A decision by the World Intellectual Property Organisation
(“WIPO”) has transferred the rights to 31 domain names to the
Canadian government. The names, which included CanadaCouncil.com
and CanadianCustoms.com, had been registered by David Bedford under
the name "domainbaron.com (domain names for sale)”.16 Jul 2001
The WIPO panel considering the dispute found that the registration name indicated Bedford’s intention to re-sell the names and consequently concluded that he had registered them in bad faith. The panel only refused to transfer the domain name “DominionOfCanada.com” on the grounds that the Canadian government had not made any use of the name since 1982 and so had no legitimate claim.
The panel also heard evidence of the domain names being used to redirect internet users seeking information on web sites related to the Canadian government to sites owned by Bedford. These included sites promoting atheism and smokers' rights for children. The redirection to offensive web sites was taken to be evidence of Bedford’s intention to entice the Canadian government into purchasing the domain names at a price higher than he had paid for them, so that the government could clearly disassociate itself from the offensive materials.