Philip Morris Products S.A. v Cao Chi Sang

WIPO Case No. D2023-1497

ARBITRATION
AND
MEDIATION CENTER

ADMINISTRATIVE PANEL DECISION

Philip Morris Products S.A. v. Cao Chi Sang

Case No. D2023-1497

1. The Parties

The Complainant is Philip Morris Products S.A., Switzerland, represented by D.M. Kisch Inc., South Africa.

The Respondent is Cao Chi Sang, Viet Nam.

2. The Domain Name and Registrar

The disputed domain name <iluma.link> (the “Domain Name”) is registered with Mat Bao Corporation (the

“Registrar”).

3. Procedural History

The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) on April 5, 2023. On
April 5, 2023, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrar a request for registrar verification in
connection with the Domain Name. On April 6, 2023, the Registrar transmitted by email to the Center its
verification response, disclosing registrant and contact information for the Domain Name which differed from
contact information in the Complaint. The Center sent an email communication to the Complainant on April
13, 2023, providing the registrant and contact information disclosed by the Registrar, and inviting the
Complainant to submit an amendment to the Complaint. The Complainant filed an amended Complaint on
April 14, 2023.

On April 17, 2023, the Center sent an email to the Parties and Registrar bringing to the Parties’ attention that the Domain Name is set to expire on July 18, 2023.

The Center verified that the Complaint, together with the amended Complaint, satisfied the formal
requirements of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the “Policy” or “UDRP”), the Rules for
Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the “Rules”), and the WIPO Supplemental Rules for
Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the “Supplemental Rules”).

In accordance with the Rules, paragraphs 2 and 4, the Center formally notified the Respondent of the Complaint, and the proceedings commenced on April 17, 2023. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5, the due date for Response was May 7, 2023. The Respondent did not submit any response. Accordingly, the Center notified the Respondent’s default on May 12, 2023.

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The Center appointed Piotr Nowaczyk as the sole panelist in this matter on June 1, 2023. The Panel finds that it was properly constituted. The Panel has submitted the Statement of Acceptance and Declaration of Impartiality and Independence, as required by the Center to ensure compliance with the Rules, paragraph 7.

4. Factual Background

The Complainant is a part of the group of companies affiliated to Philip Morris International Inc. (jointly referred to as “PMI”). PMI is a tobacco and smoke-free products manufacturing company. It sell its products in approximately 180 countries.

PMI has developed heated tobacco products, including IQOS. It is a heating device into which tobacco sticks under the brand names “HEETS”, “HEATSTICKS” or “TEREA” are inserted and heated to generate a nicotine-containing aerosol. Currently, there are five versions of the IQOS heating device, including IQOS ILUMA.

To date, the IQOS systems have been almost exclusively distributed through PMI’s official IQOS stores and websites and selected authorized distributors and retailers.

The Complainant is the owner of several ILUMA trademark registrations, including:

- the Vietnamese Trademark Registration ILUMA (combined) No. 4-0400955-000, registered on
October 28, 2021; and

- the Japanese Trademark Registration ILUMA No. 6320044, registered on November 24, 2020.

The Domain Name was registered on July 18, 2022.

At the time of submitting the Complaint, the Domain Name resolved to an online shop allegedly offering for sale competing third party tobacco products and accessories of other commercial origin (the “Website”).

As of the date of this Decision, the Domain Name resolves to the webpage informing that the online shop at the Domain Name is currently unavailable.

5. Parties’ Contentions

A. Complainant

The Complainant requests that the Domain Name be transferred to the Complainant. According to the case.

First, the Complainant submits that the Domain Name is identical or confusingly similar to the trademark in which the Complainant has rights.

Second, the Complainant argues that the Respondent has neither rights nor legitimate interests in the

Domain Name.

Third, the Complainant submits that the Domain Name was registered and is being used in bad faith.

B. Respondent

The Respondent did not reply to the Complainant’s contentions.

