Judicial Review of Nominet UK’s Dispute Resolution Service off to a false start
An attempt to judicially review Nominet UK has ended in failure at the first hurdle for the complainant, Ben Cohen’s Cyberbritain Group Ltd despite initial claims that it would be extended.
The Cyberbritain Group Ltd had called for an examination of Nominet UK’s award-winning Dispute Resolution Service (DRS) after its claims that the transfer of the internet domain name itunes.co.uk, from its ownership to Apple Computer Inc (the company which operates the iTunes music download service), should be reversed.
The domain name was transferred to Apple Computer Inc as the result of a case under Nominet UK’s DRS in May 2005.
The judge dismissed the case for judicial review at the first opportunity, noting that Cyberbritain Group Ltd could have used the appeal process which forms part of the DRS, but had failed to do so. Cyberbritain Group Ltd initially sought a further hearing, but has now withdrawn that request and dropped the case completely. It has also confirmed that it will not attempt to bring any further proceedings elsewhere.
Nominet defended the DRS, which is a hugely successful system for solving domain name disputes quickly, cheaply and, in many cases, via free mediation.
Edward Phillips, Nominet UK’s Company Solicitor, said: “I am pleased that the judge refused to allow this case to continue as it was totally inappropriate and would have been a waste of money and time for all concerned. The Dispute Resolution Service is a Nominet success story and attempts at litigation such as this just distract everyone from the good work it does for small business and registrants.”
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