Grandtotal Finances Limited registered names such as
altadista.com, altavixta.com and eltavista.com with internet
registrar Network Solutions Inc. Grandtotal was relying on the
typing errors of those entering addresses in their web browsers.
Each of the domain names led to a web site offering a choice of
linking to the AltaVista search engine or linking to paritate.com,
an internet bank apparently based in Latvia.
Grandtotal did not make any submissions in its defence to the
World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) panellist to whom
AltaVista took its dispute to be judged under the rules of ICANN,
the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.
AltaVista reported to the WIPO panellist that Grandtotal and its
affiliate companies registered at least 460 other domain names
including misspellings of other famous trade marks, such as
swisair.com, lycoz.com, retuers.com and volswagen.com.
The practice of registering and using domain names in bad faith
is known as cybersquatting. Registering and using misspellings of
domain names in bad faith has become known as typosquatting.
In transferring all 43 names to the search engine company, the
WIPO panellist said: the present case is a blatant and egregious
example of the kind of bad faith which the ICANN policy addresses
However, he said he added that he did not feel empowered to grant
AltaVista’s request for a blanket order to Network Solutions
ordering all domain names registered by Grandtotal consisting of
similar misspellings of AltaVista be transferred.
