Quakester2000 reports us via our news submit that Roxio, the company behind the
recently re-launched Napster music service, has won a battle in the UK for the domain name napster.co.uk. The domain name was registered by
the Treasury Solicitor but UK's domain name registry has ruled that the domain
name was abusive and has ordered that it be transferred to Roxio:
 The Napster brand was purchased by Roxio, best known for its
CD-burning software, and it re-launched the brand last October as the name
for its authorised music downloading service.
However, until now,
the domain name napster.co.uk has been in the hands of others. It was
originally registered in August 1999 by a UK company known as Napster
Limited. Completely unconnected with Shawn Fanning or his company Napster
Inc, Napster Limited used the name for advertising and to link to a
guitar-selling site at www.guitarmogul.co.uk.
In July and August 2003, according to the Nominet
report, Roxio contacted one of the Napster Limited directors, John
Rackham, alleging that the use of the Napster.co.uk name was abusive, and
requested that it be transferred to Roxio. Rackham agreed, but it soon
became clear that Napster Limited had been dissolved on 1st April 2003 and
that ownership of the domain name had already passed to the
Crown.
The Treasury Solicitor acts for the Crown in dealing
with assets in which ownership has lapsed, so that was Roxio's next port
of call. |
If you're interested in reading more you can find the complete
article here. The Nominet decision can be found here.
Source: The Register