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6. Discussion and Findings

Paragraph 4(a) of the Policy places a burden on the Complainant to prove the presence of three separate elements, which can be summarized as follows:

(i)        the Domain Name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the Complainant has rights;

(ii)       the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the Domain Name; and

(iii)      the Domain Name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.

The requested remedy may only be granted if the above criteria are met.

At the outset, the Panel notes that the applicable standard of proof in UDRP cases is the “balance of
probabilities” or “preponderance of the evidence”. See section 4.2 of the WIPO Overview of WIPO Panel

Views on Selected UDRP Questions, Third Edition (“WIPO Overview 3.0”).

A. Identical or Confusingly Similar

The first element requires that the Complainant must establish that the Domain Name is identical or confusingly similar to the trademark in which the Complainant has rights.

The Complainant holds valid ILUMA trademark registrations. The Domain Name incorporates this trademark
in its entirety. As numerous UDRP panels have held, incorporating a trademark in its entirety is sufficient to
establish that a domain name is identical or confusingly similar to that trademark (see PepsiCo, Inc. v.
PEPSI, SRL (a/k/a P.E.P.S.I.) and EMS COMPUTER INDUSTRY (a/k/a EMS), WIPO Case No.

D2003-0696).

The generic Top-Level Domain (“gTLD”) “.link” in the Domain Name is viewed as a standard registration
requirement and as such is disregarded under the first element confusing similarity test. See section 1.11.1,

WIPO Overview 3.0.

Given the above, the Panel finds that the Domain Name is identical to the Complainant’s ILUMA trademark.

Thus, the Complainant has proved the requirements under paragraph 4(a)(i) of the Policy.

B. Rights or Legitimate Interests

Under the second element, the Complainant must prove that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the Domain Name.

The respondent may establish a right or legitimate interest in the disputed domain name by demonstrating in accordance with paragraph 4(c) of the Policy any of the following:

(i)        that it has used or made preparations to use the domain name or a name corresponding to the domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services prior to the dispute; or

(ii)       that it is commonly known by the domain name, even if it has not acquired any trademark rights; or

(iii)      that it is making a legitimate noncommercial or fair use of the domain name without intent for commercial gain to misleadingly divert consumers or to tarnish the trademark.

Although given the opportunity, the Respondent has not submitted any evidence indicating that any of the circumstances foreseen in paragraph 4(c) of the Policy are present in this case.

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On the contrary, it results from the evidence on record that the Complainant’s ILUMA trademark registrations predate the Respondent’s registration of the Domain Name. There is no evidence in the case record that the Complainant has licensed or otherwise permitted the Respondent to use the ILUMA trademark or to register the Domain Name incorporating this trademark. There is also no evidence to suggest that the Respondent has been commonly known by the Domain Name.

Moreover, it results from the evidence on record that the Respondent does not make use of the Domain noncommercial or fair use of the Domain Name.

The Respondent could make a bona fide offering of goods and services as a reseller or distributor of the Complainant’s products, and thus have a legitimate interest in the Domain Name, if its use meets certain requirements as set out in Oki Data Americas, Inc. v ASD, Inc., WIPO Case No. D2001-0903. These

requirements are that: (1) the Respondent must actually be offering the goods or services at issue; (2) the trademark to bait Internet users and then switch them to other goods; (3) the website must accurately disclose the Respondent’s relationship with the trademark owner; and (4) the Respondent must not try to corner the market in all domain names, thus depriving the trademark owner of reflecting its own mark in the Domain Name.

In the present case, the above-referred requirements are not met.

First and foremost, the Respondent is offering on the Website competing tobacco products and accessories of other commercial origin, primarily for the Vietnamese customers. This circumstance is sufficient to exclude a finding of a legitimate interest in the Domain Name.

Moreover, the nature and content of the Domain Name clearly suggests an affiliation with the Complainant, as well as its ILUMA trademark. The Panel notes in this regard that the Domain Name reproduces the Complainant’s ILUMA trademark in its entirety. Also, the Website features this trademark. Fundamentally, the Respondent’s use of the Domain Name will not be considered “fair” if it falsely suggests affiliation with the Complainant as a trademark owner. See section 2.5.1, WIPO Overview 3.0.

