GENEVA -- Microsoft will be allowed to evict the holder of the Internet address microsof.com, the U.N.'s anti-cybersquatting board said on Thursday. It is the software giant's second victory in such a case.
Microsoft filed a complaint in June at the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) against Tarek Ahmed, of Brooklyn, New York, who was the first to register the address as an Internet domain, a WIPO statement said.
In ruling for Microsoft, the U.N. agency said Ahmed had registered the Internet address in bad faith. WIPO runs an arbitration system that evicts cybersquatters -- Internet users who register famous names in the hope of making an easy profit.
A WIPO panel also ruled that the domain name was confusingly similar to the trademark already owned by Microsoft and that its owner had no legitimate interest in the Internet address.
"The respondent ... has engaged in abusive registration of the domain name 'microsof.com'. The panel orders that the domain name 'microsof.com' be transferred to the complainant, Microsoft Corporation," the panel ruled.
As the meteoric rise of the Internet has made domain names more valuable, the current first-come, first-served system has created a market for opportunists to grab Net addresses.
But the fast-track arbitration system of WIPO, the specialized U.N. copyright and intellectual property agency, allows firms and individuals to avoid costly lawsuits in pursuing squatters when mischief is the obvious motive or serious money is at stake.
Companies that have won back their names from alleged cybersquatters through WIPO so far include Christian Dior, Deutsche Bank, Microsoft, and Nike.
Hollywood's highest-paid actress, Julia Roberts, evicted a New Jersey man who had registered juliaroberts.com as an Internet domain after filing a complain with WIPO.
But WIPO also said on Thursday it had ruled that British pop star Sting had failed in his bid to evict the holder of sting.com, saying among other things that sting was a common English word and the star had not provided evidence he had registered the name as a trademark.
Microsoft, owner of the domain names microsoft.com and microsoft.net, won in April a case against an individual residing in Arizona who had been the first to register the address microsoft.org.
In the latest case, WIPO said the holder of the microsof.com page prominently displayed the images of two Microsoft software boxes with the pitch: "We offer a wide variety of software, hardware and valuable services to help your business grow."
Microsoft first asked the holder of the page to transfer the address, saying the name was confusingly similar to its own.
But WIPO said that Ahmed refused, telling Microsoft's representatives in an e-mail: "I am a user and developer of Microsoft products. I am right now seeking funding for a development project that ... will definitely enhance Microsoft's customer relations."
He also turned down an offer by the company to reimburse him for the registration fees he had paid for the address, saying: "...you should contact Microsoft and tell them (about) my situation and return with a much better offer."
The respondent, according to WIPO, later complained on his website: "Microsoft is trying to rob me. This is not (a) Microsoft.com site. All I did was sell products and support Microsoft products. Now they want to take away my domain name. What happened to free trade?"
