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The Queen of England and Domain Name Wars
Posted by Paul Szynol on Monday, December 23 @ 17:44:41 EST Trademark
The WIPO has dismissed New Zealand's gov't complaint seeking the use of the domain name "NewZealand.com". The domain name currently belongs to Virtual Countries, a company based in Seattle.

New Zealand's gov't has itself stated, WIPO argues, that "New Zealand law, custom or practice does not preclude the use of country names under any circumstances. New Zealand does not see any reason why the domain names should be excepted from this general rule."

WIPO claims that the gov't thus knew it had no standing, that it brought the complaint in bad faith, and that it attempted to engage in reverse domain-name hijacking.

Since New Zealand is one of the original, 1931 members of the Commonwealth, at least formally the complaint is filed on behalf of the Queen of England, which means that, ultimately, WIPO's opprobrium is directed at her.

The denial file lives here.

 
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Re: The Queen of England and Domain Name Wars (Score: 1)
by ZacharyKessin on Tuesday, December 24 @ 21:30:14 EST
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A few points
1) She is not the "Queen of England" She is "HRM Elizabeth, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Brittian and Northern Ireland"
2) In this case she is the "Queen of New Zealand"
3) In this case Its basicly the government of New Zealand acting in the name of their head of state (HM the Queen)



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Re: The Queen of England and Domain Name Wars (Score: 1)
by paul szynol on Wednesday, December 25 @ 00:01:02 EST
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but I always assumed she is the queen of England precisely by virtue of being the queen of the UK. Also, though WIPO addresses her particular capacity as queen of New Zealand, her role vis-a-vis England remains unchanged.
//~pjs


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