Health website gives up domain names

A UK-based health website that registered domain names using a competitor's brand has surrendered the names for a nominal fee.

Clickmango registered thinknatural.net and thinknatural.org last year when it heard that rival UK health website, thinknatural.com, would be launching ahead of its own site. The domains sent visitors to a spoof website featuring a Swedish character whose name was similar to Thinknatural.

At the time, Clickmango co-founder Robert Norton defended the action, saying it was "common practice for internet companies to register the domain names of competitors".

Thinknatural instructed lawyers to force Clickmango to give up the domains. Clickmango responded by offering the names for £10,000 a piece, but Thinknatural declined the offer.

Clickmango has now given up the domains for the nominal 'filing fee' that Netnames charges for transferring domains.

The company said in a statement this week: "Clickmango.com, the natural health internet site fronted by Joanna Lumley which is set to launch next month, has agreed to sell the domain names thinknatural.net and thinknatural.org to thinknatural.com in an amicable arrangement."

However, Carol Dukes, co-founder and chief executive of Thinknatural, said the statement is misleading. "Clickmango.com is not selling us the domains. They have just been transferred to us. We are not paying their legal costs," she said.

"Clickmango has wasted a lot of shareholders' money and time, and is trying to put out a story that it has won. It is a silly and petty game that it played and lost."

Clickmango was unavailable for comment.