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Websites named after pandas up for sale
(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2006-02-06 08:52 A man from Hunan
Province has bought 16 Website domain names related to the two giant pandas that
the Chinese mainland gave as gifts to Taiwan.
He is trying to sell the names in an online auction, with a base price of
500,000 yuan (US$ 61,728) for each of the best names.
The names of pandas — Tuantuan and Yuanyuan — were announced on CCTV on New
Year's Eve.
Peng Zhangsheng, a 35-year-old IT professional working in Shanghai, said he
started to follow the name campaign last June.
"It is a very meaningful issue to send giant pandas to Taiwan. Websites based
on the names should earn great profits," said Peng. "I registered these names
immediately after knowing the results."
He bought up names including tuantuanyuanyuan.com, tuantuan.com, and
yuanyuan.com, as well as similar names using Chinese characters. They are now
for sale at www.EachNIC.com.
Peng wants at least 500,000 yuan for domain names containing both of the
pandas' names, and 100,000 yuan for those with just one panda's name.
"Due to the weeklong holiday, no business has contacted with me to buy the
names yet," he said yesterday. "I am confident about these Websites, which
should be valuable. They are legal, because they don't violate anyone's rights."
Legal experts question if the government will allow the names to exist.
"Though the Websites don't involve trademarks or corporate names, the giant
pandas are of public interest. Profits from these names shouldn't be enjoyed by
a unique person," said Gu Huimin, an intellectual property rights attorney with
Shanghai NORSN Law Firm.
"If the government thinks the Websites tarnish the seriousness of
panda-giving issue or influence the relationship between the Chinese mainland
and Taiwan, it may cancel them. Then buyers can face a serious loss, if they pay
a lot (for the domain names)."
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