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The New Statesman
Controversial ruling on myspace.co.uk domain
31 January 2008
Conflict and controversy within the domain name industry
A recent ruling in favour of Myspace, Inc.on the myspace.co.uk domain has caused conflict and controversy within the industry. A complaint bought through Nominet’s Dispute Resolution Service has resulted in Myspace being awarded the domain name. This, in spite of the fact that it’s a .co.uk domain name and was first registered six years before Myspace even existed. The key finding of the independent DRS expert was that although the name was originally not an abusive registration, it became one, primarily through hosting lucrative adverts. It was originally used for other purposes and a primary argument for the defence was that Myspace would have been aware that myspace.co.uk was not available at its inception and further, that any Myspace-related ads were automatically generated by an advertising content algorithm due to the social network’s popularity. Jonathan Robinson, Chief Operating Officer for NetNames commented, “It is amazing how, after so many years, domain disputes still cause such unpredictable outcomes and associated controversy. This DRS decision is counter-intuitive at first sight and serves as a warning that domain registrations are not guaranteed and need to be secured by pro-active management as well as a clear understanding of the dynamic nature of the industry. It also highlights how automated web content of any sort can get people into real difficulties.? About NetNames NetNames is an ICANN Accredited Registrar with the ability to register domain names in all available suffixes worldwide. The company is headquartered in London, with offices in New York, Nice, Munich, Madrid, Copenhagen, Zurich and Oslo. For further information, visit www.netnames.com/platinum.
NetNames is part of London listed Group NBT plc (LSE: NBT). Through its industry leading domain name management service, NetNames Platinum Service, the company is responsible for managing and protecting online brands for international corporates, including in excess of 30% of the FTSE 100. Following the acquisition of Ascio Technologies in January 2007 NetNames became Europe’s largest domain name management specialist.
