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WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center

ADMINISTRATIVE PANEL DECISION

Intuit Inc. v. Privacy.co.com - 5b19c, Savvy Investments, LLC Privacy ID# 1088195

Case No. D2020-1501

1. The Parties

Complainant is Intuit Inc., United States of America (“United States”), represented by Fenwick & West, LLP, United States.

Respondent is Privacy.co.com - 5b19c, Savvy Investments, LLC Privacy ID# 1088195, United States.

2. The Domain Name and Registrar

The disputed domain name <tubratax.com> is registered with Sea Wasp, LLC (the “Registrar”).

3. Procedural History

The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) on June 10, 2020. On June 10, 2020, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrar a request for registrar verification in connection with the disputed domain name. On June 11, 2020, the Registrar transmitted by email to the Center its verification response confirming that Respondent is listed as the registrant and providing the contact details.

The Center verified that the 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 Respondent of the Complaint, and the proceedings commenced on June 12, 2020. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5, the due date for Response was July 2, 2020. Respondent did not submit any response. Accordingly, the Center notified Respondent’s default on July 3, 2020.

The Center appointed Lorelei Ritchie as the sole panelist in this matter on July 13, 2020. 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

Complainant, a United States company with its headquarters in Mountain View, California, is a leading provider of financial management solutions. Complainant has over 9,000 employees worldwide and 20 locations across nine countries, and has reported revenue of USD 6.8 billion. Complainant, together with its predecessors, has offered tax software and online solutions for individuals and small businesses under the mark TURBOTAX since at least 1984. Complainant owns several registrations for the TURBOTAX mark. These include, among others, United States Registration No. 1369883 (registered on November 12, 1985); United States Registration No. 2512370 (registered on November 27, 2001); European Union Registration No. 006630404 (registered on January 29, 2009).

Complainant owns the registrations for several domain names that incorporate its TURBOTAX mark. These include <turbotax.com> (registered June 13, 1995), <turbotax.net> (registered May 18, 1997), and <turbotax.org> (registered July 13, 2000). Complainant also owns the registrations for domain names that incorporate its TURBOTAX mark along with descriptive or other terms. These include, among others, <shopturbotax.com> (registered July 27, 2000) and <tryturbotax.com> (December 19, 1997).

The disputed domain name <tubratax.com> was registered on January 11, 2014.

Respondent has used the URL associated with the disputed domain name to redirect users to other websites, including a pay-per-click site that includes links to services that compete with those offered by Complainant under the TURBOTAX mark.

5. Parties’ Contentions

A. Complainant

Complainant contends that (i) the disputed domain name <tubratax.com>, is identical or confusingly similar to Complainant’s trademarks, (ii) Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name; and (iii) Respondent registered and is using the disputed domain name in bad faith.

In particular, Complainant contends that it has a “well-known” mark in the field of financial management solutions. Complainant further contends that it has used the TURBOTAX mark since at least 1984, long before the date that Respondent registered the disputed domain name. Complainant contends that the disputed domain name is merely an obvious misspelling of the TURBOTAX mark, with a simple switch of the letters “rbo” to “bra.” Complainant contends that Respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name, and rather has registered and is using it in bad faith, having simply acquired the disputed domain name for Respondent’s own commercial gain, in an attempt to confuse consumers and possibly install malware. Respondent has no affiliation with Complainant, and Complainant has not authorized any activities by Respondent, nor any use of its trademarks thereby.

B. Respondent

Respondent did not reply to Complainant’s contentions.

6. Discussion and Findings

A. Identical or Confusingly Similar

The Panel must first determine whether the disputed domain name <tubratax.com>, is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which Complainant has rights in accordance with paragraph 4(a)(i) of the Policy.

The Panel finds that it is. The disputed domain name contains an obvious misspelling of Complainant’s well-known TURBOTAX mark. This indicates a practice commonly known as “typosquatting,” where a domain name registrant deliberately registers common misspellings of a well-known mark in order to divert consumer traffic. Other UDRP panels have routinely found typosquatted domain names like this to be “confusingly similar” for purposes of a finding under the UDRP. See Edmonds.com, Inc. v. Yingkun Guo, WIPO Case No. D2006-0694 (<edunds.com>); Disney Enterprises, Inc. v. John Zuccarini, Cupcake City and Cupcake Patrol, WIPO Case No. D2001-0489 (<disneychanel.com>, <disneywolrd.com>, <walddisney.com>); see also Credit Karma, Inc. v. Domain Admin, WhoIs Privacy Corp., WIPO Case No. D2017-0194 (<credidkarma.com>).

The Panel therefore finds that the disputed domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark in which Complainant has rights in accordance with paragraph (4)(a)(i) of the Policy.

B. Rights or Legitimate Interests

The Panel next considers whether Complainant has shown that Respondent has no “rights or legitimate interests” as must be proven to succeed in a UDRP dispute. Paragraph 4(c) of the Policy gives examples that might show rights or legitimate interests in a domain name. These examples include: (i) use of the domain name “in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services”; (ii) demonstration that respondent has been “commonly known by the domain name”; or (iii) “legitimate noncommercial or fair use of the domain name, without intent for commercial gain to misleadingly divert consumers or to tarnish the trademark or service mark at issue”.

No evidence has been presented to the Panel that might support a claim of Respondent’s rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name, and Respondent has no license from, or other affiliation with, Complainant.

Therefore, the Panel finds that Complainant has provided sufficient evidence of Respondent’s lack of “rights or legitimate interests” in accordance with paragraph 4(a)(ii) of the Policy which Respondent has not rebutted.

C. Registered and Used in Bad Faith

There are several ways that a complainant can demonstrate that a domain name was registered and used in bad faith. For example, paragraph 4(b)(iv) of the Policy states that bad faith can be shown where “by using the domain name [respondent has] intentionally attempted to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to [respondent’s] website or other online location, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the complainant’s mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of [respondent’s] website or location or of a product or service on [the] website or location”. As noted in Section 4 of this Panel’s decision, Respondent has used the URL associated with the disputed domain name to redirect users to other websites, including a pay-per-click site that includes links to services that compete with those offered by Complainant under the TURBOTAX mark.

Hence, Respondent is trading on the goodwill of Complainant’s trademarks to attract Internet users, presumably for Respondent’s own commercial gain. In addition to confusingly similar site content, the disputed domain name incorporates an obvious misspelling of Complainant’s well-known TURBOTAX mark. The Panel therefore finds sufficient evidence that Respondent registered and has used the disputed domain name with knowledge of Complainant’s prior rights in the distinctive TURBOTAX mark. See, Intuit Inc. v. Super Privacy Service LTD c/o Dynadot, WIPO Case No. D2019-1662 (transferring <turbetax.com> and referring to Complainant’s “high degree of fame”).

Therefore, the Panel finds that Respondent registered and used the disputed domain name in bad faith in accordance with 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 disputed domain name <tubratax.com> be transferred to Complainant.

Lorelei Ritchie
Sole Panelist
Date: July 27, 2020

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