Telkom Media wins local dispute

In a decision published by the SA Institute of Intellectual Property Law (SAIIPL), adjudicator Andre van der Merwe ordered that the domain name – telkommedia.co.za – be transferred to Telkom. Although this case is the second to be decided in terms of the regulations, it is the first case in which the transfer of a domain name was ordered. The case resulted from the registration of the telkommedia.co.za domain name by Cool Ideas in September 2006, shortly after Telkom Media publicly announced its vision to set up a subscription television service. According to the decision, Telkom succeeded to show that it had rights in the name Telkom that is similar to the domain name and that the registration of the domain name by Cool Ideas was an abusive registration. Van der Merwe noted in his decision that Cool Ideas registered the domain name to intentionally block Telkom from registering the name and primarily to disrupt the business of Telkom and its subsidiary Telkom Media. Read the press release on the Legalbrief site Download the decision