Even the big guys can't win them all. A small ISP in southern Brazil this
week triumphed in a lawsuit filed by America Online which contested the
Brazilian provider's use of domain name aol.com.br.
The court ruled that since Brazil's America On Line registered the name
first, it doesn't have to surrender the domain name to its US rival,
according to published reports. AOL had sued the ISP alleging trademark
infringement.
The decision may touch off concerns about international cybersquatting as
many Internet giants begin to launch overseas operations, only to find that
country-level version of the domain name is already registered.
The AOL domain is registered in 60 countries, and not all of these
registrations were made by the American company, according to reports.
AOL, which is currently marketing its Brazilian services under br.aol.com,
said it may appeal the Sao Paolo ruling.
STARMEDIA SOARS 74% IN FIRST TRADING DAY
StarMedia Network, an Internet services firm in the fast-growing Latin
American market, rose 74% in its first day of trading Wednesday. The
company provides e-mail, chat rooms, shopping and personal Web pages for
Spanish and Portuguese-speaking computer users, a market that analysts say
is potentially huge. The shares were initially offered at $15 Wednesday, but
closed at 26 1/16.
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