Arbitration panes takes web domain names away from neo-Nazi Lauck

In a dispute about the web domain names "BundesrepublikDeutschland.us" and "FederalRepublicofGermany.us", an arbitral tribunal of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) has found in favor of Germany and ruled against the US Neo-Nazi Gary Lauck. Lauck had not been able to prove a vital interest in the domain names, the body said. The AAA is one of the arbitral bodies accredited by ICANN that can settle domain name disputes. Germany not only had a right to the German- and English-language designations. Lauck now has to cede both domains to the German government. Earlier,  Lauck's attempt to assert his claim to the domain federalrepublicofgermany.biz before the arbitral tribunal of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) had also failed. In 1996, the American neo-Nazi Lauck was sentenced to four years in prison a Hamburg court for, among other things, incitement to racial hatred. In 1999, however, he was deported to the United States and has since been dealing in Nazi memorabilia.