Legal fight for heart of Narnia
Published Date: 16 June 2008
By SHÂN ROSS
IT SEEMED like the perfect present for their son's 11th birthday – a Narnia-based website address to feed his enthusiasm for the books of CS Lewis.
But Comrie Saville-Smith's parents were surprised when they received an angry call from one of the world's biggest law firms, demanding they hand over the domain name.
When they refused, they were sent a letter offering to refund them for the cost of the site, before another was dispatched asking them to name their price for handing over the rights to [email protected].
The Saville-Smiths – refusing to bow to pressure from Baker & McKenzie, the lawyers representing Lewis's estate – have now been sent a weighty 128-page legal document, ordering them to make their case to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Switzerland by next Monday.
Richard Saville-Smith, Comrie's father, claims the dispute echoes the "good against evil" themes of Lewis's novels.
The drama began two years ago when Mr Saville-Smith, from Edinburgh, and his wife Gillian paid £70 for the domain name from the internet registration company Fasthosts, keeping it as a surprise for Comrie's 11th birthday to coincide with release of the film of the second Narnia book later this week.
Mr Saville-Smith said: "Comrie is a voracious reader and has really got into the whole Narnia fantasy thing and we sometimes read him the story at bedtimes. Then last month, completely out the blue, my wife got a telephone call from a female lawyer at Baker & McKenzie about the domain name, saying, 'You've got to hand it over now or we'll take legal action'. Then came an email saying they would refund our costs. Then, they got in touch with us asking, 'How much would we have to offer for you to give it to us?'"
Mr Saville-Smith, a charity adviser and accountant, who is fighting his own legal case, said he was "intrigued" at the change of tone.
When the family refused to return the domain name, they received the 128-page legal complaint.
They must reply to the WIPO by 23 June, with the organisation expect-ed to makes its decision within a month. Either side can then appeal.
"If the WIPO decides in favour of the estate, that would be the end of it for us," said Mr Saville-Smith. "But I don't expect it will, as their case is flimsy and we've done nothing wrong."
Comrie, a pupil at Stewart's-Melville Junior School in Edinburgh, said: "I think it's all a bit weird, I mean, it was a birthday present to me."
Mrs Saville-Smith, an award-winning Scottish poet, added: "Our whole family are great admirers of CS Lewis and he must be turning in his grave about all this. To try to snatch away a gift intended for a boy who loves his Narnia books is unbelievable."
Baker & McKenzie did not reply to requests from The Scotsman for a comment about the legal case.
-http://news.scotsman.co
Published Date: 16 June 2008
By SHÂN ROSS
IT SEEMED like the perfect present for their son's 11th birthday – a Narnia-based website address to feed his enthusiasm for the books of CS Lewis.
But Comrie Saville-Smith's parents were surprised when they received an angry call from one of the world's biggest law firms, demanding they hand over the domain name.
When they refused, they were sent a letter offering to refund them for the cost of the site, before another was dispatched asking them to name their price for handing over the rights to [email protected].
The Saville-Smiths – refusing to bow to pressure from Baker & McKenzie, the lawyers representing Lewis's estate – have now been sent a weighty 128-page legal document, ordering them to make their case to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Switzerland by next Monday.
Richard Saville-Smith, Comrie's father, claims the dispute echoes the "good against evil" themes of Lewis's novels.
The drama began two years ago when Mr Saville-Smith, from Edinburgh, and his wife Gillian paid £70 for the domain name from the internet registration company Fasthosts, keeping it as a surprise for Comrie's 11th birthday to coincide with release of the film of the second Narnia book later this week.
Mr Saville-Smith said: "Comrie is a voracious reader and has really got into the whole Narnia fantasy thing and we sometimes read him the story at bedtimes. Then last month, completely out the blue, my wife got a telephone call from a female lawyer at Baker & McKenzie about the domain name, saying, 'You've got to hand it over now or we'll take legal action'. Then came an email saying they would refund our costs. Then, they got in touch with us asking, 'How much would we have to offer for you to give it to us?'"
Mr Saville-Smith, a charity adviser and accountant, who is fighting his own legal case, said he was "intrigued" at the change of tone.
When the family refused to return the domain name, they received the 128-page legal complaint.
They must reply to the WIPO by 23 June, with the organisation expect-ed to makes its decision within a month. Either side can then appeal.
"If the WIPO decides in favour of the estate, that would be the end of it for us," said Mr Saville-Smith. "But I don't expect it will, as their case is flimsy and we've done nothing wrong."
Comrie, a pupil at Stewart's-Melville Junior School in Edinburgh, said: "I think it's all a bit weird, I mean, it was a birthday present to me."
Mrs Saville-Smith, an award-winning Scottish poet, added: "Our whole family are great admirers of CS Lewis and he must be turning in his grave about all this. To try to snatch away a gift intended for a boy who loves his Narnia books is unbelievable."
Baker & McKenzie did not reply to requests from The Scotsman for a comment about the legal case.
-http://news.scotsman.co
