Fight over Narnia.mobi Domain Name
Posted by Chief Editor , Sunday, 15 June 2008
One of the WIPO domain dispute cases that seem to be interesting to follow involves C S Lewis, the author of the popular book and movie series "Chronicles of Narnia".
In 2006, the Richard and Gillian Saville-Smith family, residing in Edinburgh, Scotland, paid about $140 dollars to purchase the Narnia.mobi domain as a surprise present for their 10-year-old son who loves the book series. The domain name was supposed to be a surprise for their son’s birthday which supposedly coincided with the British release of the film "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian"…
When they were asked to return the name to the C S Lewis estate they refused and were presented with a legal complaint shortly after, filed with the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation).
In a statement to the press, Gillian Saville-Smith said, "To try to ruthlessly snatch away a gift intended for a young boy who loves his Narnia books is unbelievable." The family has until June 23 to reply to the WIPO and a judgment is expected within one month.
This is a clear case of an innocent domain trademark infringement case which will of course be ruled in favor of the plaintiff.
Source: WIPO – June 15th, 2008 – Posted by Roland Buck – Chief Editor
