WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center ADMINISTRATIVE PANEL DECISION Vapro Supply LLC v. Vapor Acquisitions Company, LLC Case No. D2019-0909 1. The Parties

The Complainant is Vapro Supply LLC, United States of America (“United States”), represented by Chipperson Law Group, P.C., United States.

The Respondent is Vapor Acquisitions Company, LLC, United States, represented by Hall Estill, United States. 2. The Domain Name and Registrar

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

The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “Center”) on April 22, 2019. On April 23, 2019, the Center transmitted by email to the Registrar a request for registrar verification in connection with the Domain Name. On April 23, 2019, the Registrar transmitted by email to the Center its verification response confirming that the Respondent is listed as the registrant and providing the contact details.

The Center verified that 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”).

In accordance with the Rules, paragraphs 2 and 4, the Center formally notified the Respondent of the Complaint, and the proceedings commenced on April 30, 2019. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5, the due date for Response was May 20, 2019. On May 17, 2019, the Respondent requested an automatic response extension under paragraph 5(b) of the Rules. The Response deadline was extended to May 24, 2019, pursuant to paragraph 5(b) of the Rules. The Response was filed with the Center on May 23, 2019.

The Center appointed W. Scott Blackmer, William R. Towns, and Sally M Abel as panelists in this matter on June 25, 2019. The Panel finds that it was properly constituted. Each member of 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. 4. Factual Background

The Complainant is a wholesale distributor of “electronic cigarettes and vapor accessories” based in Austin, Texas, United States. The online database of the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts shows that the Complainant was registered as a limited liability company with the Texas Secretary of State on February 28, 2014. The Complainant operates a website at “”, which advertises the Complainant as “the only company in the vapor industry dedicated to wholesale”, shipping e-cigarette products and vapor accessories to retailers throughout the United States and Canada. The parties agree that the Complainant’s domain name was first registered on August 29, 2013. The Complainant states (although without supporting documentation) that its business has been operating since at least October 1, 2013.

The Complainant holds a number of registered VAPRO trademarks, including United States Trademark Registration Number 4964420 for VAPRO as a standard character mark (registered on May 24, 2016) and Registration Number 4964375 for VAPRO in stylized letters (also registered on May 24, 2016). The Complainant also claims common law rights in VAPRO SUPPLY “dating back to at least October 1, 2013” (presumably as a successor in interest, as that date precedes the Complainant’s company registration). The Complainant applied for United States trademark registration of VAPRO SUPPLY as a standard character mark on December 12, 2018, Serial Number 88226861, the application is pending examination.

According to the Registrar, the Domain Name was created on November 12, 2007, and is registered in the name of TPB Admin, listing the organization as Turning Point Brands in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Turning Point Brands Inc. (“TPB”) is a Delaware corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange. TPB, with a website at “”, describes itself as “a leading marketer in the Other Tobacco Products (OTP) segment”, with smoking, smokeless tobacco, and vaping products as well as non‑tobacco brands. The Response in this proceeding was filed by a TPB subsidiary, the Respondent Vapor Acquisitions Company, LLC, which operates the website associated with the Domain Name. According to the online database of the Delaware Department of State, Division of Corporations, the Respondent is a Delaware limited liability company that was incorporated on March 16, 2018. The Respondent gives its address in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, evidently at TPB headquarters.

The Response attaches an Asset Purchase Agreement indicating that the Respondent acquired assets of Vapor Supply LLC and related entities on April 27, 2018. This transaction encompassed intellectual property assets including the Domain Name, which a company called Vapor Supply LLC based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States had previously used for its website selling e-cigarettes and vaping supplies, as shown in screenshots available through the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.

Since May 2, 2018, according to the Response, the Domain Name has been used to advertise and sell e‑cigarette and vaping products, since the Respondent assumed control of the Vapor Supply LLC business “engaged in the design, manufacture, marketing and selling of certain vaping devices and related smoke free technologies”. In connection with the acquisition of Vapor Supply’s business, the Respondent entered into a sublicense (also attached to the Response) that allowed it to redirect traffic from a TPB-affiliated website at “” to the website associated with the Domain Name.

The Domain Name resolves to a website headed “Vapor Supply”, which advertises and sells vaping products. The copyright notice is in the name of “Vapor Supply”, but no company information is given. The “About Us” content is sparse, giving a postal address in Louisville, Kentucky and stating that e-liquids are made in a “lab here on site”. The online database of the Kentucky Secretary of State does not list any company, foreign or domestic, named “Vapor Supply”. 5. Parties’ Contentions A. Complainant

The Complainant argues that the Domain Name is confusingly similar to its VAPRO trademark, transposing the letters “r” and “o” and adding the generic term “supply”, with essentially similar meaning and associated with websites dealing with the same products.

The Complainant contends that the Respondent is a direct competitor that has no permission to use the VAPRO mark and otherwise has no rights or legitimate interests in the Domain Name. The Complainant asserts that the Respondent acquired the Domain Name in 2018, not for its descriptive value, but to attack the Complainant’s VAPRO mark. The Complainant argues that the Respondent did this to disrupt the Comp