THE SAWTOOTH SOCIETY, INC. V. LEILANI JONES

[Indexed as: Sawtooth Society v. Jones]
[Indexed as: sawtoothsociety.com; sawtoothsociety.org]

National Arbitration Forum
File Number: FA00040000094647

Judgement: 22 May, 2000

Panel Member: Robert S. Brandt

Domain name - Domain name dispute resolution policy - Legitimate interest - Legitimate usage -- Trademark rights - Service mark - Bad faith registration - Bad faith use.

Complainant is a non-profit organization which submitted that it has owned the trade and service mark for "Sawtooth Society" since June 1997 but has offered no registration papers to prove this.  Respondent registered both "Sawtoothsociety.com" and "Sawtoothsociety.org" in August 1998, claiming that the web sites would be used to promote music that has an educational message for documentary film and television.  Respondent registered "Sawtooth Society" with the Idaho Secretary of State on 13 October, 1998.  On the same day, Respondent offered to sell both domain names to Complainant.  Both web sites remain unused by Respondent.

Held, name transferred to Complainant

Respondent has not explained how the domain names - which have no relation to her name, music, film, or television - will further her enterprise.  Further, no explanation is offered of why two domain names were registered, and why respondent registered a name with "org" which commonly denotes non-profit organizations.  Respondent has, in the past, asserted that she purchased the Sawtooth Society domain names because Complainant had not.  The panel found that the domain names were identical to the trade and service marks held by Complainant, that Respondent has no legitimate right or interest in the names, and that registration and use by Respondent has been in bad faith.

Policies Referred to

Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, adopted August 6, 1999

Robert S. Brandt, Panelist:-

This domain name dispute was heard by the undersigned Arbitrator pursuant to the ICANN Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy upon the written submissions of the parties. The Complainant is represented by Steven R. Ormiston, Ormiston, Korfanta & Holland. 

Procedural Findings
   1.Domain names: SAWTOOTHSOCIETY.COM and SAWTOOTHSOCIETY.ORG. 
   2.Domain names registrar: Network Solutions, Inc. 
   3.Domain name registrant: Leilani Jones. 
   4.Date of domain registration: August 27, 1998 and August 14, 1998. 

After reviewing the complaint and determining it to be in administrative compliance, the National Arbitration Forum ("Forum") forwarded the complaint to the Respondent in compliance with Rule 2(a) of the ICANN Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Policy. The administrative proceeding was commenced pursuant to Rule 4(c). The Forum immediately notified Network Solutions. The Complainant elected to have the administrative proceeding conducted by a single arbitrator. The Complaint and the Response were docketed and forwarded to the Arbitrator for decision. 

Findings of Fact 

The Complainant is a non?profit organization that protects and promotes the Sawtooth National Recreation Area in Idaho. In its papers, the Complainant states that it has owned the trademark and service mark "Sawtooth Society" since June, 1997, but no registration papers were submitted. 

Respondent states that she plans to use the web site "to showcase and offer music that has an educational message for documentary film and television." She offers no explanation of how the domain names identical to the Complainant's name will further that enterprise, as they mention neither her name, music, film, or television. Nor does she offer any explanation of why she registered two names, and why she registered a name with "org," the common identifier of non?profit organizations. 

When she appeared at a collaborative stewardship meeting on October 2, 1998, she stated that she had purchased the Sawtooth Society domain names because the Complainant had not purchased them. Less than two weeks after the meeting, the Respondent registered with the Idaho Secretary of State the service mark "Sawtooth Society." She expresses suspicion and disagreement with, even hostility toward the Complainant in her Response. 

On the same day the Respondent registered the service mark, October 13, 1998, she wrote Complainant and offered to sell the "org" name for $200 and to sell the "com" name for $5,840.  

Though the Respondent registered the Sawtooth names in August, 1998, there is nothing on them.

Conclusions

The domain names registered by the Respondent are identical to the Complainant's trademark and service mark. 

The Respondent has no rights or legitimate interest in the names. 
The Respondent registered and uses the names in bad faith. 

Decision

The domain names SAWTOOTHSOCIETY.ORG and SAWTOOTHSOCIETY.COM are transferred to the Complainant. 

May 22, 2000 Robert S. Brandt, Arbitrator
 

Domain Name Transferred