Oldham firm the loser in cyber scrap

A car salvage yard in Dewsbury has won a ruling forcing a rival Oldham-based company to hand over ownership of a website.

Abdul Reasat’s company Dewsbury Auto Dismantlers took action after rival Dewsbury Auto Salvage Ltd — based in Park Road Oldham, but active in Dewsbury — registered the internet name “dewsburyautodismantlers.co.uk”.

Now domain registration body Nominet’s dispute resolution service has forced Dewsbury Auto Salvage to hand the domain name to the Yorkshire company.

Nominet adjudicator Stephen Maier said Dewsbury Auto Salvage - which has traded in Dewsbury since 1988 - registered the domain name in November 2010, two days after Dewsbury Auto Dismantlers erected its business sign at its premises in the town.

The domain name took visitors to the Oldham-based company’s site, www.dewsburyautosalvage.com.

Dewsbury Auto Dismantlers claimed the domain name was registered with the intention of impersonating it and confusing potential customers.

The Oldham company coiunterclaimed that in setting up his new business, Mr Reasat deliberately chose a business name similar to its own with the intention of diverting away its business, built up over several years.

It claimed common acceptance of its name in Dewsbury and that in the circumstances, it had every right to register the domain name, arguing the name had been registered before its rival.

But Mr Maier determined that on balance, Dewsbury Auto Salvage had registered the domain name in response to the setting up of the rival firm under the name “Dewsbury Auto Dismantlers”.

He said it was too great a coincidence that after 22 years of trading, it registered the name under dispute within days of the rival company being set up - an act intended to block its rival.