Ikea Sues Chinese Company Over Domain Name

Computergram International, Sept 23, 1999

Furniture maker Ikea has become the first foreign firm to sue a Chinese company over a domain name. Netherlands-based Inter Ikea Systems NV, which has registered the Ikea name and trademark in more than 90 countries including China where it has several stores, has brought a suit against Beijing Guowang Information.

The Chinese company, which is the largest holder of domain names registered with the China Internet Network Information Centre, has registered www.ikea.com.cn. Amongst its other registered domain names are ibook, ido, iloveyou, imusic, ivillage and 239 of the most common surnames in China.

On the first day of the court case in Beijing, an official of Beijing Guowang Information told the court that the name "ikea" is a combination of an i for internet and the English word kea which stands for a smart meat-eating parrot. He said the company registered this domain name because the company plans to start a voicemail service over the internet.

Ikea says that Beijing Guowang Information is plagiarizing and imitating its registered name since the sound, lettering, spelling and even consumer recognition of the word ikea in the domain name is the same as the one for Ikea stores. The case continues.