A decision by the World Intellectual Property Organisation
(“WIPO”) has transferred the rights to 31 domain names to the
Canadian government. The names, which included CanadaCouncil.com
and CanadianCustoms.com, had been registered by David Bedford under
the name "domainbaron.com (domain names for sale)”.
The WIPO panel considering the dispute found that the
registration name indicated Bedford’s intention to re-sell the
names and consequently concluded that he had registered them in bad
faith. The panel only refused to transfer the domain name
“DominionOfCanada.com” on the grounds that the Canadian government
had not made any use of the name since 1982 and so had no
legitimate claim.
The panel also heard evidence of the domain names being used to
redirect internet users seeking information on web sites related to
the Canadian government to sites owned by Bedford. These included
sites promoting atheism and smokers' rights for children. The
redirection to offensive web sites was taken to be evidence of
Bedford’s intention to entice the Canadian government into
purchasing the domain names at a price higher than he had paid for
them, so that the government could clearly disassociate itself from
the offensive materials.
