» E-XCHANGE MAIN » NATIONAL POST ONLINE » CONNECTED FORUM WARNING: Not all links on this page are suitable for children. Always use discretion when allowing children to use the Internet. "They [Mattel] are big bullies. But I'm going to fight them as long as it takes. This [Barbie nickname] is how people know me now." - Barbie Benson, former Miss Nude Canada

CYBER ROW WITH MATTEL
Mistress of her own domain name

By David Menzies

A Canadian stripper says U.S. toy giant Mattel Inc. is trying to strip her of her Internet domain name.

Barbie Doll Benson, a former Miss Nude Canada, says she has spent close to $10,000 in legal fees since November fighting Mattel over her Web site name.

Mattel is demanding Ms. Benson, who is based in Mississauga, Ont., "cease and desist" from using barbiebenson.com. But the blonde bombshell says she's not about to give up any time soon -- even though lawyer fees are costing her the proverbial shirt off her back.

"They [Mattel] are big bullies," says Ms. Benson, 35. "But I'm going to fight them as long as it takes. This [Barbie nickname] is how people know me now."

Ms. Benson's use of the "Barbie" name -- both on stage and on the Internet -- is a point of contention for the multinational toy conglomerate.

Mattel is unhappy the name of its best-selling product is used on an adult entertainment Web site consisting of nude photos and racy language.

Conflict over Internet domain names is common, experts say.

Domain names are "seriously shaking up the tree of intellectual property," says Naseem Javed, president of New York- and Toronto-based ABC Namebank International, a developer of corporate and product names. "The fact is, less than 1% of companies have domain names identical to their company name. A lot of companies did not do their homework in the early years of the Internet evolution."

The root of the problem, says Mr. Javed, is that Internet domain names are handed out first come, first-served. By simply anteing up $70 (US) to register a domain name with Network Solutions Inc., the global registrar, anyone can pick any name, if it hasn't already been registered.

A company hoping to register its corporate name often finds someone who has no link to the company has already taken the moniker.

Domain names are being registered at a rate of 10,000 a day, says Mr. Javed. Within the next two years, more than 50,000 names will be registered every day as the Internet continues its popularity surge, he says.

So-called "cyber-squatters" hope to cash in by selling a company its own corporate name or product name. Not Ms. Benson.

She says she uses "Barbie" on the Web, because it has been part of her stage name for 16 years -- long before the Internet became popular with consumers. She says Mattel is being "incredibly arrogant," because it believes it alone is entitled to the use of "Barbie."

The company is not to be toyed with on this matter. Gabby Nobrega, Mattel Canada Inc.'s spokeswoman, refused to provide any details about the company's protracted fight with Ms. Benson.

Mattel, says Ms. Nobrega, is "currently evaluating the content of [Ms. Benson's] site." On this, she would not elaborate. "As you can appreciate, Mattel's policy is not to comment on cases before the courts."

During her dispute with the toy leviathan, Ms. Benson discovered she's not the only "Barbie" Mattel has targeted. "There was a Klaus Barbie [a convicted Nazi war criminal] cartoon series on the Web site that was bullied off the Web by Mattel, even though it had nothing to do with Barbie dolls," she says. "There was also an Austrian artist depicting people with HIV using Barbie dolls, and he's run into trouble. It's really gotten out of hand. Mattel is even going after people who collect Barbies, trying to get their Web sites off the Internet."

If the strategy of Mattel is to purge the Internet of any Web site using the word "Barbie," the company has its work cut out for it. Typing "barbie" into my search engine reveals a staggering 23,177 matches. Mattel's official Barbie Doll Web site -- barbie.com -- does not crack the top 25. Some of the Web sites not only use the Barbie name, but are intensely critical of the doll and its image.

It's easy to see why Mattel would get wound up about them; one site offers a fictitious list of Barbie dolls that it falsely claims Mattel is releasing to "represent the diversity of women in the '90s." Among them, "Bulimia Barbie", who appears no different from the real Barbie.

Ms. Benson agrees there's at least one upside to the dispute: Notoriety. "All publicity is good publicity, and people are now coming to check me out [at strip clubs] to see what the big fuss is all about," she says.

Financial Post