Estate of C.S. Lewis wages war over Narnia domain name
16.06.2008 03:02
Arts
- Source: cbc.ca
The estate of author C.S. Lewis, who wrote The Chronicles of Narnia, has launched a battle with a Scottish family over an internet domain name. Richard and Gillian Saville-Smith of Edinburgh paid $150 to purchase the domain name Narnia.mobi back in 2006 as a birthday gift for their seven-year-old son. That's when the C.S. Lewis Company, the copyright holders of the Lewis legacy, asked the family to return the domain name. They declined. Now, they've been slapped with a 128-page legal complaint filed with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Switzerland. "Our whole family are great admirers of C.S. Lewis and he must be turning in his grave about all this," said Mrs Saville-Smith, who is an award-winning Scottish poet. "To try to ruthlessly snatch away a gift intended for a young boy who loves his Narnia books is unbelievable." June 23 deadline to replySaville-Smith said she and her husband bought the domain name to coincide with the release of the second film in the Narnia series Prince Caspian, which launches in Britain on June 19. The second instalment follows 2005's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The family has until June 23 to send in a formal reply after which, the WIPO will make a decision within a month. "We've never made any money out of this domain and have no interest in doing so," said Mr. Saville-Smith. "If the WIPO decides in favour of the C.S. Lewis estate, that would be the end of it for us. However, I don't expect they will, because their case is flimsy and we've done nothing wrong." The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven novels considered classics of children's literature with more than 100 million copies sold. The fantasy novels take place in the fictional world of Narnia where magic is used, animals talk and there are battles between good and evil. Story Tools: E-MAIL | PRINT | Text Size: SMLXL | REPORT TYPO | SEND YOUR FEEDBACKRelatedInternal LinksREVIEW: Keys to the kingdomMore Books HeadlinesEstate of C.S. Lewis wages war over Narnia domain nameThe estate of author C.S. Lewis, who wrote The Chronicles of Narnia, has launched a battle royale with a Scottish family over an internet domain name. Anne of Green Gables author's Ont. home named historic siteThe Ontario home where Lucy Maud Montgomery penned many of the books in her Anne of Green Gables series has been anointed a national historic site.Montreal's Rawi Hage scoops lucrative Dublin book prizeMontreal writer Rawi Hage has won the world's richest writing prize for his debut novel, De Niro's Game, organizers of the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award announced on Thursday. The book was nominated by the Winnipeg Public Library.Gowdy's Helpless wins Trillium Book AwardBarbara Gowdy is one of the newest winners of Ontario's Trillium Book Awards, announced at a midday ceremony in Toronto Thursday.Canadian poet and playwright James Reaney dies at 81James Reaney, a poet, author and dramatist of three famous plays about Ontario's feuding Donnelly family, has died. He was 81.More Arts HeadlinesSouth Pacific, August: Osage County clean up at Tony AwardsThe musical South Pacific rode a wave of trophies at the Tony Awards with prizes for direction as well as scenic and sound design. Hedley snags four MuchMusic video prizesB.C. rockers Hedley were major winners at the MuchMusic Video Awards capturing four trophies including best video and best director for their hit For The Nights I Can't Remember. Estate of C.S. Lewis wages war over Narnia domain nameThe estate of author C.S. Lewis, who wrote The Chronicles of Narnia, has launched a battle royale with a Scottish family over an internet domain name. McCartney back in the former U.S.S.R for massive concertPaul McCartney performed for tens of thousand at a concert in Kiev as fans braved a thunderstorm to see the ex-Beatle play for the first time in the Ukraine. Anne of Green Gables author's Ont. home named historic siteThe Ontario home where Lucy Maud Montgomery penned many of the books in her Anne of Green Gables series has been anointed a national historic site. Arts FeaturesBig f---ing dealYoung People F---ing turns out to be a slick, sweet-natured comedyThe green menaceSeriously: How hard is it to make a good movie about the Hulk?It ain't happening Someone should put M. Night Shyamalan's new horror film out of its miseryNorthern museKronos Quartet finds its "Hendrix" in Nunavut throat singer Tanya TagaqNorth by NortheastSarah Liss reports from the Toronto music festivalSuperhero smackdownWhich summer blockbuster will win the box-office battle?People who read this also read …
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