In the recent domain dispute decision of LD Products, Inc. v. Gary Lam c/o XC2 (Nat. Arb. Forum FA 1265729, July 2, 2009) a single member Panel was faced with a dispute over the domain www.4inkjetss.com. As explained in the decision, “Complainant is an Internet retailer for printer supplies and accessories, which markets its products under the 4INKJETS mark.  Complainant registered the 4INKJETS mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) on September 20, 2005 (Reg. No. 2,998,115, filed August 3, 2004).  Complainant has operated its printer supplies business, and advertised its products under the 4INKJETS mark, since at least as early as 1999, and since that time Complainant has grown its business to US $27 million in sales in 2007 and US $34 million in 2008.” Complainant maintains a web site at www.4inkjets.com.

Paragraph 4(a) of the Policy requires that Complainant must prove each of the following three elements to obtain an order that a domain name should be cancelled or transferred: (1) the domain name registered by Respondent is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which Complainant has rights; and (2) Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; and (3) the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.

The Panel addressed the first element, noting Complainant’s trademark registration and significant common law rights in the mark dating back to 1999. The Panel found that the disputed domain was typosquatting, in that it merely added an additional letter s to the end of the top level domain.

The Panel then moved to the second element, wherein it acknowledged that Complainant made its prima facie case, shifting the burden to Respondent. Since Respondent did not reply to the complaint, the Panel accepts all reasonable allegations from Complainant as true. Therefore the Panel made the following observations and findings:

Complainant contends that Respondent is neither commonly known by, nor licensed to register, the disputed domain name.  Respondent’s WHOIS information identifies Respondent as “Gary Lam c/o XC2.”  Therefore, pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(c)(ii), the Panel finds that Respondent lacks rights and legitimate interests in the disputed domain name….Respondent is using the <4inkjetss.com> domain name to display links to third-party websites that are in competition with Complainant.  Complainant contends, and the Panel agrees, that Respondent is using the disputed domain name to collect click-through fees from those third parties, and thus the Panel finds that Respondent has not made a bona fide offering of goods or services under Policy ¶ 4(c)(i) or a legitimate noncommercial or fair use under Policy ¶ 4(c)(iii). 

The Panel then moved to the third element, bad faith, and the Panel made the following findings:

The Panel finds that Respondent is using the <4inkjetss.com> domain name to disrupt the business of Complainant by offering links to competitors, and that this use is evidence of Respondent’s bad faith registration and use of the disputed domain name pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(iii)….The Panel agrees that Respondent is collecting click-through fees as a result of its use of the disputed domain name, and therefore finds that Respondent’s use of the disputed domain name is evidence of bad faith registration and use pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv). 

Ultimately, the Panel found that Complainant proved all the elements and agreed to order the TRANSFER of the domain.