Montres Rolex, a watch producer in Switzerland, has triumphed in a lawsuit it brought against CINET, an Internet service provider in Beijing, according to the judge in charge of handling the litigation.
Judge Shao Minyan from the People's Intermediate Court in Beijing ruled yesterday that CINET had no claim to the domain name rolex.com.cn, and ordered the Internet service provider to annul the registered domain name and openly apologize to Montres Rolex.
A compensation fee of US$1,209 (10,000 yuan) and all court costs must be paid by CINET.
According to an earlier report by China Youth Daily, Rolex filed suit against CINET when the former intended to register the company's domain in China and discovered that rolex.com.cn had been registered, but not used by CINET.
Shao said the investigation conducted by the court showed that Montres Rolex, with its long history and established reputation, is the legitimate owner of the "Rolex" trademark, which is widely recognized in China, and thus the natural owner of a compatible domain name, the court ruled.
(China Daily 10/09/2001)
