Monday, February 18, 2008

MySpace obtains transfer of myspace.co.uk

MySpace Inc. has succeeded in having the domain name myspace.co.uk transferred to it using Nominet's dispute resolution procedure. The respondent had registered the domain name in 1997, long before MySpace launched its social-networking site. The Nominet expert's main reason for finding the registration abusive was that after MySpace became a household name, the respondent posted links to various social-network site links on a pay-per-click "parking" site accessible via the domain name, enabling it to profit from the success of the MySpace site and also creating a risk of confusion between MySpace's services and those of other sites. This decision is a reminder that even if a domain name is registered in all innocence, the respondent's subsequent use of it may render the registration abusive.Source: MySpace Inc. v Total Web Solutions Limited, Case 04962, January 2008.

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