In August, the UK High Court ruled that the Federation was in breach of a contract entered into with the conservationists in 1994 and had illegally used the WWF initials in its marketing materials, logos and domain name.
The judge had rejected the Federation’s argument that the restrictions put in place by the agreement should be viewed as a restraint on trade and contrary to European law. The Federation had protested that a banning order would seriously inhibit its ability to carry on its business effectively since internet generated revenue accounts for an estimated 3% of the Federation’s total annual income. However, the court ordered the Federation to stop using the initials and considered the image of violence and sleaze it is associated with as potentially damaging for the conservation charity.
The fate of the wwf.com domain name has thus been thrown open to question again.