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India’s limited-overs skipper MS Dhoni and the Rhiti Sports Management Pvt Ltd won a legal battle after Dhoni secured the domain name ‘www.msdhoni.com’ that was held by a person from the United States of America. After filing a complaint and battling it out, the decision came in favor of the Indian star.

The complaint was issued with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, Geneva in August, stating that the mark MS Dhoni was a famous and well-known symbol throughout the world and the use of his domain name ‘www.msdhoni.com’ by the person involved amounted to rights infringement.

This also causes confusion among the public, as they might be misled to believe that the domain name, and the content available on it were being made by Dhoni or Rhiti Sports.

The domain name in dispute was registered originally on October 31, 2005 and came into the ownership by the concerned person since February 2014. The domain name didn’t resolve to any site, but it had pay-per-click advertisements and was offered for sale. Subsequent to the filing of the complaint, interestingly the owner wrote to Scriboard to sell the domain name for about 1500 US Dollars.

In a press release made by Mr. Ryder, a cyber law expert, he mentioned it was ‘imperative to secure this important and valuable digital asset’. He further added, “the securing of the domain name is an important part of the overall brand strategy. There is a serious potential of misuse. This case, from the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, Geneva, is an important global trademark precedent for the already famous and well-known brand, MS Dhoni.”

The wicketkeeper-skipper, on the field, will surely be a happy and relieved man after winning the ODI series against New Zealand. Although his finishing skills were negligible, his captaincy stood out once again. We can see MS Dhoni back in action in January against the England ODIs.

Originally published on SportsNova.