Berlin Wins Case Against US Neo-Nazi Webmaster

An arbitration panel of the World Intellectual Property Organization has said an American neo-Nazi must close down his Web site with the domain name www.federalrepublicofgermany.biz. On the site, Gary Lauck, who has been nicknamed the "Farmbelt Führer" because his home is in Lincoln, Nebraska, offers Nazi newspapers, pictures of Nazi flags and of Adolf Hitler, and sells other forms of Nazi paraphernalia. It is the latest in Germany's cat-and-mouse game with Lauck, who has created a series of Web sites with official-sounding web addresses featuring Nazi material. The content on his site breaches German law against the dissemination of Nazi material or a revival of Nazi ideology. However, the United States has refused to take action against him. Lauck was deported from Germany in 1999 for inciting racial hatred. The arbitration panel said Germany owns the term Federal Republic of Germany as a trademark and can take control of it. The domain name will be transferred to German control after a 10-day appeal deadline. Lauck did not defend the case.