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ARTICLE · 23 JANUARY 1998

Whose Domain Is It Anyway? - A Report On The Recent One In A Million Domain Name

Andersen Legal
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United KingdomMedia, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment
The recent case of Marks & Spencer Plc v One In A Million and others and the related cases brought by Ladbrokes, J Sainsbury Plc, Virgin Enterprises Ltd and BT has at last shed some useful light on the position of domain names and, in particular "domain name hi-jacking", at least in England. There have not yet been any significant reported cases in Scotland.

The case is probably the most significant case in England on domain names, following as it does the legal actions involving Harrods, Prince, and Pitman Training Ltd. Whilst all these actions have provided some assistance they have all been limited in some fashion. For example whilst Harrods was able to get an injunction to restrain the use of the domain name Harrods.com, which had been registered by a third party, the actual hearing was not attended by the defendant. Similarly, in the Pitman case the companies disputing the ownership of the domain name had both been trading for several years using the "Pitman" name and thus

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