WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center ADMINISTRATIVE PANEL DECISION Sanofi v. WhoisGuard Protected, WhoisGuard, Inc. / Sanofi India, Sanofi India Limited Case No. D2019-0695 1. The Parties

1.1 The Complainant is Sanofi of Paris, France, represented by Selarl Marchais & Associés, France.

1.2 The Respondent is WhoisGuard Protected, WhoisGuard, Inc. of Panama City, Panama / Sanofi India, Sanofi India Limited of Visakhapatnam, India. 2. The Domain Name and Registrar

2.1 The disputed domain name (the “Domain Name”) is registered with NameCheap, Inc. (the “Registrar”). 3. Procedural History

3.1 The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) on March 27, 2019. On March 28, 2019, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrar a request for registrar verification in connection with the Domain Name. At that time the Domain Name was registered in the name of a domain name privacy service.

3.2 On March 28, 2019, the Registrar transmitted by email to the Center its verification response disclosing registrant and contact information for the Domain Name which purported to record the registrant as Sanofi India Limited.

3.3 The Center sent an email communication to the Complainant on April 4, 2019 providing the registrant and contact information disclosed by the Registrar, and inviting the Complainant to submit an amendment to the Complaint. The Complainant filed an amendment to the Complaint on April 9, 2019.

3.4 The Center verified that the Complaint together with the amendment to the Complaint satisfied the formal requirements of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the “Policy” or “UDRP”), 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”).

3.5 In accordance with the Rules, paragraphs 2 and 4, the Center formally notified the Respondent of the Complaint, and the proceedings commenced on April 10, 2019. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5, the due date for Response was April 30, 2019. The Respondent did not submit any response. Accordingly, the Center notified the Respondent’s default on May 1, 2019.

3.6 The Center appointed Matthew S. Harris as the sole panelist in this matter on May 8, 2019. 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.

3.7 On review of the case file, the Panel noted that the Domain Name appeared to be registered in the name of company in the Complainant’s group through which the Complainant conducted business in India. Accordingly, on May 13, 2019 the Panel issued a Procedural Order (“Procedural Order No 1”) asking the Complainant it clarify its position in this respect and in particular whether it contended that the registration details provided were false. The Procedural Order No 1 also invited the Respondent to file a further submission in this respect.

3.8 A further submission was filed by the Complainant on May 14, 2019 in response to Procedural Order No 1. The Respondent did not file any further submission. 4. Factual Background

4.1 The Complainant is a multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Paris, France, and is the world’s 4th largest multinational pharmaceutical company by prescription sales. The company was formed as “Sanofi-Aventis” in 2004 by the merger of Aventis and Sanofi-Synthélabo, and changed its name to “Sanofi” in May 2011. Its consolidated net sales in 2017 were EUR 35.05 billion. It engages in research and development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceutical products for sale, principally in the prescription market, but the business also develops over-the-counter medication. It operates in more than 100 countries on 5 continents employing 100,000 people.

4.2 The Complainant owns various trade marks that comprise or incorporate the term “Sanofi”. They include:

(i) European Union trade mark number 000596023, filed on July 15, 1997, and registered on February 1, 1999, in classes 3 and 5 and comprising SANOFI in stylized text, and

(ii) International trade mark number 1092811, registered on August 11, 2011, in classes 1, 9, 10, 16, 38, 41, 42, and 44 comprising the work mark SANOFI and which has proceeded to grant in approximately 20 territories.

4.3 The Complainant is also the owner of various domain names comprising the term “Sanofi” in combination with various Top-Level Domains (“TLDs”). Most of these domain names are used to promote its business and products. They include and , both of which are currently in use and the latter of which is used for a website promoting the Complainant group’s activities in India.

4.4 The Complainant has been a party to a very large number of cases under the Policy (with over 70 being listed in its Complaint).

4.5 The Domain Name was previously registered on May 16, 2012, shortly after an announcement that the Complainant’s Indian operating company had changed its name to one that incorporated the term Sanofi. The Domain Name was then the subject of UDRP proceedings in which the appointed panel ordered the transfer of the Domain Name to the Complainant on August 27, 2012 (see Sanofi v. Tangzhou,WIPO Case No. D2012-1428).

4.6 The Domain Name appears to have been allowed to lapse and was then re-registered o