Balenciaga,the fashion house founded by Cristóbal Balenciaga has recently won a domain name in arbitration.
The fashion house,represented by IP Twins S.A.S.,filed a complaint with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center ,requesting belenciaga.com domain name to be transferred from the respondent to the complainant.
The company owns many trademark registration all around the world for "Balenciaga".Therefore it is more than obvious that the disputed domain name is confusingly similar to their company.
Moreover,Balenciaga contended in the complaint that the respondent registered and used the domain names in bad faith.
"The disputed domain name resolves to a landing page consisting entirely of commercial links or pay-per-click advertising. These links embody websites relating to fashion and in some cases include websites of the Complainant’s competitors. Accordingly the Complainant argues that this use is not a bona fide use and that the Respondent has tried to divert Internet users to the disputed domain name for commercial gain. The Complainant goes on to indicate that this use creates a serious likelihood of confusion and also impacts the business of the Complainant. Accordingly the Respondent’s registration and use of <belenciaga.com> is in bad faith."
Because the respondent failed to submit a response in this proceeding and because the complainant managed to demonstrate all the elements needed ,the Panel ordered the disputed domain name be transferred from the respondent to the complainant.
You can read the decision here .
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