Société Du Figaro S.A. of Paris, France, just lost its bid to grab the domain figaro.tv from a dead guy
- The Respondent is Cut Company of Krefeld, Germany;
- The owner – and seemingly only economic actor – of said company was Mr. Blumtritt.
- According to the documents filed by the Complainant, Mr. Blumtritt passed away on June 28, 2013.
- A cease and desist letter was sent in October 2013, after the presumed death of Mr. Blumtritt;
- The Complaint was filed on November 8, 2013, also after the presumed death of Mr. Blumtritt;
- Neither the cease and desist letter, nor the Complaint received an answer;
- Taking into account the fact that “Figaro” not only refers to the trademark of the Complainant, but also to a well-known name, the Panel also requested the Complainant, to inform the Panel if it wished to contact the successors of the Respondent in order to settle the dispute, or whether it preferred that the Panel issue a decision.
The Complainant answered the following day, without providing any further information as to the succession of the Respondent and restating its position.
The Complainant further added that prior to “the Respondent’s death”, on January 15, 2013 the Complainant offered the Respondent the amount of “$800” to recover the disputed domain name and that the Respondent provided no response to this offer.
4. Factual Background
The Complainant is a newspaper of French press founded in 1826.
The Complainant owns several trademarks including the distinctive wording “Figaro”.
The Complainant also owns many domain names including this wording.
The disputed domain name has been registered on January 13, 2009.
The Respondent seems to be a sole-man company who operated a hairdresser business in Krefeld, Germany. It is not known to the Panel whether the company still exists, as its owner, Mr. Blumtritt, seems to have passed away on June 28, 2013.
As at the date of this decision, the disputed domain dame does not resolve to an active website (the “Website”).
(a) In the event that a Party, in the absence of exceptional circumstances, does not comply with any of the time periods established by these Rules or the Panel, the Panel shall proceed to a decision on the complaint.
(b) If a Party, in the absence of exceptional circumstances, does not comply with any provision of, or requirement under, these Rules or any request from the Panel, the Panel shall draw such inferences therefrom as it considers appropriate.…
