Hammonds caught in ransom net

Cybersquatters are holding newly merged Hammond Suddards Edge to ransom for a domain name - hammondsuddards.net - that the firm wants to register.'I felt like calling them up and saying "do you feel lucky punk?", 'said IT partner Andrew Clay, who has acted for many clients trying to wrench domain names from cybersquatters.

He said: 'I'm used to seeing this kind of thing on a daily basis, but I was astonished that somebody should take this approach with a law firm.'

The site is registered to a company called Westwood Guardian Limited.

Company secretary and director Nicholas Hassell - who is registered as a hotelier fromPundaquit Beach Apartments in San Antonio, the Philippines - was not available for comment.

Mr Clay said Hammond Suddards had been offered the site for between 1,000 and 2,000; he was adamant that the firm would refuse to pay on principal.

'It is inconceivable that this domain name was registered in anything other than bad faith,' he said, adding that paying out would 'only encourage this shabby form of extortion'.

Mr Clay has now initiated a fast-track dispute resolution procedure recently introduced by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Under the procedure, up to three experts appointed by the World Intellectual Property Organisation's arbitration and mediation centre determine a quick and cheap outcome.

ICANN will cancel or transfer the registration if it is satisfied that the registrant has no legitimate interest in a name confusingly similar with a trade mark of the complainant.

'Hammond Suddards' is a trademark belonging to Hammond Suddards Edge.Mr Clay said the time was ripe for the introduction of hefty US-style sanctions for malfeasors.

In the US, cyberquatters who ransom domain names are now liable to fines of up to $100,000 (71,500).

Jeremy Fleming