By: Justin Marsh
A fancy-dress retailer is appealing against a ruling that they must surrender its starwars.co.uk web domain to Disney. For more than a decade, the Berkshire-based company has used the address to direct shoppers to a Star Wars section of its Jokers' Masquerade store. But in July, Nominet, which oversees .uk domains, backed Disney's ownership claim.
The costume store's parent company, Abscissa, was also told to give up an additional six domain names used for the same purpose as the StarWars.co.uk was:
starwars.uk
star-wars.uk
star-wars.co.uk
starwarsco.uk
starwarsco.co.uk
star-warsco.co.uk
When spoken to, the Chief executive Mark Lewis, said that Abscissa had used both of these addresses for more than 12 years without being hassle. The following is what he told BBC News.
"I can't believe that over the last two decades that someone from either Lucasfilm or Disney did not do a WhoIs [search] and find that that starwars.co.uk and star-wars.co.uk were not registered to them,"
"There has to be a point in time, surely, where a registrant has to be able to hold some title."
"We cannot find any case where a complainant lets a domain lapse, then files a complaint," he said. "I believe this case sets a precedent."
Lewis also added that since the year prior of 2003, the website was under the ownership of LucasFilm but was not renewed for reasons unknown. He also stated that he did not ever come to suspect that they would be involved in any type of a legal engagement between any company let alone Disney if Nominet did not give a much shorter "Name.uk" domain last year. Nominet;s initial ruliing are determined by single expert, but it appeals go to a three-person panel.
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