THE TIMES – How to avoid tricksters in name game

THE TIMES INTERFACE – SEPTEMBER 10 1997

How to avoid tricksters in name game

Drummond : Few legal precedents have been set

COMPANIES paying big sums to buy back their own trademarks from people who have registered them on the Internet are being offered a free service to track down the offenders. Businesses have paid as much as £100,000 to get back their own names, known as Internet domains. In the UK, domains typically take the form of www. companyname.co.uk : for ex- ample www.the-times.co.uk “Nearly 100,000 names are sold each month and individuals and organised groups often buy them with an eye to the main chance, says Jason Drummond, managing director of Virtual Internet, which is offering the new service. “The trouble is that we have identified 64 countries where anyone can register any name without having to prove ownership and these countries include the UK, the US and Germany. “Companies spend time and money getting their own names back and unfortunately few legal precedents have been set. “Companies either shortcut the legal process by paying up or, as Harrods found, they get to court – at considerable cost- and find the defendants give up. Some people are classic opportunists and cave in quickly. But a more organised group held out for £30,000 and ended up with a substantial amount.” He adds : “It only costs $50 a year to hold a domain name, so if people register 20 and strike lucky just once, they can make a nice profit.” Drummond says companies are not protected by copyright law here. “People just register the domain : as long as they don’t set up a public Web site using the name, they’re not infringing copyright.” Virtual Internet’s new free Global Name Search service allows companies to search a database of 400 national domains, updated every two hours, for newly registered names. Virtual Internet also offers a Name Watch Service, which alerts clients when one of their trademarks is registered. However, Drummond says companies could save all the hassle by getting in first and registering their names themselves in as many countries as possible. Virtual Internet is at www.vi.net

JOHN KAVANAGH