[R-G] Facebook.ir Expropriated from a Would-be Iranian Bookseller and Given to Facebook.com

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

Encouraging people to read books rather than Facebook?  Only in Iran.
Such a rogue state.  -- Yoshie

<http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2009/07/iran-facebook-domain-placed-in-control-of-usrun-site-.html>
IRAN: Facebook domain placed in control of U.S.-run site

The social networking site Facebook has been awarded control of the
URL Facebook.ir, the AP reports today. Majid Karimian Ghannad of Yazd,
Iran, has been ordered by the [World Intellectual Property
Organization of the] United Nations to place the domain name with the
U.S.-based site Facebook.com.  According to the U.N., Ghannad does not
have the right to the URL Facebook.ir. The ruling published today says
he wants it in order to sell books.

Facebook is among a list of sites Iranian authorities block, but many
Iranians use anti-filtering software to access it. In June, a
Persian-language version of Facebook was launched.

— Amber Smith in Los Angeles

<http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2009/dir2009-0001.html>
B. Respondent

The Panel notes that the Respondent did not include the certification
required under paragraph 5(b)(viii) of the Rules in his e-mails
responding to the Complaint. In the interests of ensuring that its
decision is based on all available information and in accordance with
its discretion to determine the admissibility of evidence under
paragraph 10(d) of the Rules the Panel is willing to consider the
Respondent’s responses.

The Respondent submits that the “the internet doesn’t belong to
anybody and everybody has right to access the information from any
place in the world.”

The Respondent contends that he is “us[ing] facebook.ir as a persian
expression for the face of a book”. The Respondent submits that “it is
my right to use a name that belongs to my thought in order to build up
an eBusiness with the goal of selling books after my graduation.”

The Respondent submits that “selecting a name such as facebook.com
doesn’t ring any bell in anybody’s mind what is exactly the relation
between the expression “facebook” and “social gathering”, but selling
books based on using facebook.ir has a better meaning with its
purpose.” The Respondent contends that his “purpose is completely
different than facebook.com” as he intends to sell books and that
building his web site should take at least 18 months to complete.