TradeNZ accused of domain name 'hijack'

TradeNZ has lost a landmark case to claim back the internet domain name newzealand.com from a United States firm, Virtual Countries.

A ruling from a United Nations body criticised TradeNZ for taking the action, but TradeNZ said there was a risk the high-profile name could be sold off to anyone for a premium price.

Virtual Countries has staked a claim to domain names featuring 16 nations, and has registered names such as Russia.com and Sweden.com.

The case was the first time a Government had sought the transfer of a country's domain name from a private company.

TradeNZ, represented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, filed a complaint against Virtual Countries in August to the United Nations' World Intellectual Property Organisation.

A three-member WIPO panel has been investigating since mid-October.

The complaint and subsequent submissions said the name "New Zealand" was a trademark in the hands of the Government and that the domain name had been registered in "bad faith".

TradeNZ said this was done in two ways - by Virtual Countries registering newzealand.com in contravention of the name being trademark and that the purpose of obtaining the domain name was to sell it for a substantial profit.

However, WIPO ruled that Virtual Countries had not acted in bad faith and instead criticised New Zealand for taking the case forward.

It said TradeNZ was guilty of "domain name hijacking" and said it had abused domain name disputes policies by taking out the proceedings.

Ari Goldberger, lawyer for Virtual Countries, said he was not surprised by the ruling.

"The decision is in line with other decisions which have almost uniformly ruled in favour of geographic domain name owners," said Mr Goldberger. "It's also consistent with longstanding trademark principles which allow for the unfettered use of geographic terms."

TradeNZ has 10 days to appeal.

- STAFF REPORTER/AGENCIES