[The federal government has won a challenge to claim ownership of a series of dot-ca names]

The federal government has won a challenge to claim ownership of a series of dot-ca names originally registered by a British Columbia man who calls himself Darwin Bedford. Bedford uses the domain names to point to a number of Web sites promoting atheism and other causes.

Bedford, of Burnaby, B.C., no longer has the right to use a series of dot-ca domain names such as statscanada.ca and governmentofcanada.ca.

The 54-year-old, who has a company called Abundance Computer Consulting and also goes by the name Darwin Bedford on his Web site, said he originally purchased the domain names with the intention of selling them back to the government -- asking $300 a piece -- when it went to arbitration.

He said he goes by Darwin on his Web site because David "was not unique enough" and it is also the name of the evolutionist, Charles Darwin.

"I started using them for my activism -- I'm an atheist activist, environmentalist and non-smoking activist. But because of what I had on the Web sites it was quite controversial, the government saw me as a squeaky wheel and took the names away from me," said Bedford.

The decision was handed down May 27 by a three-member panel acting under the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) domain name dispute resolution policy.

The order indicates nine names registered by Bedford, including theweatheroffice.ca, publicworkscanada.ca, gouvernementducanada.ca, ecgc.ca, transportcanada.ca and others must be transferred to the government.

As of July 28, each government department involved was to transfer the names from Bedford's ISP to their own. Individual departments preside over the transfer of the names and are supposed to use them as redirects to the genuine site.

Toronto lawyer Javad Heydary, a managing partner at Heydary Hamilton LLP, said organizations often fail to transfer the sites for their use.

"They spend thousands winning back domain names, then if you go and type in the name it leads you to a dead page," he said. "You've won the battle and have a judgment -- make sure you use what you've got."

In its written complaint, the government argued that Bedford had "not used the domain names in good faith" in connection with a non-commercial activity.

It also said the names did not constitute his legal name or the location of his non-commercial activity or business.

Only one of the 10 names challenged by the government -- canadiancustoms.ca -- was determined too generic and not similar enough to Canada Customs and Revenue Agency.

"People shouldn't assume they would find the Canada Customs and Revenue site," Bedford said. "It basically comes down to trademark law and if the lawyers feel it's an infringement on what is normal for trademark law, they will award the name to the claimant if they have rights. But there could be several people who could claim rights, so if it's generic, you get to keep the name."

In a prior decision in June 2001, under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, the government also successfully challenged Bedford's use of 31 dot-com domain names such as transportcanada.com and statcanada.com.

Bedford says he still has 220 domain names such as vancouverpolice.ca -- a name for which he paid $32 for a one-year registration. "Names become available and I can register them if I think there's going to be traffic involved," he said.

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"The first batch was a little more expensive -- about $70 a year -- but as prices come down I can pick up a name today for $15, a name the government should have because people want to go there."

CIRA assumed management of the dot-ca domain in December 2000 and the CDRP was launched in June 2002. Since the CDRP was introduced there have been 13 decisions. One of two Canadian dispute resolution policy service providers can be chosen by the complainant (in this case, the government) -- Vancouver-based British Columbia International Commercial Arbitration and Resolution Canada Inc. located in Don Mills, Ont. The dispute resolution fees range between $1,750 and $6,400 depending on the number of panelists and domain names involved. The complainant -- in the Bedford case the government -- pays the fees. But an arbitrator is not the last course of action an individual can take.

"The CDRP does not replace Canada's legal system. However, we know that can be time-consuming and require a rather significant amount of money. The CDRP is designed to provide a relatively quick and relatively inexpensive process to challenge the rightful use of a domain name."

Bedford said he plans to create another page for children, telling them there is no God. "It is going to be quite a philosophical piece and I'm going to point a whole lot of names at it including vancouverpolice.ca and they will complain," he said.

Copyright Plesman Publications Ltd. Sep 2003
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