1. The Parties

The Complainant is Harrods Limited, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, represented by Jeremy Dickinson of Complainant's solicitors DLA, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The Respondent is HDU Inc., Dayton, Ohio, United States of America.

2. The Domain Name and Registrar

The disputed domain name <harrodssalon.com> (Domain Name) is registered with Dotster, Inc.

3. Procedural History

The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the "Center") on February 3, 2004. On February 4, 2004, the Center transmitted by e-mail to Dotster, Inc., a request for registrar verification in connection with the domain name at issue. On February 4, 2004, Dotster, Inc., transmitted by e-mail to the Center its verification response confirming that the Respondent is listed as the registrant and providing its administrative, billing, and technical contact details. On February 10, 2004, the Center verified that the Complaint satisfied the formal requirements of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Policy"), the Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Rules"), and the WIPO Supplemental Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Supplemental Rules").

In accordance with the Rules, paragraphs 2(a) and 4(a), the Center formally notified the Respondent of the Complaint, and the proceedings commenced on February 10, 2004. On February 11, 2004, Dotster, Inc. forwarded to the Center an e-mail by which the Respondent, complaining of the registrar's failure to update the contact information on the Domain Name, stated that he had never received the WIPO notification since he had changed its e-mail address. The very same day the Center forwarded the Complaint to the Respondent's new e-mail address. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5(a), the due date for Response was March 1, 2004. The Response was filed with the Center on February 28, 2004.

The Center appointed Anna Carabelli as the Sole Panelist in this matter on March 15, 2004. The Panel finds that it was properly constituted. The Panel has submitted the Statement of Acceptance and Declaration of Impartiality and Independence, as required by the Center to ensure compliance with the Rules, paragraph 7.

The Panel's decision is due April 29, 2004.

4. Factual Background

The Complainant has been operating the world-famous Harrods Department Store in the Knightsbridge area of London for many years.

The Complainant has provided evidence (Attachment D to the Complaint) of three UK and one Community Trade Mark registrations for the name HARRODS owned by Complainant, namely

HARRODS UK Reg. No. 1266810 registered on May 10, 1986, in connection with international class of goods and services CL.16 (Renewal date May 10, 1993);

HARRODS UK Reg. No. 2245927 registered on September 19, 2000, in connection with international class of goods and services CL. 35;

HARRODS UK Reg. No. 1305593 filed on March 31, 1987, and registered on March 19, 1993, in connection with international class of goods and services CL. 42 (including beauty salons and hairdressing services);

HARRODS Community Trade Mark Reg. No. 62414 filed on April 1, 1996, and registered on October 23, 1998, in connection with international classes of goods and services CL 1 to 42.

The Complainant has further provided evidence (Attachment D to the Complaint) of two US trademark registrations for Harrods, namely:

HARRODS US Reg. No. 1354693 filed on January 3, 1984, and registered on August 13, 1985, in connection with international class of goods and services CL. 42 (including consumer products retail mail order services);

HARRODS US Reg. No. 2115836 filed on October 8, 1996, and registered on November 25, 1997, in connection with international class of goods and services CL. 25.

Furthermore, the Complainant has been the registrant of the domain name <harrods.com> since February 14, 1999 (Attachment C to the Complaint).

The Complainant has also submitted a printout of the Whois database according to which, as confirmed by the registrar verification response, the Respondent registered the Domain Name <harrodssalon.com> on July 11, 2001, and subsequently renewed it on June 15, 2003 (Attachment A of the Complaint).

A printout of the web page "www.harrodssalon.com" shows that the Domain Name identifies the website of the Respondent, Harrod's Designs Unlimited (HDU) which is operating a "Hair and Nail Salon" owned by Brenda Harrod and located in Beavercreek, Ohio (Attachment E to the Complaint).

The Respondent has provided evidence that on August 18, 1994, HDU was incorporated in the State of Ohio (Attachment A to the Response) and that Brenda Harrod Bohn, as incorporator, formed this corporation with the purpose of operating a beauty salon for services and retail products (Attachment B to the Response).

The administrative and technical contact for HDU resulting from the Whois database, namely Steve Bohn (who is also signing the Response), is Brenda Harrod's husband as of June 1994 (see the marriage certificate as Attachment C to the Response).

The Respondent has also submitted a copy of Harrod's Designs Unlimited's hair and nail salon advertisement published on the Yellow Pages (Attachment D to the Response) as well as a copy of an e-mail sent on May 16, 2002, to Ms. Gibbons of Hammond Suddards Edge in reply to her e-mail apparently sent on behalf of the Complainant (Attachment E to the Response). In this e-mail Steve Bohn stressed that the Domain Name has been registered to operate the Respondent's future website, that it is due to Brenda Harrod's name, that there was no attempt to confuse the Respondent's website to the Complainant's name and business or to use the Complainant's trademark for personal gain and that there was no interest in selling it.

