Zero net gain in website dispute
A SHEFFIELD man involved in a row with Coca-Cola over a website has lost his case.
Stephen Ash, of Bankwood Road, Gleadless, registered a name for an internet site – cokezero.co.uk – before the multi-million pound global company could and then put it up for sale.
But the soft drinks giant took legal action claiming it was an "abusive registration" and won its case.
Mr Ash did what thousands of people do to try to cash in on the internet boom – registering names in the hope companies will buy them if they are closely linked to their brand.
But Coca-Cola complained the site used the name of its sugar-free drink Coke Zero and the name resolution service Nominet ruled it must be handed over.
In a written decision, Nominet expert James Bridgeman said: "The complainant has, to my reasonable satisfaction, shown rights in respect of a name or mark which is identical or similar to the domain name cokezero.co.uk."
Mr Ash, aged 41, a self-employed computer expert, said he was disappointed with the outcome and the way Coca-Cola handled the case.
He said: "I bought the domain name a couple of years ago. I beat Coca-Cola to it and did it to sell on or to develop the site myself and attract advertisers. But I never got round to it and then in August I was contacted by the host of the site where the name was for sale telling me Coca-Cola would go to court to get the name.
"But not once did the company contact me directly and if they had I could have saved them an awful lot of money - I would have sold it on for a nominal fee compared to what they have paid in legal fees do deal with this."
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