Intellectual property law is rights-based law. In the
context of .nz domain names, rights in a trade mark are essential
if you want to recover an unfairly registered domain name. If you
haven't got rights, you haven't got a leg to stand
on.
One company that recently found this out to its cost was an
Australian online retailer.
In late November 2012 I received an email from Mr Jones (not the
client's real name). Mr Jones had a very specific enquiry: can
an Australian company, which operates under a registered brand name
in Australia, lay claim to a .co.nz domain name
when that company in no way operates in New Zealand and does not
have its trade mark registered here?
Mr Jones (as it transpired) had received a letter from an
Australian company via its attorneys alleging his registration of a
domain name ("the Domain Name") was contrary to its
intellectual property1 rights.
