From
Domain Names USA | Valerie Lynn Sunday, June 1st 2008
As reported in ComputerWorld (“What’s in a name? Cybersquatting case has an answer” February 13, 2008) OnePhone Holding thought it had a good case against Indigo Networks over the rights to the Onephone.com domain name based on its world trademark rights and the location of Indigo Networks in a “small territory.”
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) disagreed, proving size does not matter.
The fact that a company operates “internationally” or holds “world trademark rights” does not lessen the claims of another legitimate business operation, regardless of the size of the territory in which that other business is located.
Imagine an international food grower claiming rights to a “local” farmer’s land based simply on the claim of
1. “World trademark rights” and
2. “That local farmer is located in a small territory.”
That smacks of internet imperialism to me.
But I like this remark by Jasper Sellin most because it shows, for all to see, a dangerous sense of elitism:
“In our opinion, it is far from clear that a holder of worldwide trademark rights should find it obvious that a company operating in a small territory like the Bahamas should have legitimate rights in a .com domain name.”
You must be joking, Jasper.
You mean to say you could not have possibly thought that a company, operating in a “little territory” might actually have a legitimate right to a .com domain name?
You mean to say that the owners of one business could not possibly have known that the owners of another business might have a legitimate claim to a .com name?
Gee, with that reasoning, why not march into every company operating in a “little territory” and demand their .com domain names.
It should be obvious to you that *any* company, regardless of location and regardless of the size of that location, has, from its inception, the same legitimate rights as the company you represent.
And these “world trademark rights” do not give you the right to squat on or squash the potential of any other business idea simply because you want something you don’t own and are not willing to pay the seller’s price for it.
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