Star gets her name back
2004-01-16 14:20
Geneva - Former Baywatch star Carmen Electra has won control of the internet name www.carmenelectra.com in a ruling by a United Nations panel, a UN spokesperson said on Thursday.
An arbitrator for the World Intellectual Property Organisation ordered the transfer of the domain name to the American actress, who had complained that it was being used in bad faith to divert internet traffic to a commercial site, Celebrity1000, said Wipo spokesperson Samar Shamoon.
The ruling upheld Electra's complaint against the company that registered the name - Network Operations Centre of High Prairie, Canada.
Arbitrator Jon Lang noted that he had no response from Network Operations Centre, but that he assumed it "does derive a commercial advantage from the website, particularly in view of the advertisements contained in it."
Lang said use of the Carmen Electra web address "creates a likelihood of confusion that its site is sponsored, endorsed or affiliated" with the actress.
"Internet users entering a domain name identical to that of a famous celebrity expect to find a site connected with that celebrity, not a site without any connection with that celebrity but other celebrities on whom they are not seeking information," he said.
The actress, who was born Tara Leigh Patrick, told the arbitrator that she had adopted the name Carmen Electra 10 years ago.
Lang said he was satisfied that the public associates the name with her, giving her trademark or service rights to it, and said he concluded that the registered owner of the web address "has no such rights or legitimate interests".
He noted that a UN panel also had held in favour of James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan against the same web address registrant.
A number of celebrities have already won the internet version of their names back from Network Operations Centre - also known as Alberta Hot Rods - or the man who controls it, Jeff Burgar.
They include writer Michael Crichton, actors Kevin Spacey and Pamela Anderson and recording artists Celine Dion and Bruce Springsteen.
- AP