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Novo Nordisk A/S v. Prescriptions Plus, Inc.

WIPO Case No. D2001-1171

Outcome
Transfer
Domain names
novolin.net, novolin.org
Complainant
Novo Nordisk A/S
Respondent
Prescriptions Plus, Inc.
Panelist
Keith F.Gymer
Decided
10 Dec 2001
Response
The respondent did not reply
Language
English

Source: WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center. Official copy: https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2001/d2001-1171.html

WIPO Arbitration

and Mediation Center

ADMINISTRATIVE

PANEL DECISION

Novo Nordisk

A/S. v. Prescriptions Plus, Inc.

Case No.

D2001-1171

1. The Parties

The Complainant is Novo

Nordisk A/S, a Danish company, with its principal place of business at Novo

Allé, DK-2880 Bagsvaerd, Denmark, represented by its in-house trademark

counsel

The Respondent is Prescriptions

Plus, Inc. of 12773 Forest Hill Boulevard, Wellington, 33414 Florida, United

States of America, represented by Mr. Frank Suess.

2. The Domain Names

and Registrar

The domain names at issue

are <novolin.org> and <novolin.net>.

The Registrar is Melbourne

IT Ltd., d.b.a. Internet Names Worldwide of Level 2, 120 King Street, Melbourne,

Victoria 3000, Australia

3. Procedural History

The Complaint was received

by email on September 25, 2001, and in hard copy on September 26, 2001,

by the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center [the Center]. In accordance with

Paragraph 4(a) of the Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy

[the Rules] as approved by ICANN on October 24, 1999, and the Center's own Supplemental

Rules in effect as of December 1, 1999 [the Supplemental Rules], the Center

verified that the Complaint satisfied the formal requirements of the Uniform

Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy adopted by ICANN on October 24, 1999

[the Policy], the Rules and the Supplemental Rules. The Complaint was submitted

in English and the proceedings have been conducted in English. The Complainant

has paid the specified fee to the Center.

The Center transmitted

the requisite Registrar Verification request to Melbourne IT d.b.a. Internet

Names Worldwide, on September 27, 2001, and received an email response on September 28,

2001, confirming that the domain names at issue are both registered with Internet

Names Worldwide, being a division of Melbourne IT Ltd., and that the Respondent,

Prescriptions Plus, Inc., is the current registrant of the domain names <novolin.org>

and <novolin.net>.

Proceedings in this case

were formally commenced on October 4, 2001, when the Center sent a copy of the

Complaint to the Respondent by courier to the postal address recorded in the

Administrative Contact details for the domain name at issue and by email to

the recorded Administrative Contact details, and additionally to different email

addresses associated with the Respondent. One email was rejected as "not a valid

juno user". From the FedEx tracking records, it also appears that the original

postal address was incorrect, although the tracking records then show that the

courier package was accepted (presumably at a redirected address) on October

8, 2001. The notification to the Respondent advised that a Response would need

to be submitted to the Center no later than October 24, 2001, to be sure of

being considered in these proceedings. No Response was received by the specified

deadline. Consequently, on October 25, 2001, the Center issued a "Notification

of Respondent Default", which was duly transmitted to the Respondent and

to the Complainants' representative by email.

On November 13, 2001, the

Center invited Mr. Keith Gymer to serve as single Panelist in these proceedings

and received his "Statement of Acceptance and Declaration of Impartiality

and Independence" on the same day. The Center appointed Mr. Gymer as Panelist

on November 15, 2001, and notified the Respondent and the Complainants' representative

of this appointment by email on the same day.

4. Factual Background

According to the Registrar's

records, the domain names <novolin.org> and <novolin.net> were both

registered to the Respondent on September 29, 1999.

Novo Nordisk A/S is a Danish

pharmaceutical company which has manufactured and sold Insulin under the brand

name NOVOLIN since at least the second half of the 1980's. A description of

NOVOLIN products may be found on the Complainant's US homepage at http://www.novolin.com/view.asp?ID=1177.