Furthermore, the Panel notes that the relationship between the Respondent and the Complainant (or a lack thereof) is not disclosed on the Website. This further perpetuates the impression of a relationship between the Respondent and the Complainant.

In addition, the Complainant’s IQOS systems are primarily distributed through official/endorsed stores. The Complainant does not currently offer for sale its IQOS systems in the territory of Vietnam. The Panel believes that the use of the Complainant’s trademark in the Domain Name and on the Website misled consumers regarding the relationship between the Respondent and the Complainant, as Internet users may falsely believe that the Respondent is an official/endorsed distributor of the Complainant.

Given the above, the Respondent has failed to invoke any circumstances, which could demonstrate, pursuant to paragraph 4(c) of the Policy, any rights or legitimate interests in respect of the Domain Name. Thus, there is no evidence in the case file that refutes the Complainant’s prima facie case. The Panel concludes that the Complainant has also proved the requirement under paragraph 4(a)(ii) of the Policy.

C. Registered and Used in Bad Faith

Under the third element, the Complainant must prove that the Domain Name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.

Bad faith under the UDRP is broadly understood to occur where a respondent takes unfair advantage of or otherwise abuses a complainant’s mark. See section 3.1, WIPO Overview 3.0.

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Under paragraph 4(b) of the Policy, evidence of bad faith registration and use includes without limitation:

(i)        circumstances indicating the domain name was registered or acquired primarily for the purpose of selling, renting, or otherwise transferring the domain name registration to the owner of a trademark or to a competitor of the trademark owner, for valuable consideration in excess of the documented out-of- pocket costs directly related to the domain name; or

(ii)       circumstances indicating that the domain name was registered in order to prevent the owner of a trademark from reflecting the mark in a corresponding domain name, provided it is a pattern of such conduct; or

(ii)       circumstances indicating that the domain name was registered primarily for the purpose of disrupting the business of a competitor; or

(iii)      circumstances indicating that the domain name has intentionally been used in an attempt to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to a website or other online location, by creating a likelihood of confusion with a trademark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of the website or location or of a product or service on a website or location.

As indicated above, the Complainant’s rights in the ILUMA trademark predate the registration of the Domain Name. This Panel finds that the Respondent was or should have been aware of the Complainant’s trademark at the time of registration. This finding is supported by the content of the Website allegedly offering products, which compete directly with the Complainant’s products and displaying the Complainant’s ILUMA trademark. Moreover, it has been proven to the Panel’s satisfaction that the Complainant’s ILUMA trademark is well known and unique to the Complainant. Thus, the Respondent could not likely reasonably ignore the reputation of products under this trademark. In sum, the Respondent, in all likelihood, registered the Domain Name with the expectation of taking advantage of the reputation of the Complainant’s ILUMA trademark.

Furthermore, the Domain Name is being used in bad faith by the Respondent to allegedly offer for sale competing third party tobacco products and accessories of other commercial origin. By reproducing the Complainant’s registered ILUMA trademark in the Domain Name, as well as by displaying this trademark on

the Website, the Respondent suggests to be an official online retailer of the Complainant’s products. There is thus little doubt that the Respondent intended to earn profit from the confusion created with Internet users. In consequence, the Panel finds that the Respondent registered and uses the Domain Name deliberately in
order to take advantage of the Complainant’s reputation and to give credibility to its operations.

In addition, the current non-use of the disputed domain name does not prevent a finding of bad faith under the doctrine of passive holding. See section 3.3, WIPO Overview 3.0.

For the reasons discussed above, the Panel finds that the Complainant has proved the requirements under paragraph 4(a)(iii) of the Policy.

7. Decision

For the foregoing reasons, in accordance with paragraphs 4(i) of the Policy and 15 of the Rules, the Panel orders that the Domain Name <iluma.link> be transferred to the Complainant.

/Piotr Nowaczyk/
Piotr Nowaczyk
Sole Panelist
Date: June 15, 2023