Madrid 2012 spokesperson Javier Gonzalez Kirchner reported to GamesBids.com that key Internet domain names have been recovered after a favorable decision by The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The domain names madrid2012.com, 2m12.com, 2m12.org and 2m12.info will now be transferred to Madrid 2012 S.A.U., the company promoting the Olympic bid.
WIPO ruled that the prior registrant of madrid2012.com was using the domain to provide information about Madrid and “…must have been aware of the nomination of Madrid as a candidate to stage the 2012 Olympic Games”, according to a Madrid 2012 report.
WIPO recognized that the trademarks “Madrid 2012” and “2M12” had been registered prior to the use of madrid2012.com and that the registrant was using it in bad faith.
The report said that WIPO concluded the domain was obtained “…with the only purpose of hampering the legitimate owner of the mark and of obtaining a benefit selling the Internet domain that had been usurped”.
Madrid 2012 has been operating its Website at www.madrid2012.es, using Spain’s national top level domain (.es).
The WIPO decison may open doors for the other 2012 bids that find their dot-com registered to someone else.
London currently operates its Website at london2012.org.uk because london2012.com connects to LondonTown.com, a travel information Website. It was registered November 20, 2002.
Paris’ bid Website can be found at jo2012.paris.fr but if you type in paris2012.com you get a French news site, or if you go to jo2012.com you end up at the site of a French electronics retailer.
Moscow2012.com is owned by an individual in Barcelona, Spain.
New York 2012 already has its own dot-com at nyc2012.com, but that hasn’t stopped a domain reseller in Hong Kong from scooping up newyork2012.com.
And just a final tip for the bid committees and cybersquatters to-be – the domains Havana2012.com and Istanbul2012.com have both recently expired and could soon be up for grabs.
