Pizza Hut rebrand highlights cyber-squatting dangers

Pizza Hut failed to register key domain names relating to its online brand

Pizza Hut has rebranded as Pasta Hut this week, but the restaurant chain appears not to have given much thought to its online brand protection strategy.

Major web addresses relating to the new name, including www.pastahut.net, www.pastahut.info and www.pastahut.org, have all been registered by individuals not related to the chain.

But a Pasta Hut spokeswoman said the company had no interest in any of the web addresses that had already been bought. "We own Pastahut.co.uk and Pasta-hut.co.uk. There is no reason why we would want any of the others," she said.

Even the most likely domain name, www.pastahut.com, has been taken by an individual called Kevin Smith, but again the spokeswoman said the company would not miss out on business in the UK.

However, Jonathan Robinson, chief operating officer for NetNames, a company that manages domain name portfolios for a third of FTSE 100 companies, said the company was making a mistake.

"The UK subsidiary of Pizza Hut will have spent much time and money planning for this rebrand, but they have failed to register some of the key domain names relating to their online brand," he said.

"This once again underlines the need for organisations to manage their online brand effectively, and proactively register relevant domains well ahead of a major launch or rebrand."