Generic Top Level Domain Name (gTLD) Decisions

Domain Name: "seganet.com"

Domain Name Registrar: Network Solutions, Inc.

Domain Name Registrant: Fernando Mosquera

Date of Domain Name Registration: March 31, 1998

Date Complaint Filed: August 21, 2000

After reviewing the Complaint, and determining it to be in administrative compliance, the National Arbitration Forum (The Forum) forwarded the Complaint to the Respondent on August 23, 2000 in compliance with 2(a), and the administrative proceeding was commenced pursuant to Rule 4(c). In compliance with Rule 4(d), the Forum immediately notified Internet Domain Registrars, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), and the Complainant that the administrative proceeding had commenced. Respondent submitted a response to The Forum within twenty (20) days pursuant to Rule 5(a).

On March 31, 1998, Respondent registered the domain name "seganet.com" with Network Solutions, Inc., the entity that is the Registrar of the domain name. By registering its domain name with Internet Domain Registrars, Respondent agreed to resolve any dispute regarding its domain name through ICANN’s Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution and the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy.

Any reference to "Rule" or "Rules" are to ICANN’s Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy and Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy as supplemented by the National Arbitration Forum’s Supplemental Rules to ICANN’s Uniform Domain Resolution Policy.

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

Sega of America Dreamcast, Inc., (formerly Sega of America, Inc.) and affiliated entities which will hereinafter be referred to simply as Sega, own rights to its corporate name and numerous registered trademarks that include the term Sega in connection with goods and services that include computer game hardware, software, video game programs, clothing, entertainment services, computer services, toys and arcade games. Sega owns U.S. trademark registrations for the mark SEGA^® (Reg. Nos. 1,050,573; 1,566,116; 1,935,745; 2,106,258; 2,147,206; 2,196,897; 2,207,358; 2,305,445 and 2,315,166); SEGA CD^® (Reg. No. 1,864,194); SEGA STEERING WHEEL^® (Reg. No. 2,120,684); SEGA TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP^® (Reg. Nos. 2,245,303 and 2,244,129); SEGA NETMERC^® (Reg. No. 2,032,970); SEGA RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP^® (Reg. No. 2,260,164); SEGASATURN^® (Reg. Nos. 1,981,983 and 2,086,704); SEGA WATERSKI^® (Reg. No. 2,306,923); SEGASOFT^® (Reg. No. 2,194,041); SEGA VISIONS^® (Reg. No. 1,998,400); SEGA SPORTS^® (Reg. No. 2,312,932); SEGA FOUNDATION^® (Reg. No. 2,135,210); and OFFICIAL SEGA SEAL OF QUALITY^® (Reg. No. 2,000,015).

In addition, Sega has pending U.S. applications for trademarks as follows: SEGANETÔ (App. No. 76-038,360); SEGA SPORTSÔ (App. Nos. 75-672,196; 75-512,211; 75-892,450; 75,780,994 and 75-929,491); SEGA TOYSÔ (App. No. 75-883,068); SEGA SPORTS ARCADEÔ (App. Nos. 75-919,524 and 75-919,666); SEGAÔ (App. No. 75-882,949); SEGA HIKARUÔ (App. No. 75-788,143); SEGA SKI SUPER GÔ (App. No. 75-207,212); and SVP SEGA VIRTUA PROCESSORÔ (App. No. 74-522,511). Sega also owns various trademark registrations or has pending applications for use of the Sega mark throughout the world in countries in Europe, Asia, South America and Latin America. This is also true of Australia and Canada.

Sega owns and has the right to several Internet domain names used worldwide including: "www.sega.com," "www.sega.net," "www.segasoft.com," "www.sega.co.jp," and www.sega-europe.com."

Additional detail regarding Sega registrations with the United States Patent & Trademark Office are contained in the annex to the Complaint. The evidence clearly establishes that Sega has gone to great lengths and incurred considerable expense in order to obtain exclusive rights to numerous marks and names comprised of or including the term Sega. It has utilized a family of Sega marks worldwide in various enterprises and has utilized widespread advertising and promotion of its products and services under the family of Sega marks, names and domain names throughout the world.

In October of 1997, Respondent, then a sixteen-year-old student, started a web page devoted to video games. The video games were primarily products made by Sega and the page was dubbed SegaNet. The site had new articles, editorials, reviews and information. It grew and on March 13, 1998, Respondent registered seganet.com. The cite attracted the attention of Sega and its PR firm, "Access PR" which began to provide Respondent with press assets, releases and reviews of products. Respondent had conversations with Access PR about the content that was sent to him.

Seganet.com continued successfully through 1998 and into 1999 and it began to generate a high traffic volume. Respondent claims headlines were written with the support of Sega and licensed third parties and that he received support from Sega in the form of press releases. In May of 1999, Respondent was invited to Complainant’s Electronic Entertainment Expo after party.

In June of 1999, Respondent graduated high school and in July was interviewed by the President of Sega of America, Bernie Stolar and the current President of Sega, Peter Moore, for a story that appeared on seganet.com about the launch of the Sega Dreamcast Hollywood Video Rental Program. Respondent, in unrelated press events, met Charles Belefield, Director of Communications at Sega and Heather Hawkins, Director of Gaming PR.

In September of 1999, Respondent took a position at GameFan as Editor and Chief of Sega GameFan online and he ceased operating seganet.com because of an obvious conflict of interest with his new employer. In September 1999, the seganet.com web page that had begun in October of 1997, went off line and the domain name, seganet.com was directed to gamefan.com. Following the cessation of the web page and its direction to gamefan.com, Complainant announced plans to strengthen their online direction and announced the formation of a new company (Sega.com) and a new Internet service provider. Shortly thereafter, on May 5, 2000, Complainant’s attorneys sent a letter to Respondent requesting that he transfer the "www.seganet.com" to Sega.

Thereafter, Respondent began to use the domain name for a non-work related personal web page.

The undersigned certifies that he has acted independently and has no known conflict of interest to serve as the arbitrator in this proceeding. Having been duly selected, and being impartial, the undersigned makes the following findings and conclusions.

Based upon the findings and conclusions, it is decided as follows:

THE UNDERSIGNED DIRECTS THAT THE DOMAIN NAME SEGANET.COM REGISTERED BY RESPONDENT, FERNANDO MOSQUERA, BE TRANSFERRED TO COMPLAINANT, SEGA OF AMERICA DREAMCAST, INC..