to use, the domain name in connection with any bona fide offering of goods or services on the domain name webpage.
B. Domain Holder
As mentioned above, the Domain Holder has not submitted any Response to the Petitioner’s claim.
7. Discussion and Findings
In accordance with article 7.2 of the .se Policy, a domain name may be transferred to the party requesting dispute resolution proceedings, if the following three conditions are fulfilled:
1. the 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,
2. the domain name has been registered or used in bad faith; and
3. the domain holder has no rights or justified interest in the domain name.
Pursuant to the consideration of the circumstances in the case and the documentation submitted by the Petitioner in support of its Claim and which have been left undisputed ty the Domain Holder, the Arbitrator draws the following Conclusions as a basis for his Decision.
A. The Domain Name is similar to a name which is legally recognized in Sweden and to which the Petitioner can prove its rights
The Petitioner’s trademark KLARNA is in its entirety included within the disputed domain name. In respect of the similarity between the domain name and the trademark, the Arbitrator agrees with the Petitioner that a clear similarity exists. In this respect, it is worth noting that the word “kassan” directly relates to the Petitioner’s business activities. Therefore, the disputed domain name <klarnakassan.se> is similar to the Petitioner’s trademark.
B. The Domain Name has been registered and used in bad faith
Based on the above record, the disputed domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith within the meaning of the .se Policy.
C. The Domain Holder has no rights or justified interest in the Domain Name
Based on the above record, the Petitioner has demonstrated that the Domain Holder has no rights to or justified interest in the domain name.
8. Decision
On the basis of the foregoing, the domain name <klarnakassan.se> shall be transferred to the Petitioner, Klarna Bank AB.
Henry Olsson
Date: November 17, 2020