Scots family embroiled in Narnia Internet dispute

By John Joseph

LONDON (Reuters) - A Scottish family have become embroiled in an intellectual property dispute with the estate of the author C.S. Lewis after buying a Narnia Internet domain name for their 10-year-old son as a birthday present.

Richard and Gillian Saville-Smith, who live in Edinburgh, paid 70 pounds ($140) to purchase the domain name Narnia.mobi from the internet registration company Fasthosts in 2006 so their son could have it as an email address.

They were asked to return the domain name to the C.S. Lewis company, owner of the author's estate, but refused. The family then received a 128-page legal complaint filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Switzerland.

"We'd been saving it as a surprise for our little boy's birthday, to coincide with the release of the Narnia film," said Mrs. Saville-Smith, referring to the British release of Walt Disney Co's "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian".

No one was available for comment from Baker & McKenzie, the law firm that represents the C.S. Lewis estate.

"Prince Caspian", the second in a series of films based on Lewis's "Narnia" books, will have its British premiere on June 19. It follows 2005's "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe".

"Our whole family are great admirers of C.S. Lewis and he must be turning in his grave about all this," added Mrs. Saville-Smith, who is an award-winning Scottish poet.

The family must reply to WIPO by June 23, with the Organization expected to make its decision within a month.