A TATTOO parlour has won the battle to keep using its web address when it launches a new site.

Black Mamba Tattoo and Piercing Studio in Windmill Road, Headington, Oxford, had a website years ago by designer Laurence Powell.

But when the business decided to set up a new website and wanted to make sure it kept the blackmambatattoo.co.uk address it was unable to get in touch with Mr Powell.

It led to the parlour going to Nominet - the body responsible for the administration of most domains ending in .uk - claiming that it had the rights to use the name.

Nominet, which has an office at the Oxford Science Park, agreed and has allowed Black Mamba to keep the address when it launches its new site.

Zoe Osborne from the tattoo parlour said: “We decided we needed a new website built because a lot of the things had changed and we wanted to redesign it and add new things.

“But we could not find the guy who designed the original site, it was like he had vanished off the face of the earth.

“So we had to go through Nominet.”

The studio specialises in custom tattoos and cover ups as well as piercings.

Mrs Osborne said: “It’s good news for us obviously.

“Our new website is being launched soon and we just wanted to keep our name.”

Domain name expert Tim Brown was called on to decide the issue.

In ordering Mr Powell to hand over the name he said: “The complainant (the Oxford business) has, to my reasonable satisfaction, shown rights in respect of a name or mark which is identical or similar to the domain name.”

He added that the name would therefore be transferred to the studio.
The company’s new website has been designed by Kieran Hayes from Perfect Web Design based in Foster Road, Abingdon.

Mr Hayes, who worked to reclaim the domain name on Black Mamba's behalf, said:

“We gathered a large set of pictorial and documentary evidence, wrote the legal claim and associated it to each part of the evidence, then handled the management of the claim process with Nominet.

“Many people out there may be stuck in a similar position and we would love to help them”

Visit the new site at its temporary site at blackmambatattoo.co.uk.f2h.co

Once transferred it will be available at blackmambatattoo.co.uk