UK businessman hits back in .ae web domain row

A UK businessman has hit back at UAE web domain regulator, the .aeDA, after it said he tried to sell the domain name Irena.ae, following claims it wrongfully revoked the domain and transferred it to the International Renewable Energy Association (IRENA).

Last week, Kevin Reed told Arabian Business that he registered the Irena.ae domain with the .aeDA but that it was subsequently deleted by the TRA unit, despite his firm holding the trademark for Irena, a nutritional supplement, in Europe and the UK for the past twelve years.

In a statement on its website, the .aeDA claimed that the domain name was registered on January 28, two days after the signing of the IRENA EU statute in Bonn, but that following the registration, Reed put up the domain name for sale on the website Youcanbuythiswebsite.com.

It also said Reed had failed to provide “adequate or timely information” to support his registration.  Responding to the statement, Reed said: “The domain was registered through Instra.com in January 2009 by another party through a registrar called ‘Instra.com’.

“It clearly then became available and so I registered it through IP Mirror, who are a registrar for .ae domain names.

“I did not at anytime offer the domain for sale.”

Reed has said his company will scrap its plans to enter the UAE market unless the domain is transferred back to his company.

“One has to wonder how safe any .ae domain name is if they simply take them whenever they feel like it,” he said.

“Furthermore, the International Renewable Energy Association (IRENA) in Germany have told me that they do not want the domain as they use irena.org."

IRENA chose Abu Dhabi to host its first international headquarters in June this year.

The UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) did not respond to a request for comment two weeks ago and was not immediately available for comment on Monday.