Helen Fielding, the author of Bridget Jones’ Diary and Bridget
Jones, The Edge of Reason, has won control of the domain name
bridgetjones.com on the grounds that she owned registered trade
marks in “Bridget Jones” and the individual who registered the name
did so and used it in bad faith.
In a case before a panellist of the Arbitration and Mediation
Centre of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO),
Fielding won the name from Anthony Corbett of Florida. Fielding had
UK registered trade marks in the name covering, among other things,
pharmaceutical preparations, sound recordings, video recordings,
artists’ materials, furniture, clothing and various foods.
Corbett had written in an exchange of e-mails with the
author:
“My colleagues and I have spent considerable
time and expense formulating our plans for a web-based fan site,
and we are excited about the possibilities such a site offers,
especially in view of the upcoming film. I would consider an offer
in the region of $15,000 to be appropriate compensation.”
Fielding then took the case before the WIPO panellist who found
that the name had been registered and used in bad faith and
therefore ordered that it be transferred.
