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By Edward Phillips, Company Solicitor, Nominet
"…While being the centre of a media circus is not everyone's idea of fun, I love it. Especially when the appetite for a particular story has been created by me." - Benjamin Cohen, from his article "How to play the media game - and almost win" in The Times Online, 15 April 2005.
So how much do you have to pay to be interviewed live by Channel 4 news, and on BBC Radio Five Live, Radio 1, BBC News 24, ITV London Tonight, CNN, CNBC and appear in the Associated Press, The Guardian, The Times Online, The Evening Standard, Metro, New York Times, a host of local papers and, of course, NOM-STEER, Nominet's closed membership discussion forum?
In monetary terms the answer is nothing. Mr Cohen's company was the registrant of the domain name, 'itunes.co.uk' and, when Apple Computer launched a Dispute Resolution Service (DRS) case through Nominet to obtain that domain name, Mr Cohen's main line of response was to launch a media counter-attack over a period of several weeks. This was helped to some degree by Apple's policy of media silence, which meant that no opposing view was heard until Nominet could comment.
Mr Cohen initially made much of the fact that the domain name had been registered before Apple's UK application for the ITUNES trade mark had been published. He was keen to say that therefore he 'could not have known about' the application - although we did not hear him say that he 'did not know'. Regardless of the case, the name was registered and Mr Cohen portrayed the case in 'David and Goliath' terms - the 'former dot com millionaire' Mr Cohen taking the part of David.
Mr Cohen was quick to talk to the media with carefully selected highlights of the DRS Expert's decision, briefing them within hours of it having been made and suggesting that it was an affront to common sense. The full decision, made public on Nominet's website, however, told a different story, with the Expert establishing some very interesting facts.
The Complaint by Apple was nothing to do with the registration of the domain name and all to do with its use. The Expert found that Mr Cohen had never created his own business called iTunes but, once Apple had started its iTunes business, he had pointed visitors to his domain towards Napster (a competitor of the Complainant). He then offered to sell the domain to Napster for a considerable sum of money - an offer that was turned down.
Once these facts became more widely known, Mr Cohen changed his position and announced that Nominet UK's DRS was deeply flawed and biased. He stated intent to Judicially Review Nominet in the High Court. This was announced in the quiet news period of Easter and gave Nominet's legal department some confusing headlines to return to after the Easter weekend.
In fact Mr Cohen's father, who was representing him, confirmed that no litigation had been started. In time, Mr Cohen confirmed that he had no intention of appealing the decision, or suing Apple, so the DRS could complete the process (albeit slightly delayed) and 'itunes.co.uk' now rests with Apple Computer Inc.
Whether 'all publicity is good publicity' or not, it has certainly registered on the public consciousness. How much truth escaped in the process, we will never know, but Mr Cohen has the publicity he desired, Apple has the domain name it wanted and Nominet continues to administer a DRS which offers a fast, effective and economic system for individuals and businesses of all sizes to resolve domain name disputes.
* The views expressed by the authors of articles in Nominet News are theirs, and do not necessarily correspond with those of Nominet UK
"…While being the centre of a media circus is not everyone's idea of fun, I love it. Especially when the appetite for a particular story has been created by me." - Benjamin Cohen, from his article "How to play the media game - and almost win" in The Times Online, 15 April 2005.
So how much do you have to pay to be interviewed live by Channel 4 news, and on BBC Radio Five Live, Radio 1, BBC News 24, ITV London Tonight, CNN, CNBC and appear in the Associated Press, The Guardian, The Times Online, The Evening Standard, Metro, New York Times, a host of local papers and, of course, NOM-STEER, Nominet's closed membership discussion forum?
In monetary terms the answer is nothing. Mr Cohen's company was the registrant of the domain name, 'itunes.co.uk' and, when Apple Computer launched a Dispute Resolution Service (DRS) case through Nominet to obtain that domain name, Mr Cohen's main line of response was to launch a media counter-attack over a period of several weeks. This was helped to some degree by Apple's policy of media silence, which meant that no opposing view was heard until Nominet could comment.
Mr Cohen initially made much of the fact that the domain name had been registered before Apple's UK application for the ITUNES trade mark had been published. He was keen to say that therefore he 'could not have known about' the application - although we did not hear him say that he 'did not know'. Regardless of the case, the name was registered and Mr Cohen portrayed the case in 'David and Goliath' terms - the 'former dot com millionaire' Mr Cohen taking the part of David.
Mr Cohen was quick to talk to the media with carefully selected highlights of the DRS Expert's decision, briefing them within hours of it having been made and suggesting that it was an affront to common sense. The full decision, made public on Nominet's website, however, told a different story, with the Expert establishing some very interesting facts.
The Complaint by Apple was nothing to do with the registration of the domain name and all to do with its use. The Expert found that Mr Cohen had never created his own business called iTunes but, once Apple had started its iTunes business, he had pointed visitors to his domain towards Napster (a competitor of the Complainant). He then offered to sell the domain to Napster for a considerable sum of money - an offer that was turned down.
Once these facts became more widely known, Mr Cohen changed his position and announced that Nominet UK's DRS was deeply flawed and biased. He stated intent to Judicially Review Nominet in the High Court. This was announced in the quiet news period of Easter and gave Nominet's legal department some confusing headlines to return to after the Easter weekend.
In fact Mr Cohen's father, who was representing him, confirmed that no litigation had been started. In time, Mr Cohen confirmed that he had no intention of appealing the decision, or suing Apple, so the DRS could complete the process (albeit slightly delayed) and 'itunes.co.uk' now rests with Apple Computer Inc.
Whether 'all publicity is good publicity' or not, it has certainly registered on the public consciousness. How much truth escaped in the process, we will never know, but Mr Cohen has the publicity he desired, Apple has the domain name it wanted and Nominet continues to administer a DRS which offers a fast, effective and economic system for individuals and businesses of all sizes to resolve domain name disputes.
* The views expressed by the authors of articles in Nominet News are theirs, and do not necessarily correspond with those of Nominet UK
