
˹ѧÊ×;ÔÁ¾ì : The Nation / 17
ÁÔ.Â. 2543
¤ÍÅÑÁ¹ì / à«ç¤ªÑè¹ :
business
| Yoohhoo
in hot water over domain name |
YAHOO!, the
world's most popular portal site, has filed a lawsuit in
Thailand against a Thai-owned site, Yoohhoo, accusing the
site of duplicating its name.
Yesterday police Colonel Yanaphon
Youngyuen, chairman of the Thai Webmasters Association
(TWA), said that a yoohhoo webmaster, Chatchai
thumprasreat, had contacted him and asked for advice on
tha case.
In april a lawer representing Yahoo
filed a lawsuit against Chatchai, claiming that the name
of Thai site sounded too much like the US one and could
lead to some confusion.
Yahoo has not asked for any
compensation but wants the name removed.
"The lawer said that the action
had to be taken against me because Yahoo was close to
investing in a thai version of the site," Chatchai
said.
Yahoo plans to set up in Thai
version by the end of the year and is looking for
qualified staff to come on board, an Internet industry
source said.
Yahoo alreadly has existing local
portal sites in countries such as Singapore, Taiwan,
Japan, Korea and China.
"I told the lawer that I had no
intention of duplicating Yahoo's name. Actually we have
different names: its pronounced differetly and has
different fonts," Chatchai said.
He said that the nature of both
sites was also different.
WYahoo provides a search-engine
service, while Yoohhoo is a local portal site for
men," Chatchai said.
Part of Yoohhoo site offers an
entertainment content, including articles and advice on
sex.
Chatchai said that Yahoo had not
responded since he explained his side of the dispute to
the lawer.
"I think the lawer is waiting
for a decision fron Yahoo, but I am confident that they
will understand my side," Chatchai said.
Chatchai registeres the Yoohhoo
domain in January.
"I set up Yoohhoo to be virtual
magazine for men, but I can guarantee that there is no
explicitly sexaul material on the site" he said.
He said that he was also in the
process of setting up a company, Yoohhoo.com Co Ltd., to
offer home-page promotion services.
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