5. Parties' Contentions

A. Complainant

The Complainant contends that:

- the Complainant is the "owner of over 150 years of international goodwill and reputation in the name HARRODS" and since 1849, it has been operating "the world-famous Harrods Department Store in the Knightsbridge area of London, England";

- it provides a high number of goods and services which have been extended worldwide on the one hand thanks to associations with companies offering banking, estates and casino on-line services, and on the other hand by means of satellite stores in major International Airports and other stores located in Hong Kong and Japan;

- thanks to the quality of goods and services, the great number of customers and the extensive advertising and promotion of the registered trademark HARRODS, the latter, a "synonym of a wide variety of high-quality luxury products and services," has become famous worldwide and exclusively traceable to the Complainant;

- the Respondent's Domain Name is confusingly similar to the Complainant's registered trademark HARRODS; the addition of a descriptive word like "salon," is unable to avoid a likelihood of confusion with the trademark and suggests a connection or affiliation of the website "www.harrodssalon.com" to the Complainant;

- the Respondent has no right or legitimate interest in the Domain Name since 1.) there is no indication of the Domain Name being used in connection with a bona fide offering of goods and services in accordance with paragraph 4(c)(i) of the Policy, 2.) the Respondent is not commonly known by the name "Harrods" (paragraph 4(c)(ii) of the Policy) and 3.) he does not make a legitimate non-commercial or fair use of the Domain Name in accordance with paragraph 4(c)(iii) of the Policy;

- the Domain Name has been registered and is being used in bad faith since the Respondent's intention is to deliberately create an "initial interest confusion" with the Complainant's well-known trademark to divert Internet users to its website for commercial gain;

- the Respondent has used in the layout of the web page the same colours, green and gold, which characterize the Complainant's trademark HARRODS;

- the Complainant's solicitors never contacted the Respondent prior to the commencement of the administrative proceedings, the Complainant being concerned with the fact that the Respondent, once contacted, would attempt to sell or transfer the Domain Name.

B. Respondent

The Respondent, in the person of the administrative and technical contact for the Domain Name, Mr. Steve Bohn, contends that:

- the Respondent, namely Harrod's Designs Unlimited, Inc., is a company incorporated in the State of Ohio by Brenda Harrod, of which Mr. Bohn is Vice President and owns 49%;

- the Respondent has a right and legitimate interest in the Domain Name since the company's name comes from Brenda L. Harrod, who has been using it for over 20 years in connection with her business activity of hair styling services and married Mr. Steve Bohn in 1994;

- the Respondent is commonly known by the Domain Name, since the salon has been operated by Brenda Harrod for about 10 years;

- before deciding to supplement its advertising by the Domain Name in 2002, the Respondent relied primarily on the Yellow Pages and on word-of-mouth advertising by its customers to attract business;

- the Respondent did not register or use the Domain Name in bad faith to intentionally attract for commercial gain Internet users to its website by creating a likelihood of confusion with the Complainant's trademark, but registration and use were both made to advertise the services provided by the Respondent's hair styling salon;

- the Complainant has engaged in a reverse domain name hijacking. In this connection the Respondent refers to Harrods Limited v. Steve Bohn, WIPO Case No. D2003-0736 (in which Brenda Harrod's sister, Sharon L. Harrod, registered the domain name <harrodsjewelery.com>, of which Harrods Limited obtained the transfer merely due to the fact that the respondent renounced filing a response) and stresses that the Complainant avoided mentioning the exchange of correspondence between its solicitors and Mr. Bohn (Attachment E to the Response).

6. Discussion and Findings

Paragraph 15(a) of the Rules instructs the Panel to decide the Complaint on the basis of the statements and documents submitted and in accordance with the Policy, the Rules and any rules and principles of law that it deems applicable.

Under paragraph 4(a) of the Policy, the Complainant must prove each of the following:

(i) the domain name in issue is identical or confusingly similar to the Complainant's trademark or service mark; and

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

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

Paragraph 4(b) of the Policy sets out four illustrative circumstances which for the purposes of paragraph 4(a)(iii) shall be evidence of the registration and use of a domain name in bad faith.

Paragraph 4(c) of the Policy sets out three illustrative circumstances any one of which if proved by Respondent, shall be evidence of the Respondent's rights to or legitimate interests in the Domain Name for the purpose of paragraph 4(a)(ii) above.