Generic Top Level Domain Name (gTLD) Decisions

The Complainant is State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company ("Complainant"). The Respondent is Pyramid Exchange Inc., ("Respondent").

The domain name at issue is "friendsatstatefarm.com", registered with N@meIT.

The undersigned (or panelist) certifies that she has acted independently and impartially and to the best of her knowledge has no known conflict in serving as the panelist in this proceeding.

Honorable Carolyn Marks Johnson sits as Panelist.

Complainant submitted a Complaint to the National Arbitration Forum ("The Forum") electronically on 08/21/2000; The Forum received a hard copy of the Complaint on 08/17/2000.

On 08/23/2000, N@meIT confirmed by e-mail to The Forum that the domain name "friendsatstatefarm.com" is registered with N@meIT and that the Respondent is the current registrant of the name. N@meIT has verified that Respondent is bound by the N@meIT registration agreement and has thereby agreed to resolve domain-name disputes brought by third parties in accordance with ICANN’s UDRP.

On 08/23/2000, a Notification of Complaint and Commencement of Administrative Proceeding (the "Commencement Notification"), setting a deadline of 09/12/2000 by which Respondent could file a Response to the Complaint, was transmitted to Respondent via e-mail, post and fax, to all entities and persons listed on Respondent’s registration as technical, administrative and billing contacts, and to postmaster@friendsatstatefarm.com by e-mail.

On 09/12/2000, having received no Response from Respondent, using the same contact details and methods as were used for the Commencement Notification, The Forum transmitted to the parties a Notification of Respondent Default.

On 09/20/2000, pursuant to Complainant’s request to have the dispute decided by a One Member panel, The Forum appointed Honorable Carolyn Marks Johnson as Panelist.

Having reviewed the communications records, the Administrative Panel (the "Panel") finds that The Forum has discharged its responsibility under Paragraph 2(a) of the Uniform Rules "to employ reasonably available means calculated to achieve actual notice to Respondent." Therefore, the Panel may issue its Decision based on the documents submitted and in accordance with the ICANN Policy, ICANN Rules, The Forum’s Supplemental Rules and any rules and principles of law that the Panel deems applicable, without the benefit of any Response from Respondent.

Complainant requests that the domain name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.

A. Complainant

Complainant alleges that Respondent registered a domain name that is confusingly similar to Complainant’s service mark "State Farm."

Complainant alleges that Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the domain name, since Respondent is not doing business under the domain name, nor is Respondent commonly known under the domain name. Further, Respondent has never been known by or performed business under the domain name, and Respondent does not posses any independent intellectual property rights in the name.

Complainant alleges that the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith. Complainant proffers that "the use of ‘friendsat’ is clearly intended to attract individuals seeking information on State Farm and creates customer confusion as to the source or sponsorship of the materials contained on the site."

B. Respondent

Respondent submitted no response in this matter. Because Respondent has failed to submit a response, based on the Policy, the Panel accepts as true all allegations set forth in the Complaint. See ICANN Rule 14(b).

Complainant is a nationally known company that has been doing business under the name "State Farm" since 1930. State Farm registered its "State Farm" trademark with the Patent and Trademark Office on June 11, 1996.

Respondent is the registered holder of several other domain names that incorporate the names of nationally known companies. For example, Respondent is the registered holder domain names that combine the phrase "friendsat" with names such as Aetna, Allstate, Disney, and Chevron.

Paragraph 4(a) of the ICANN Uniform Domain Name Dispute Policy ("Policy") requires that a complainant prove each of the following three elements to obtain an order that a domain name should be cancelled or transferred:

(1) the domain name registered by the Respondent is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the Complainant has rights;

(2) the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; and

(3) the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.

The domain name in question, "friendsastatefarm.com" is confusingly similar to Complainant’s service mark "State Farm." Complainant has established rights in the mark, evidenced by its use in commerce and registration with the PTO. See America Online, Inc. v. iDomainNames.com, FA 93766 (Nat. Arb. Forum) (finding that Respondent’s domain name <go2AOL.com> was confusingly similar to Complainant’s mark AOL). See also State Farm v. Kaufman, FA 94335 (Nat. Arb. Forum April 24, 2000) (finding that <statefarmdirect.com> is confusingly similar to Complainant’s registered mark).

Respondent asserts no rights or legitimate interest in the domain name in question. The failure of Respondent to produce evidence sufficient to rebut Complainant’s allegations entitled the Panel to conclude that Respondent has no such rights or legitimate interest with respect to the domain name at issue. See Parfumes Christian Dior v. QTR Corp., No. D2000-0023 (WIPO Mar. 9, 2000)

Respondent has registered and is using the domain name in bad faith. Evidence of bad faith is not limited to the circumstances listed in the ICANN Policy. CBS Broadcasting, Inc. v. LA-Twilight-Zone, D2000-0397 (WIPO June 19, 2000) ("[T]he Policy expressly recognizes that other circumstances can be evidence that a domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith"). See also Home Interiors & Gifts, Inc. v. Home Interiors, D2000-0010 (WIPO Mar. 7, 2000) ("[J]ust because Respondent’s conduct does not fall within the ‘particular’ circumstances set out in ¶4(b), does not mean that the domain names at issue were not registered in and are not being used in bad faith").

Under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, evidence of bad faith includes:

15 U.S.C. § 1125(d)(1)(B)(i)(VIII). Here, Respondent is the holder of several domain names that incorporate the marks of national companies as set out above.

Having established all three elements required by the ICANN Policy Rule 4(a), it is the decision of the Panel that the requested relief be granted.

Accordingly, for all of the forgoing reasons, it is ordered that the domain name, "friendsatstatefarm.com" be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.