In a significant development in cyber law, an arbitrator has ruled for a comic book company in its battle to force the transfer of the manofsteel.com domain name from a registrant unconnected with the ownership of the Superman character.

The DC Comics company publishes comic books that include the famous Superman series. The flying superhero Superman, of course, is also known as "The Man of Steel." DC Comics registered "THE MAN OF STEEL" as a trademark in 1987, and "MAN OF STEEL" in 1999, seeking to protect its valuable intellectual property.

In addition to the appearance of the Superman character in print, he has been featured in a number of major motion pictures. Coming up in December of 2012, in fact, the latest film will be released, entitled "Man of Steel." The film is being created by DC Comics and Warner Brothers. DC Comics additionally uses its marks in connection with a variety of other goods and services connected to the Superman character.

So when DC Comics discovered that there was a website at www.manofsteel.com owned and operated by Coni c/o LBR Enterprises, they decided that it was definitely time to call out for help. Not from Superman, however, but rather from a skilled domain name lawyer.

Faster than a speeding bullet, their attorney initiated a proceeding with a one-man panel of the National Arbitration Forum, asserting that DC Comics was the rightful owner of the manofsteel.com domain.

After examining the facts, the arbitrator, James A. Carmody, agreed, noting, among other things, that the registrant of the site had used it to display advertisements and links for commercial purposes, refuting any argument that could be made of fair use or noncommercial purpose, and illustrating bad faith. In short, the protected "MAN OF STEEL" trademark was being essentially hijacked by a usurper for the purpose of increasing web traffic to unrelated ads and commercial links.

The registrant did not file any answer to DC Comics’ claims.

The arbitrator found that the manofsteel.com domain name was identical to the registered MAN OF STEEL trademark, and that the registrant of the domain had no rights or legitimate interest in that domain name.