Authors Reclaim Rights to Net Names

NEW YORK (AP) â€” R.L. Stine, Louis Sachar and seven other authors have won back rights from a British-based company that had claimed ''.com'' ownership of their names. <br><br>The Internet

Friday, January 12th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) â€” R.L. Stine, Louis Sachar and seven other authors have won back rights from a British-based company that had claimed ''.com'' ownership of their names.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which governs domain ownership, ruled in favor of the authors against the British company Old Barn Studios, Ltd. Earlier this week, an arbitration panel for ICAAN found that Old Barn had acted in bad faith in taking the names.

``When I learned someone had taken my name and registered it on the Internet, it was very upsetting,'' Sachar, author of the award-winning bestseller ``Holes,'' said Friday. ``I feel like I have my name back.''

Before the ICAAN decision, had Sachar wanted to start his own Web site he would have not been allowed to call it ``louissachar.com.'' ICAAN ruled in favor of the authors even though Old Barn had not actually constructed any sites.

Other writers involved in the complaint, filed by the Authors Guild Inc., include John Berendt (``Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil''), Charles Frazier (``Cold Mountain'') and Thomas L. Friedman (``The Lexus and the Olive Tree'').

Old Barn never responded to inquiries about the case, according to eResolution, the dispute resolution body authorized by ICAAN.

Anyone can register a domain name for a few dollars, which has led so-called ``cybersquatters'' to file for famous names, then sell the rights back for a profit.

â€”â€”â€”

http://www.eresolution.com

http://www.authorsguild.org

Authors Reclaim Rights to Net Names

By HILLEL ITALIE
Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) â€” R.L. Stine, Louis Sachar and seven other authors have won back rights from a British-based company that had claimed ''.com'' ownership of their names.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which governs domain ownership, ruled in favor of the authors against the British company Old Barn Studios, Ltd. Earlier this week, an arbitration panel for ICAAN found that Old Barn had acted in bad faith in taking the names.

``When I learned someone had taken my name and registered it on the Internet, it was very upsetting,'' Sachar, author of the award-winning bestseller ``Holes,'' said Friday. ``I feel like I have my name back.''

Before the ICAAN decision, had Sachar wanted to start his own Web site he would have not been allowed to call it ``louissachar.com.'' ICAAN ruled in favor of the authors even though Old Barn had not actually constructed any sites.

Other writers involved in the complaint, filed by the Authors Guild Inc., include John Berendt (``Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil''), Charles Frazier (``Cold Mountain'') and Thomas L. Friedman (``The Lexus and the Olive Tree'').

Old Barn never responded to inquiries about the case, according to eResolution, the dispute resolution body authorized by ICAAN.

Anyone can register a domain name for a few dollars, which has led so-called ``cybersquatters'' to file for famous names, then sell the rights back for a profit.

â€”â€”â€”

http://www.eresolution.com

http://www.authorsguild.org