Nominet wins injunction against DRS

Nominet UK has won an interim injunction order banning Domain Registry Services (DRS) from using the Nominet name.

The injunction also applies to Scott Denny, a director of DRS and UK-Names Limited. It is not a final order and the case will now progress to trial.

Under this injunction DRS, UK-Names (which operates the uk-names.biz website and has no links with other similarly names companies) and Denny will not be allowed to use the Nominet name or logo to sell internet products and services, or pass themselves off as being connected with Nominet.

The defendants have also been ordered to give full details to the court of everyone to whom they have offered domain names or other internet services or products using the Nominet name.

Nominet will be monitoring the situation closely in case of any breaches. It has asked for people to contact the registry if they have been approached by the defendants since the interim injunction order was made.

Emily Taylor, manager of Nominet's legal department, said: "The defendants agreed to put in place the terms of the injunction. It is early days in the litigation process and now both sides go back to base and prepare for trial.

"It is impossible to say when the trial will come to court, but we don't intend to sit on the case."

Nominet UK's managing director, Lesley Cowley, said: "We are pleased with the progress of the legal action so far. We take any misrepresentation of the Nominet name and logo very seriously indeed and this case serves as a strong warning that we will refuse to allow people to get away with it.

"None of these defendants had any right or authority to use the Nominet name and we see this interim injunction order as the first legal step towards ensuring they are unable to do so again in the future."

DRS would not comment.