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It's Armani versus Armani over a domain name

Ajit Jain in Toronto

This Indo-Canadian might not admit that money is the prime reason for not reaching a settlement with Italian fashion giant Giorgio Armani, but he believes he is sitting on a goldmine.

Vancouver-based graphic designer Anand Ramnath Mani has a Web site armani.com. And he sees no reason for not cashing in on it, as it was the Italian fashion giant that initially dragged him before the World Intellectual Property Organisation.

Armani's lawyers had taken the graphic designer before the Geneva-based WIPO for registering the fashion designer's name as his Web site, but the tribunal, chaired by British judge Dick Gardner, ruled in Mani's favour earlier this month.

"The domain name is, in fact, my initials and family name, A R Mani. And that is how it is 'Armani', said Mani.

"The panelists at WIPO made very sure that my name is my name and it has always been my name. Once that was established, they ruled in my favour."

Mani said that while giving his ruling, Gardener "chided the complainant for abuse of the process, that the complaint has been brought in bad faith, and he also said they were not wholly truthful in their complaint."

"When Armani's lawyers came to know about my having registered 'Armani' as my domain name, they challenged me and I told them I don't use this name as a Web site. I use it simply as my e-mail address. I had offered to share the name as long as I use my e-mail address," he said.

"I wasn't going to use the Web site then and I am not going to use it now. I offered to share it with Armani, but lawyers' reply was 'no'," he added.

He said their next step was 'to take me before WIPO'.

Referring to their arguments before the tribunal in Geneva, Mani said: "Their arguments were strange in so far as first they said they were very famous. (And hence) they have more right to it (domain name). They didn't mention that they first offered me money. I was the one who mentioned and provided documentation to the tribunal."

Now, with the tribunal's judgment in his favor, Mani is still willing to be magnanimous and settle with Armani, but the conditions of the settlement have changed.

He said: "Before the complainant's lawyers went before WIPO, I was willing to change my name from 'Armani' to 'Amani' but not any more."

Mani said the domain name, of course, "is not for sale and it has never been for sale. The settlement will now be directly with Mr Armani. It would be gentleman to gentleman."

Taking exception to Armani's lawyers, he said: "In my opinion, they acted badly. Now there has to be a sum of money... a whole lot more than... before they took legal action."

In any case, Mani said he would continue to use Armani as his e-mail address.

Mani's father is from southern India and his mother is from Finland. He was born in England and migrated to Canada from Bombay in 1965.

Indo-Asian News Service

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