THE TIMES (City diary): Hostile domain: “ROYAL DUTCH/SHELL is locked in a dispute with an 88-year-old war veteran who saw action in the Burma campaign and now runs a website, http://royaldutchshellplc.com, that publishes material critical of the oil company.”: Tuesday 21 June 2005

By Martin Waller

June 21, 2005

ROYAL DUTCH/SHELL is locked in a dispute with an 88-year-old war veteran who saw action in the Burma campaign and now runs a website, http://royaldutchshellplc.com, that publishes material critical of the oil company.

The roots of the row between Shell and Alfred Donovan go back to the early 1990s and have to do with earlier marketing campaigns. Mr Donovan and his son John say they do not want money for the site, which Shell unaccountably failed to register.

But they will not hand over the rights to the domain name until the company “gets rid of the management” responsible for its various woes, notably last year’s reserves scandal. (I thought they had.) Shell is going to the Geneva-based arbiter of such disputes next month to try to strip the Donovans of the right to the name.

It all brings to mind the delightful tale of John Bunt, his car and another huge oil company. Bunt “cybersquatted” BP after his vehicle was damaged in one of the company’s carwashes, displaying pictures of the wreck on his website and abusing the company. The Donovans might note that Bunt eventually won.  

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/shelldonovan

Click here for ShellNews.net HOME PAGE