Indian surrenders domain name to Google

New Delhi, May 28 (PTI) Internet search giant Google has
won a cybersquatting case at the World Intellectual Property
Organisation (WIPO) against an Indian who had tried to block
the domain name 'googblog.com'.

According to the information available with the WIPO,
Geneva-based WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center has ordered
the transfer of domain name to the US-based search giant after
Herit Shah of Gujarat offered to surrender the disputed name
to Google.

Google had challenged the registering of domain name
'googblog.com' by Shah at WIPO stating that it was confusingly
similar to its trademark on which the company has rights.

Cybersquatting is an illegal activity of buying and
officially recording an address on the internet that is the
name of an existing company or a well-known person, with the
intention of selling it to the owner in order to make money.

As per the information available with the WIPO, Google
filed the complaint against Shah on March 26 this year.
However, the disputed name has been registered by Shah since
September 25, 2008.

WIPO is a specialised agency of the United Nations for
developing a balanced and accessible international system in
the field of intellectual property rights.

The California-headquartered firm has been using the name
'GOOG' as a NASDAQ financial stock ticker since 2004. The
company has used the trademark GOOGLE since the inception of
its business in 1997.

The search giant operates a blog service under the brand
'Blogger'.

As per the details available with WIPO, a pre-complaint
correspondence between the parties (Google and Shah) failed to
resolve the dispute.

However on May 2, after commencement of administrative
proceedings, Shah stated before the panel that the
registration of domain name was in bad faith and was an
infringement of intellectual property.

"I was in a bad faith that I can legally keep the domain
googblog.com ... I really did very unfair to Google. I
sincerely apologise to Google for infringement, misuse of
their intellectual property (GOOGBLOG.COM)," Shah stated.

The WIPO panel found in this case the consent-to-transfer
request replaces the need to assess the matter under the
elements of its Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy
and ordered the transfer of the domain name to Google. PTI SKR
RKM