• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, March 11, 2008

News Corp.'s 6-month-old Fox Business News has lost its battle for the same domain name.

The World International Property Organization's Arbitration and Mediation Center has ruled that Florida businessman Derek Hodges, of Sebring, Fla., properly registered the domain name FoxBusinessNews.com in February 2007. Hodges runs Worldwide Directory Services, which resells domain names and also offers Internet marketing services.

Hodges had been using the name Fox Business News since 2002, but didn't register the domain name until Feb. 8, 2007--the same date that News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch announced its new business channel, then known as Fox Business Channel. Hodges said he had attempted to register the Fox Business News name in 2006, but wasn't able to at the time. Last year, news that Fox was planning a new channel prompted him to investigate whether he could still claim Fox Business News as a domain name. Fox didn't register the trademark for the name "Fox Business News" until last July.

The arbitration panel ruled that Hodges could continue to use FoxBusinessNetwork.com because he had presented evidence that he had used the term "Fox Business Network" for his company for several years. Hodges also has been known by the nickname "the British fox" since the late 1990s.

In its written decision, the panel also rejected News Corp.'s claim that Hodges last August tried to extort $50,000 from the company in exchange for the domain name.

Hodges said he had a phone conversation with a News Corp. representative, but only in hopes of ending the dispute. "I just assumed you can pick the phone up, and if you have an issue, you can resolve it with friendly phone call," Hodges said. "I am not a squatter. I will never be a squatter."

News Corp. is mulling its next step. "We were disappointed with the panel's decision and are considering other options," said Chris Silvestri, vice president of legal and business affairs, in a statement.