The Complainant claims to hold trade mark registrations for the trade mark NOVOLIN

in 72 countries, all covering "diabetic preparations" in international

class 5 for which the trade mark is used. Novo Nordisk A/S provided specific

evidence of its ownership of:

(i) US trade mark registration

no. 1,384,926, registration date March 4, 1986, registered for "anti-diabetic

preparations in class 5; and

(ii) Danish trade mark

registration no. VR00.469 1988, registration date January 29, 1988.

After becoming aware of

the Respondent's registration of the domain names and their use only for holding

pages apparently provided by the Respondent's hosting service provider, the

Complainant initially tried, reportedly unsuccessfully, to send a warning e-mail

letter to the administrative contact of the Respondent at the specified email

address <diabeticsupport@juno.com>. [This is the email address which was

rejected as not being a valid juno address.] Thereafter, the Complainant sent

a letter of May 10, 2001 by registered mail to the Respondent, in which the

Complainant requested the assignment of the two domain names. In reply the Complainant

received an e-mail response of May 15, 2001 from Frank Suess asking what association

the Complainant had "with the Yugoslav Volleyball team Vodjvodina Novolin".

[The Respondent had apparently altered the <www.novolin.net> homepage

to refer to this team after receiving the Complainant's letter - see Section

5 below.] The Complainant replied to the e-mail on May 16, 2001 maintaining

its request for assignment of the domain names. Further e-mails were exchanged

on 17th and 18th May 2001. The subject heading of the e-mail of May 17, 2001

referred to the Yugoslav volleyball team and additionally to the "Captain Novolin

Super Nintendo Game". [Captain Novolin is apparently also a Novo Nordisk registered

trade mark, although evidence to support this claim was not included in the

Complaint]. Frank Suess, the Respondent's contact, e-mailed again on June 6,

2001 to request payment of € 1200 allegedly as expenses for his web designer.

The Complainant responded on June 11, 2001 offering only to reimburse

the actual costs of registration, estimated at $70, this amount being considered

appropriate in view of the fact that no websites had been made prior to the

Complainant's contact with the Respondent. The Complainant therefore contended

that the Respondent intended to use the claim of web design expenses as means

to gain a considerable consideration in excess of the Respondent’s out-of-pocket

costs directly related to the domain names.

The Respondent’s e-mail

of June 6, 2001 included a post scriptum in which it was stated, "If

you are ever in Florida, please stop by. We are retailing approx. 20.000 vials

of Novolin yearly. Unfortunately, most physicians still prescribe Lilly products".

The Complainant confirmed

the fact that the Respondent was reportedly retailing its insulin product NOVOLIN.

Otherwise, the Complainant

made a number of further contentions by way of a Statement of Case in the Complaint.

These are summarised or paraphrased below.

5. Parties’ Contentions

A. Complainant

The Complainant asserts

that:

- The domain names <novolin.net>

and <novolin.org> are identical to its registered trade mark NOVOLIN as

well as its domain name <novolin.com> registered on November 12, 1996

with Network Solutions, Inc.

- The Respondent has

no rights or legitimate interest in the domain names. The domain names consist

of the Complainant's trade mark rights, which were established in The US in

1986 and in Denmark 1988.

- Before the Complainant

contacted the Respondent the corresponding web pages (accessible at www.novolin.net

and www.novolin.org) merely resolved to "standard" holding pages provided

by the Respondent's hosting service provider, Verio. Evidence confirming this

was attached to the Complaint depicting the internet pages as at April 4, 2001).

- Following correspondence

from the Complainant, the Respondent activated replacement pages (for www.novolin.net

and for www.novolin.org, the latter being redirected to www.novolin.net/org/.

[Copies of the replacement pages as of September 20, 2001 were provided as Annexes

to the Complaint.]

[The replacement page for

www.novolin.org purported to relate to a travel violin allegedly called the

"Novolin"; the replacement page for <www.novolin.net> purported to be

a fan page for a Yugoslav volleyball team apparently called "Novolin".]

