{
    "case_number": "CAC-ADREU-007548",
    "time_of_filling": null,
    "domain_names": [
        "sumat-project.eu"
    ],
    "case_administrator": "Aneta Jelenová (Case admin)",
    "complainant": [
        "FUNDACION Centro de Tecnologías de Interacción Visual VICOMTECH (VICOMTECH)"
    ],
    "complainant_representative": null,
    "respondent": [
        "Colleen Hester"
    ],
    "respondent_representative": null,
    "factual_background": "The Complainant is a center specialized in the fields of multimedia, computer science and interactive technologies and headquartered in San Sebastian (Spain). It is named VICOMTECH.\r\nThe Complainant’s “Human Speach and Language Technology” department is heading a project, founded by the European Commission and named SUMAT. \r\nThe goal of this project is to increase the efficiency of the translation of professional subtitles by introducing automatic statistical translation technology. To this end, an online subtitling translation service is being developed for nine European languages combined in 14 language pairs. \r\nThis initiative is funded by the EU's ICT policy support program and is run by a consortium of VSI and other subtitling companies with five technical partners. The goal is the construction of a large corpus of adjusted subtitles and the use of this corpus for teaching SMT systems in several language pairs.\r\nOne of the commitments undertaken in the project was to maintain the Sumat-Project website for a period of at least five years starting on March 31, 2014, that is until at least March 31, 2019.\r\nAs project partner, the company ATHENS TECHNOLOGY CENTER ABETE registered the domain name as of April 28, 2011.\r\nAfter the first years of registration, however, it was agreed that the project coordinator - the Complainant - should be the owner of the registration and the formalities for the transfer were initiated.\r\nHowever, as an error occurred during its transfer, the domain name was released and registered by a third party who transferred it to its current owner, i.e. to the Respondent.\r\nThe disputed domain name <sumat-project.eu> was last registered on July 20, 2017. \r\nThe Complainant has attempted to come to an amicable agreement and therefore sent several e-mails to the Respondent and tried to call him. No response was sent. \r\nThe domain does not resolve to any website.",
    "other_legal_proceedings": "There is no other legal proceedings the Panel is aware of which are pending or decided and which relate to the disputed domain name.",
    "discussion_and_findings": "The Complainant is required to satisfy with Article 21.1 of the EU Regulation 874\/2004 on “Speculative and abusive registrations” according to which “A registered domain name shall be subject to revocation, using an appropriate extra-judicial or judicial procedure, where that name is identical or confusingly similar to a name in respect of which a right is recognized or established by national and\/or Community law, such as the rights mentioned in Article 10(1), and where it:\r\na) has been registered by its holder without rights or legitimate interest in the name; or\r\n(b) has been registered or is being used in bad faith”.\r\n\r\nArticle 10.1 of the same regulation states that: “Holders of prior rights recognized or established by national and\/or Community law and public bodies shall be eligible to apply to register domain names during a period of phased registration before general registration of. eu domain starts.\r\n‘Prior rights’ shall be understood to include, inter alia, registered national and community trademarks, geographical indications or designations of origin, and, in as far as they are protected under national law in the Member-State where they are held: unregistered trademarks, trade names, business identifiers, company names, family names, and distinctive titles of protected literary and artistic works”.\r\nThe first question to answer is to decide if the Complainant has a right in the meaning of Article 10.1 of the EU Regulation 874\/2004.\r\nThe Complainant filed the Complaint from its position of coordinator of the European project called SUMAT.\r\nThe Complainant is as Spanish entity which relies on rights protected by the Spanish law, according to the Laws on Brands of 2011 and to the Act of 2001, including:\r\n-\tarticle 6.2 of the Act of 2001, which states that “a notoriously known market is equated with a registered trademark”;\r\n-\tarticle 34 of the Act of 2001, which “equates the proprietor of the well-known mark in Spain to the proprietor of the registered trademark”.\r\nThe Complainant briefly cites the Spanish legal provisions on which it relies to allege prior rights.\r\nIt does neither provide the copy of these laws, nor cite any decision that applied these provisions and that would comment and explain the required criteria to consider a name as well-known in Spain and protected as well-known non-registered trademark.\r\nThe SUMAT project is a European project, financed by the EU and aiming at facilitating the communication in different languages. This is a major issue for Europeans.\r\nGiven the submitted pieces of evidence, the Panel is not able to consider that the Complainant proved that it has a prior right according to Spanish national Law.\r\nIt does not preclude the Complainant from requesting again the transfer of the disputed domain name.\r\nTherefore, the Panel is of the opinion that the Complainant does not prove its prior rights, in the meaning of articles 21.1 and 10.1 of the 874\/2004 EU Regulation on “Speculative and abusive registrations”.\r\nTherefore, there is no need to discuss the absence of rights or legitimate interests or the bad faith registration or use.\r\nFor all the foregoing reasons, in accordance with Paragraph B 12 of the Rules, the Panel orders that the complaint is denied.",
    "decision": "For all the foregoing reasons, in accordance with Paragraphs B12 (b) and (c) of the Rules, the Panel orders that\r\n\r\nthe Complaint is Denied",
    "panelists": [
        null
    ],
    "date_of_panel_decision": "2017-11-29 00:00:00",
    "informal_english_translation": "I.      Disputed domain name: <sumat-project.eu>\r\n\r\nII.     Country of the Complainant: Spain, country of the Respondent: Germany\r\n\r\nIII.    Date of registration of the domain name: 20\/07\/2017\r\n\r\nIV.    Rights relied on by the Complainant (Art. 21 (1) Regulation (EC) No 874\/2004) on which the Panel based its decision:\r\n        \r\n        7.   unregistered trademark: no proof of the alleged rights\r\n \r\nV.    Response submitted: No\r\n\r\nVI.   Domain name is neither identical nor confusingly similar to the protected right\/s of the Complainant, as the Complainant offers no proof that it has rights in the word SUMAT incorporated in the disputed domain name.\r\n\r\nVII.  Rights or legitimate interests of the Respondent (Art. 21 (2) Regulation (EC) No 874\/2004):\r\n        1. [Yes\/No]\r\n        2. Why: Not considered by the panel, as the Complainant did not prove that it has rights in the word SUMAT that is incorporated in the disputed domain name.\r\n\r\nVIII. Bad faith of the Respondent (Art. 21 (3) Regulation (EC) No 874\/2004):\r\n        1. [Yes\/No]\r\n        2. Why: Not considered by the panel, as the Complainant did not prove that it has rights in the word SUMAT that is incorporated in the disputed domain name.\r\n\r\nIX.   Other substantial facts the Panel considers relevant: None.\r\n\r\nX.    Dispute Result: Complaint denied\r\n\r\nXI.   Procedural factors the Panel considers relevant: The Complainant did not prove that it has rights in the word SUMAT that is incorporated in the disputed domain name.",
    "decision_domains": [],
    "panelist": null,
    "panellists_text": null
}