Dire Straits Win WIPO Domain-Name Case
August 31, 2007
- Global
| Digital and Mobile
| Legal and Management
By Andre Paine, London
The World Intellectual Property Organization has ruled in favor of Dire Straits in a "cyber-squatting" case.
The U.K. rock band filed a complaint with the Geneva-based patents and intellectual property authority May 28 over a disputed domain name, www.direstraits.com.
In their complaint to WIPO, Dire Straits claimed to own the intellectual rights to their band name, which has been in existence for 30 years.
The respondent, Alberta Hot Rods of Canada, has been involved in "many domain name disputes" including a site named after Tom Cruise, and did not offer any reply in this case, according to WIPO's adjudication.
In its findings, WIPO said that the domain name is identical to a trademark for which Dire Straits has the rights. It also found that the respondent had no rights or legitimate interests in the domain name, and that it was registered and being used in bad faith.
WIPO has now ordered that the domain name should be transferred to the band.
The disputed site was still live as of Aug. 31, describing itself as an "unofficial Dire Straits fan site", although it acts as a portal which has several sponsored links to commercial sites offering music memorabilia and concert tickets.
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