Google Loses Its Domain Name in China
In March 2003, the Domain Name Resolution Center (DNRC) of the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) rejected Google's claim to have domain name google.com.cn transferred to it from a local company, Beijing Guowang Information, Inc.
Google Inc., a California-based corporation, is well known in the Internet search engine industry. The company has registered its tradename "google" as a trademark in many countries, including China. The trademark registration in China was obtained in 2000. The company holds the top-level domain name google.com.
On December 3, 1999, Beijing Guowang registered the domain name google.com.cn. Google submitted a complaint to the DNRC of CIETAC on January 16, 2003, claiming that the domain name google.com.cn should be transferred to it.
In its decision, the panel the DNRC appointed for the case held that Beijing Guowang had no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name in dispute. In addition, the panel held that Beijing Guowang registered and used the domain name google.com.cn in bad faith by registering many big names as its domain names and link the domain name with the e-mail address of another company. However, the panel is of the opinion that Google did not have prior civil rights and interests in the word "google" that were protected by Chinese laws. The reasons were given as follows:
1. Although the major part of the company name of the complainant is google when it was incorporated in the United States in 1998, the complainant did not use the word "google" in its company name in China before the registration of the domain name google.com.cn, therefore its company name or trade name shall not be protected by Chinese laws;
2. The earliest trademark registration for "google" in China was obtained on September 28, 2000, although an application for thetrademark registration was filed on March 16, 1999, therefore, the complainant obtained the trademark registration for the trademark google after the registration of the domain name google.com.cn;
3. In accordance with the "first filing" principle for the registration of domain name, holding of the domain name google.com does not necessarily mean that the domain name google.com.cn should not be held by another person;