Network news giant CNN is in a legal battle with Shanghai-based
website Maya Online, which refuses to give up ownership of the domain
www.cnnews.com.
CNN had demanded Maya stop using the name and transfer the site to CNN
by mid-October. Maya reportedly said it had no intention to infringe the
network's name and that cnnews.com stood for Chinese Network News.
However, CNN has argued it has registrations for the term CNN with
exclusive rights for the CNN mark.
Maya Online, which is a tom.com content provider, registered the name
legally in November last year through Network Solutions.
Meanwhile, recent results from the 2000 Asian Target Market Survey
(ATMS) showed CNN.com as the most popular media site in Asia.
The survey found CNN reached 38 per cent of business people in Asia on a
monthly basis, compared to CNBC with 20 per cent and BBC World with 19
per cent.
Separately, China's top Internet regulatory body, China Internet Network
Information Centre (CINIC) attacked NSI, which is the world's largest
domain name registration firm, for infringing on Chinese sovereignty by
offering Chinese domain names.
Director of CINIC, Mao Wei, reportedly said it was unfair that the US
should control the top domain names used throughout the world and
collect on registration fees. NSI had earlier started a Chinese domain
name registration service. An official at CINIC had said domain names in
languages other than English should be managed by the respective nations
in order to respect that nation's culture.
