DOMAIN NAMES: personal injury consortium 'incensed'

Personal injury marketing network Injury Lawyers 4U has scuppered an alleged attempt by a claims management company to pass off its own services as the consortium's by getting an injunction to stop it from using similar-sounding domain names.

The consortium took action after it emerged that Preston-based venture start2claim had purchased five almost identical domain names to both IL4U's site and the site of leading Manchester firm Amelans - which established the consortium - and all enquiries were being re-routed to its own claims site.

The High Court granted a permanent injunction preventing the company from using the domain names earlier this month; start2claim did not object to the injunction.

Manchester firm Betesh Fox acted for IL4U and The Ellen Court Partnership in Preston for start2claim.

Amelans partner Martin Cockx said the consortium, which has 200 members, was reaping rewards for the firms involved and would not tolerate other companies trying to link themselves with its good reputation.

'We were incensed when we discovered this because we don't want people making money out of us in this way,' he said.

'This kind of thing needs to be stamped out.'

Betesh Fox commercial litigation partner Christine Oxenburgh said the injunction in this case was a spanner in the works of the claims management company's attempt to 'boost its clients by riding on the back of a highly sophisticated, ethically principled business that people have spent a lot of time and money setting up'.

Start2claim was not available for comment.

Paula Rohan