- It is curious that

a company called Prescriptions Plus Inc. (whose administrative email address

is given as <diabeticsupport@juno.com>) should suddenly be in the business

of manufacturing and selling violins on <www.novolin.org>. It was also

perhaps with an ironic sense of humour that a paragraph on the page marked "Attention

Investors" should refer to a potential franchise opportunity in Denmark

– the domicile of the Complainant, Novo Nordisk A/S.

- It is curious that

a US company called Prescriptions Plus Inc. should suddenly should be sponsoring

a fan homepage for a Yugoslav volleyball team. This reference also appears to

have been made with a sense of humor since the pages depict two bulls tossing

a ball bearing the Novolin mark. Novo Nordisk A/S’s corporate logo also depicts

a bull with an orb between its horns.

- The domain names were

obviously registered in order to prevent Novo Nordisk A/S, as owner of the trade

mark NOVOLIN, from reflecting the mark in the corresponding domain names <novolin.org>

and <novolin.net>.

- The Respondent has

engaged in a pattern of such conduct, i.e. registering domain names in .org.

and .net consisting of other company’s well known company names and trade marks.

In particular, WHOIS results were provided to show that the Respondent had registered

domain names <ventolin.net> and <ventolin.org>, both consisting

of GlaxoSmithKline’s trade mark VENTOLIN for anti-asthmatic pharmaceuticals

(cf. GlaxoSmithkline’s Internet page www.ventolin.com); Eli Lilly’s HUMULIN

anti-diabetic trade mark had been registered as <humulin.net> and <humulin.org>

(cf. Eli Lilly’s internet page www.humulin.com). Furthermore the Respondent

had registered the company name of a Johnson & Johnson company, Lifescan,

in the form of domain names <lifescan.net> and <lifescan.org> (cf.

the "authentic" Lifescan Internet pages at www.lifescan.com). Prints

of the relevant internet pages were attached as annexes to the Complaint.

- With the registration

of <novolin.net> and <novolin.org> the Respondent is disrupting

the Complainant's business. Further, the Respondent has tried to obtain a financial

gain by trying to sell the domain names at a high price.

- The domain names have

been registered in bad faith and are being used in bad faith. The registrant

was no doubt aware of the Complainant's trade mark rights to NOVOLIN when the

two domain names at issue were registered. (Note the Respondent's company name

and the e-mail address of the administrative contact.) Furthermore, the Complainant's

previous correspondence with the Respondent confirms and substantiates a claim

of bad faith. In particular, the Respondent's admission that it was retailing

the Complainant's NOVOLIN products clearly confirms the bad faith in which the

two domain names have been registered by the Respondent and that the Respondent

was aware of the Complainant's trade mark rights.

The Complainant requests

that the domain names be transferred to the Complainant.

B. Respondent

No Response to the Complaint

was received from the Respondent.

6. Discussion and Findings

In order for the Panel

to decide to grant the remedy of transfer of a domain name to a Complainant

under the Policy it is necessary that the Complainant must prove, as required

by Paragraph 4(a) of the Policy, that

(i) the contested domain

name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which

the Complainant has rights; and

(ii) the Respondent

has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; and

(iii) the domain name

has been registered and is being used in bad faith.

The fact that the Respondent

has not provided a Response to the Complaint does not relieve the Complainant

of the burden of proving its case. In the absence of a Response, Paragraph 5(e)

of the Rules expressly requires the Panel to "decide the dispute based upon

the complaint". Under Paragraph 14(a) of the Rules in the event of such a "Default"

the Panel is still required "to proceed to a decision on the complaint", whilst

under Paragraph 14(b) it "shall draw such inferences therefrom as it considers

appropriate." It is clear that this does not mean a default decision is automatically

to be issued in favour of the Complainant. If that were the intended result

then there would be no need to appoint a Panel to decide the dispute. Consequently,

the Panel must assess the Complaint on its merits.

