Scottish Law Society Agrees To Settle In 'Cybersquatting' Case

by Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News.com, London

16 June 2003

The Law Society of Scotland has climbed down over its court battle with Tommy Butler for ownership of the Lawscot.co.uk domain, it emerged last week.

The Society reportedly agreed to settle the case with Mr Butler for £10,000, despite the fact that it had dismissed his earlier offer of £500 as too expensive.

The dispute began in earnest when the Law Society launched its website, Lawscot.org.uk, and registered the term 'lawscot' as a trademark. However, its claims that Mr Butler was a cybersquatter attempting to 'pass off' the domain as affiliated to the Law Society fell down somewhat on the fact that he had registered the domain in 1999, but the trademark was only applied for in September 2001.

The further assertion that he was wrongfully receiving communications intended for the Law Society was also undermined by the fact that the Society itself had mistakenly given out Mr Butler's details as its own on several occasions. However, this did not stop it from serving him and UK domain arbitrator, Nominet with a court order earlier this year, suspending the domain until a decision was reached.

Although Mr Butler was eventually vindicated by the Law Society's decision to settle the case, according to a report from The Register, the path to victory has not been an easy one. The technology news service revealed on Friday that:

'When Mr Butler finally found a lawyer in Scotland willing to represent him against its own society...he felt obliged to fire the firm after - he alleges - they did not chase up leads and received a letter from the Society insisting that they not speak publicly about the matter.'

The report continued:

'Following Mr Butler's unsuccessful attempts to find another Scottish lawyer, he hired an English lawyer to represent him, who then hired a Scottish lawyer to act in court since only a Scottish lawyer is allowed to work in a Scottish court. Despite these efforts, he was nevertheless abandoned in court on the first day of the trial in March.'

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