Web Entertainment, LLC of Las Vegas, Nevada, just won a UDRP on the domain name y8.net
The Respondent did not reply to the UDRP
The complainant has a trademark on the term Y8 that was filed in 2012 and has a gambling website at Y8.com
The domain name Y8.net was first registered in 1998 but the current owner acquired it in May 2012.
The panel found
“although the Domain Name was first registered in 1998, for the purposes of finding bad faith, May 2012 or later, is when the Respondent first acquired the Domain Name.
Under the UDRP, a change of registrant or transfer of a domain name constitutes a new registration.
The Panel finds that it is likely that the Respondent was aware of the Complainant and its reputation in the Y8 Mark at the time the Respondent registered the Domain Name. The Respondent’s Website offers services that directly compete with the Complainant and make reference to the Complainant. The registration of the Domain Name in awareness of the Y8 Mark and in the absence of rights or legitimate interests amounts to registration in bad faith.
The Respondent was using the Domain Name to intentionally attempt to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to a website, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the Y8 Mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation or endorsement of its website. The Respondent’s Website offers online gaming services that compete with the Complainant, makes references to the Complainant’s Website and is of a similar design to the Complainant’s Website. The Respondent’s Website also contains prominent advertising, suggesting that the Respondent receives revenue from the site. It appears both from the Domain Name itself and from the Respondent’s Website that it highly likely that the Respondent has intentionally attempted to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to the Respondent’s Website by creating a likelihood of confusion with the Y8 Mark as to source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of the Respondent’s Website. The Panel finds that such use amounts to use in bad faith.
Accordingly, the Panel finds that the Respondent has registered and is using the Domain Name in bad faith under paragraph 4(a)(iii) of the Policy.
