Ryanair loses battle with online critic

Low-fares airline Ryanair has lost its battle to win control of an internet domain name from a disgruntled former customer, according to a ruling issued by a United Nations panel in Geneva today.

Michael Coulston of London set up a website in July under the domain name www.ryanaircampaign.org which is critical of Ryanair’s business practices.

The Irish carrier complained to the World Intellectual Property Organisation that the domain name infringed on its trademarks and should therefore be transferred into Ryanair’s possession.

However, a WIPO panel said there was no evidence that Coulston, who runs a private online campaign aimed at informing Ryanair customers of ways in which they can complain to the company about its service, was using the domain name in bad faith.

The UN arbitration system, which started in 1999, allows those who think they have the right to a domain to get it back without having to fight a costly legal battle or pay large sums of money.

Ryanair had previously succeeded in forcing Coulston to hand over another domain name, www.ryanair.org.uk, by lodging a complaint with Nominet UK, an organisation responsible for Web domains ending in the .UK suffix.