The events played out in the yahoo.co.za domain name dispute last week left me disappointed, to say the very least. For those who haven`t followed the story, the yahoo.co.za domain name came up for registration earlier this year, after its owner, Internet Strategies, failed to renew its domain registration.
Kevin Caine, manager of the small Durban-based non-profit Web hosting company Kleva, snapped it up - ostensibly for the online extension of operations of Young Adults Helping Others Out, a youth group involved in community upliftment projects.
Much as I hoped that the youth group would somehow manage to hang on to its domain, might and money prevailed in the end.
Basheera Khan, Journalist, ITWeb
What followed was a series of small, isolated skirmishes by communiqu'es over a two-month period. Internet Strategies accused the youth group of trademark infringement, unlawful competition and passing off. It in turn responded with observations on the facts of the matter, which included mention of the lawful acquisition of the domain for non-profit use, and that this had all been achieved via the standard procedures of the domain name authority, Uniforum.
Much as I hoped that the youth group would somehow manage to hang on to its domain, might and money prevailed in the end. It agreed to transfer ownership of the domain name to Internet Strategies for the payment of its costs incurred and a donation to a prominent charity.
How did it happen?
The question I have yet to find an answer to is how the yahoo.co.za domain suspension managed to go unnoticed by Internet Strategies in the first place.
By all accounts, and according to Uniforum`s procedures, the company would have been notified that the time for its domain renewals had come around. Following its non-payment, the domain was suspended for more than 90 days, during which time all e-mail and re-routing functionality would also have been affected.
In addition, there are other domain names belonging to Internet Strategies, which were renewed on time, and without any hassle. What then went wrong with yahoo.co.za? And why is it that Core Holdings can find no single representative equipped with information adequate to answer these questions?
Had I the means, I might have considered backing up Young Adults Helping Others Out in a legal dispute, if only to see a big company have its assumptions of ownership rights challenged, and with any luck, pulled out from under its feet. The Internet functions according to a specific set of rules - the underlying one of which is "first come, first served". If your administration department slips up, tough luck - that is the way the game is played.
Well, that`s the ideal in any case. But as more businesses with financial clout take to the Web for additional revenue-generating channels, is there any room left for fair play?
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