China Daily by Jiang Jingen

Author: (JIANG JINGEN)

Orica, Australia's largest chemical firm, has withdrawn a complaint about a Chinese company stealing its domain name.

Orica complained to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) that Chinese Hi2000 Infotech Inc had illegally bought its trademark name "Chemnet."

The withdrawal enables Hi2000 Infotech Inc to secure the ownership of www.chemnet.com, a valuable domain name in the chemical industry, officials said.

WIPO has ordered Melbourne-based Information Technology, the domain name registration agent in Australia, to release the domain name to the Chinese company, said Sun Deliang, general manager of Hi2000 Infotec Inc.

"We were notified on Sunday midnight by WIPO that Orica had withdrawn its suit. We were a little surprised but it is the good news we expected to hear," he said.

Orica, the previous owner of the domain name, lost ownership in August after it failed to renew its registration fees in time.

The domain name was taken by DomainAgent.com the next day, a South Korea-based company, which sold the name to Hi2000 Infotech for US$9,000 on September 3 in Shanghai.

After realizing its oversight one week after losing the rights to the domain name, Orica sent a fax to the Chinese company on September 6, requesting that the domain name be returned since Chemnet was the company's legally registered trademark in Australia.

After negotiations stalled, Orica filed a charge before WIPO in late September demanding that the Chinese firm hand back ownership of the domain name.

The case has attracted wide concern among Chinese legal experts. With China joining the World Trade Organization earlier this month, intellectual property protection has become an important issue for a vast number of Chinese firms.

Many said although WIPO has granted the ownership of the website to the Chinese firm, the triumph may be temporary.

According to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the authority for solving international domain name disputes, most types of trademark-based domain-name disputes must be resolved by agreement, court action, or arbitration before a registrar can cancel, suspend, or transfer a domain name.

"I think Orica understands that they actually stand little chance of winning the case because we obtained it through a legal and justified way," Sun said.

"Although Chemnet is Orica's trademark name in Australia, it does not necessarily mean that a Chinese company cannot use this domain name," he said.

Hi2000 Infotech, which already operates www.chemnet.com.cn, is China's leading information consulting company in the chemical industry.

Industry analysts said Orica still had the chance to fight back by bringing the case to an Australian court. However, if it loses to the Chinese firm in WIPO arbitration, there is little chance for it to win the case because no local court has ever overturned a verdict of the WIPO.

Sun Hailong of Beijing-based Taide Law Firm said if Orica files a charge to the local court against the Hangzhou company, the legal dispute may drag on.

"Orica still has the chance to resort to a local court for a legal settlement," said Sun. "In this case, Hi2000 Infotech has to prepare for a court demand for any possible investigation and co-operation. There may still be a long way to go before the dispute is finally over."

''I think Hi2000 has to take into account whether it is worthwhile to spend all the money and time to fight back,'' he said. ''After all, Hi2000 is a small company compared with Orica. It is obviously at a disadvantage if the legal dispute keeps going.''

Officials from Orica were not available for comment.

Officials from Hi2000 Infotec said they were "fully prepared for any further legal hassles."

"We are making all the necessary preparations to cope with potential legal problems. We are definitely not going to give it up or comprise," Sun said.

The company has seen its daily page views increase from 150,000 to 270,000 after it launched www.chemnet.com. Most of the increased page views come from abroad, statistics from the company indicated.

While the matter seems to be a simple case involving the ownership of a domain name, industry analysts say it has wider ramifications.

"A key reason that Hi2000 Infotech refused to sell the domain name is because the consulting business in China's chemistry industry has a promising future after China joins the WTO," a Beijing Internet analyst said.

Chemicals are a major industry in China, the third largest after textiles and machinery.

The chemnet domain name is an important marketing tool, according to analysts.

"With this domain name, Hi2000 Infotech is expecting to secure more business revenue from around the world," one analyst said.

"It's understandable that Orica does not want to lose this domain name."