MySpace wins MySpace.co.uk domain name

MySpace has won the right to the domain myspace.co.uk, despite the domain name being registered before the networking site was launched.

Domain Registry Nominet, caused a stir in the industry as myspace.co.uk was registered to Total Web Solutions (TWS) in 1997. What makes this case stand out is that the domain has been awarded to the owners of the MySpace website News Corporation, which was first launched 2 years later in 1999.

Antony Gold, an independent domain expert and panellist with Nominet ruled that the domain should be handed over to News Corporation.

Gold found that while the site originally offered email services and mini-websites, it had since changed to take advantage of the popularity of MySpace.

The site changed to be linked with adverts for social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook etc and this association was deemed by Gold, that Total Web Solutions were unfairly profiting from the MySpace name.

One aspect of the TWS defence was that the advertising that they were said to be profiting from came from search algorithms, which they did not control. Furthermore, advertising was on the site even before MySpace was launched.

However, Gold stated that the contents of the website, regardless of it’s source was the responsibility of the owners and any income made from it.

Jonathan Robinson, the chief operating officer at web services company NetNames gave a warning, "It is amazing how, after so many years, domain disputes still cause such unpredictable outcomes and associated controversy, … It also highlights how automated web content of any sort can get people into real difficulties."