Queen Elizabeth Looses Domain Name

Uri · 12-21-2002

Queen loses out on New Zealand's cyber name

21.12.2002

GENEVA - Queen Elizabeth, acting as trustee for New Zealand, lost a legal battle to claim the internet domain name newzealand.com from a US firm, international arbitrators ruled on Friday.

The decision, issued by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), is the first alleged cybersquatting case concerning a country domain name brought to the United Nations agency, according to WIPO assistant-director Francis Gurry.

"It is the first country case...," Gurry told Reuters.

In a unanimous ruling, three neutral arbitrators named by WIPO found that New Zealand had not registered the disputed name as a trademark. They ruled that Virtual Countries, Inc., a company based in Seattle, Washington which registered the site in the United States in 1996, had not acted in bad faith.

The site, which calls itself a "window on New Zealand", offers information for tourists, immigrants and students.

New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy which has retained Britain's Queen Elizabeth as its head of state. The case was filed against Virtual by "Her Majesty the Queen, in right of her government in New Zealand, as trustee for the citizens, organisations and state of New Zealand".

The site carries a disclaimer that it is "not affiliated with any government entity associated with a name similar to the site domain name".

Parties to a WIPO dispute have 10 days to appeal a decision.

12-21-2002	#1
Uri Guests Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Tel Aviv, Israel Posts: 120	Queen loses out on New Zealand's cyber name 21.12.2002 GENEVA - Queen Elizabeth, acting as trustee for New Zealand, lost a legal battle to claim the internet domain name newzealand.com from a US firm, international arbitrators ruled on Friday. The decision, issued by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), is the first alleged cybersquatting case concerning a country domain name brought to the United Nations agency, according to WIPO assistant-director Francis Gurry. "It is the first country case...," Gurry told Reuters. In a unanimous ruling, three neutral arbitrators named by WIPO found that New Zealand had not registered the disputed name as a trademark. They ruled that Virtual Countries, Inc., a company based in Seattle, Washington which registered the site in the United States in 1996, had not acted in bad faith. The site, which calls itself a "window on New Zealand", offers information for tourists, immigrants and students. New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy which has retained Britain's Queen Elizabeth as its head of state. The case was filed against Virtual by "Her Majesty the Queen, in right of her government in New Zealand, as trustee for the citizens, organisations and state of New Zealand". The site carries a disclaimer that it is "not affiliated with any government entity associated with a name similar to the site domain name". Parties to a WIPO dispute have 10 days to appeal a decision.