Similarity and Existence

of Rights in the Specified Trademark:

In the present case, the

Complainant claims and has demonstrated to the Panelist's satisfaction that

they own registered trade mark rights in the mark NOVOLIN, and that such rights

predate the registration by the Respondent of the domain names at issue. The

domain names at issue are <novolin.org> and <novolin.net>. The distinctive

element, "novolin", in both the domain names is identical to the trade mark

owned by the Complainant.

The Respondent made no

submissions and did not make any challenge to the validity of the Complainant's

rights.

The Panelist therefore

accepts that the contested domain names are essentially identical to the mark

(NOVOLIN) in which the Complainant has rights and that it has fulfilled the

requirements of Paragraph 4(a)(i) of the Policy.

Legitimate Rights:

In the light of the distinctive

nature of the "NOVOLIN" mark and the fact that the Complainant has established

its claim to trade mark rights in the mark to the Panelist's satisfaction, the

Panelist accepts the Complainant's submissions (as summarised at 5 above) that

the Respondent has no legitimate rights of its own in the domain names at issue.

From the evidence, it is

clear that, at most, the Respondent has acted as a non-exclusive retailer of

the Complainant's NOVOLIN products. The Respondent was not authorised as Agent

or as an exclusive Distributor to act on the Complainant's behalf in any matters

relating to the registration or use of its NOVOLIN mark as a domain name or

otherwise. Doing business as "Prescriptions Plus" and holding itself out to

be contactable at <diabeticsupport@juno.com>, the Respondent was undoubtedly

aware of the Complainant's rights in the NOVOLIN mark, and must have known full

well that its retail sales gave it no entitlement to any legitimate claims to

appropriate the mark itself as a domain name.

Consequently, the Panelist

concludes that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the domain

names, so that the requirements of Paragraph 4(a)(ii) of the Policy are met.

Bad Faith:

The Respondent's defence

to the Complainant's claims, insofar as it is possible to reach a view in the

absence of any substantive Response, would appear to be based on the contention

that the domain names have been put to use for websites for allegedly unrelated

references to a Yugoslav volleyball team and a travel violin.

As the Complainant has

recognised, in fact, it is evident that these websites have been constructed

more with tongue-in-cheek and with allusions directed at poking fun at the Complainant,

rather than with any serious bona-fide intent. They are in reality a

mere contrivance and little more than a sham. The Respondent's use is no more

valid in its defense in this case than was Mr. Toeppen's use of <panavision.com>

to show pictures of Pana, Illinois - see Panavision International L.P. v.

Toeppen 141 F.3d 1316.

In trade mark law it is

well-established that the genuine proprietor of a trade mark has the right to

oppose unauthorised registration of its mark by an agent or other representative

- see e.g. Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property Article

6septies. This right is also clearly recognised in the USA where a trade mark

registration may be held void if the wrong party is identified as the applicant

- see e.g. Huang v. Tzu Wei Chen Food Co., Ltd., 849 F.2d 1458.

In the Panelist's view,

the situation in the present case is analogous. The Respondent is in the retail

pharmaceutical business. The Respondent's registration of the domain names <novolin.net>

and <novolin.org> was without authority. One way or another its objective

in registering the domain names at issue was to obtain some unjustified benefit

by way of association with or otherwise from the Complainant as the rightful

owner of the NOVOLIN mark.

Furthermore, the Complainant's

evidence, unchallenged by the Respondent, shows that this was not just a one-off

(or perhaps more accurately a two-off in this case) but was part of a

systematic pattern of the misappropriation as domain names of similar pharmaceutical

marks of others.

This conduct plainly falls

in the category of "bad-faith" registration and use of the domain names for

the purposes of the Policy.

The Panelist therefore

concludes that the requirement of Paragraph 4(a)(iii) of the Policy is also

satisfied.

7. Decision

The Panelist decides that

the Complainant succeeds with its Complaint and orders that the domain names

<novolin.org> and <novolin.net> are to be transferred to the Complainant.

Keith F.Gymer

Sole Panelist

Dated: November

27, 2001

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