Singer Tina Arena has successfully won back an internet domain name from cybersquatters. The decision has potential to provide other entertainers with precedence for asserting an online presence.

Australian business Enigmatic Minds, registered www.tinaarena.com.au last year. They handed over ownership of the Domain Name back to Tina according to a dispute panel’s ruling. The panel said the Australian singer’s lawyers satisfied all conditions of Australian domain policy needed to transfer the site name to her.

Panel chief Sara Delpopolo said the domain name was identical to Arena’s trade name, and Enigmatic did not have a legitimate interest in the domain meaning the company had registered the site in bad faith.

A disclaimer on the website said the service "had not yet launched but would offer products, services and activities related to the domain name".

Ms Delpopolo dismissed the claims and said the respondent was relying on the singer’s image built up over 30 years in generating future profit.

"By the respondent’s own admission, it was the complainant’s fame and reputation that causes the respondent to register the domain name. Use of the domain name by the respondent of offering ‘official goods’ is misleading or deceiving internet users into believing the respondent is authorised, affiliated or has the approval of the complainant when this is clearly not the case."

Filippina Lydia Arena (Tina), started her music career in the 1970s as a young girl on Young Talent Time and had great success in the late 1980s and 1990s with hit records including I Need Your Body, Chains and Heaven Help My Heart.

She appeared in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games opening ceremony and has recently enjoyed success in France (with various French-language hits).

Keith Urban is another Australian artist fighting to claim a namesake domain. The country singer chose to take legal action against the US site, www.keithurban.com, in the US District Court. He is suing a New Jersey painter with the same name for alleged unauthorised use of the artist’s trademark moniker for profit.

Registration of .au domains and policies regarding dispute resolutions for domain names are regulated by .au Domain Administration (auDA), a self-governing industry body.

Conflicts over .com and .net sites normally fall under processes dictated by the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (developed by US-based ICANN).

David Vaile (executive director of the Cyberspace Law And Policy Centre), said the ruling showed cybersquatting (registering a site with intention to profit from a trademark belonging to someone else) was not a lucrative trade.

Vaile said "There is now a very straightforward and cheap mechanism not only for big name stars but also smaller people that might have been ripped off for whatever reason. Any fear that you would have a massive trademark case in the Supreme Court is really not on. The relatively low cost alternative dispute resolution process … actually seems to work quite well."