WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center

Alternative Dispute Resolution Proceeding

Accelerated Proceeding

Case No. DSE2018-0008

1. Petitioner

The Petitioner is Aktiebolaget Trav och Galopp, ofSweden, represented by BrandIT GmbH, Switzerland.

2. Domain Holder

The Domain Holder is M. N., of Sweden.

3. Domain Name and Procedural History

This Alternative Dispute Resolution proceeding relates to the domain name <atgtillsammans.se>.

This Petition was filed under the Terms and Conditions of registration (the “.se Policy”) and the Instructions governing Alternative Dispute Resolution proceeding for domain names in the top-level domain .se (the “.se Rules”).

The WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (“the Center”) verified that the Petition satisfied the formal requirements of the .se Policy and the .se Rules. In accordance with Section 13 of the .se Rules, the Center formally notified the Domain Holder of the Petition on March 2, 2018. The Domain Holder did not submit any response and, accordingly, the Center notified the Domain Holder’s default on April 5, 2018.

The Center appointed Jon Dal as the sole Arbitrator in this matter on April 20, 2018. The Arbitrator has submitted the Statement of Acceptance and Declaration of Impartiality and Independence, as required by the Center to ensure compliance with Section 1 of the .se Rules.

4. Factual Background

The Petition for the domain name <atgtillsammans.se> was received by the Center on February 13, 2018. The Petitioner elected to have the dispute decided by one arbitrator. The Petitioner also elected to have the dispute decided as an Accelerated proceeding if the Domain Holder did not respond to the Petition. The Domain Holder did not submit any response to the Petition.

5. Claim

The Petitioner claims that the domain name <atgtillsammans.se> shall be transferred to the Petitioner.

6. Parties’ Contentions

A. Petitioner

The Petitioner submits that the three required conditions are met as outlined below.

1. The domain name is identical or similar to a name in which the Petitioner has rights that are legally binding in Sweden

ATG, the Swedish Horse Racing Totalisator Board, (hereinafter “Petitioner”) was founded in 1974. The company was established by the state, with the aim of guaranteeing long-term financial stability for trotting and thoroughbred racing. Petitioner’s aim is to be a leading betting company, and to be an attractive workplace with staff who enjoy working for the organization. It wants to be seen as a “good company” and the best friend of the equine community.

In 2013 the Petitioner launched a manifesto with the vision of becoming the largest and most profitable gaming company in the Nordic region operating on a global market. Growth since the launch of the manifesto has seen 430,000 registered members playing with the Petitioner in the 12 months to 2016.

Among others, the Petitioner owns the European trademark ATG (registration number 007428907, registered in 2008 in classes 36 and 41) which is valid in Sweden and other countries. Furthermore, the Petitioner owns and operates the domain name <atg.se>.

It must be noted that the Petitioner has spent a considerable amount of time and money protecting its intellectual property rights. The disputed domain name <atgtillsammans.se> contains the Petitioner’s trademark and company name in its entirety, along with the Swedish word “tillsammans”, meaning “together” in English. The term “tillsammans” is intrinsically connected to the Petitioner’s business, as the Petitioner’s major “tillsammans” product has been extensively promoted, including through the sub-domain “www.tillsammans.atg.se”. Therefore, the domain name should be considered confusingly similar to the Petitioner’s name.

2. The domain name has been registered or used in bad faith

The whois details for <atgtillsammans.se> are privacy protected, with the domain name being registered on February 8, 2017. This domain is pointed to “www.atgtillsammans.com” - therefore from the outset the Petitioner believes it is highly likely that these two domains are under common control.

Subsequent to filing this Petition, it was confirmed by WIPO on March 1, 2018 that the Domain Holder is indeed M. N. of Sweden who is the same registrant as the domains <atgtillsammans.com> and <v75tips.com>. It must be noted that V75 is also a registered trademark of the Petitioner, evidencing a systematic and unauthorised use of the Petitioner’s marks.

The domain name <atgtillsammans.se> was registered and is being used in bad faith to attract users to a website that is not related to the Petitioner and in an attempt to divert traffic and benefit from the goodwill and repute of the ATG trademark. The content of the website at <atgtillsammans.se> implies that it is somehow related to the Petitioner’s business, and makes unauthorised use of the Petitioner’s trademarks, including ATG.

The Petitioner tried to contact the Domain Holder through a Cease and Desist Letter, but received no reply, which the Petitioner notes as a strong indication of bad faith registration.

3. The Domain Holder has no rights or justified interest in the domain name

The Domain Holder has no rights or justified interest in the domain name. The Domain Holder is not known by that name, does not hold rights in the name, nor is the Domain Holder using the name in its linguistic sense. The disputed domain name is being used in commercial operations that infringe on the Petitioner’s rights by cornering the market in that domain name.

When entering the terms “atg” and “Sweden” in the Google search engine, the returned results point to the Petitioner and its business activity. The Domain Holder could have easily performed a similar search before registering the domain name and would have quickly learnt that the trademarks are owned by the Petitioner and that the Petitioner has been using its trademarks in many countries around the world, not to mention that ATG is a well-known mark in Sweden in any case.

The Domain Holder is not related in any way to the Petitioner. The Domain Holder does not carry out any activity for, nor does he have any business with the Petitioner.

B. Domain Holder

The Domain Holder has not responded to the Petition.

7. Discussion and Findings

A domain name may be deregistered or transferred to the party requesting dispute resolution proceedings if the following three conditions are fulfilled:

1. The domain name is identical or similar to:

a. a distinguishing product feature,

b. a distinguishing business feature,

c. a family name,

d. an artist’s name (if the name is not associated with someone who deceased a long time ago),

e. a title of another party’s copyrighted literary or artistic work,

f. a name that is protected by the Regulation concerning Certain Official Designations (1976:100),

g. a geographic designation or a designation of origin that is protected by the European Council’s Regulation (EU) 510/2006,

h. a geographic designation that is protected by the European Council’s Regulation (EU) 110/2008,

i. a geographic designation that is protected by the European Council’s Regulation (EU) 1234/2007, or

j. the name of a government authority that is listed in the registry that Statistics Sweden must maintain under the Swedish Code of Statutes SFS 2007:755 (Government Agencies Register Ordinance), or its generally accepted abbreviation, which is legally binding in Sweden and to which the party requesting dispute resolution can prove its rights, and

2. The domain name has been registered or used in bad faith, and

3. The domain holder has no rights or justified interest in the domain name.

All three conditions must be met in order for the party requesting dispute resolution to succeed with a claim for transfer of the domain name.

A. The Domain Name is identical or similar to a trademark which is legally binding in Sweden and to which the Petitioner can prove its rights

The Petitioner is the registered owner of the EU trademark registration no 007428907 for ATG (word). The domain name contains the Petitioner’s trademark ATG and the word “tillsammans” (together in English). Where “tillsammans” is a generic word, the dominant part of the domain name is ATG. The domain name contains the Petitioner’s trademark in its entirety. The Arbitrator finds the domain name is similar to the Petitioner’s EU trademark registration for ATG, which is legally binding in Sweden.

B. The Domain Name has been registered or used in bad faith

Based on the record, the Arbitrator finds the disputed domain name has been registered and used in bad faith.

C. The Domain Holder has no rights or justified interest in the Domain Name.

Based on the record, the Arbitrator finds the Domain Holder has no rights or justified interests in the disputed domain name.

8. Decision

The domain name <atgtillsammans.se> shall be transferred to the Petitioner.

Jon Dal
Date: April 30, 2018