Korea’s Supreme Court ruled Monday that a U.S. decision to transfer the domain name “hpweb.com,” registered by a Korean national, to Hewlett-Packard Co. was appropriate.

“The domain name ‘hpweb.com’ is confusingly similar to the HP mark. The plaintiff’s registering and perusal of the domain name amounts to cybersquatting under the U.S. federal law,” Judge Kim Ji-hyung said.

A Korean surnamed Kim registered the domain name with U.S. authorities in 1999, but HP filed a suit the following year, claiming that Kim had breached its trademark rights. The U.S. National Arbitration Forum ruled in September 2000 that Kim should hand over the domain name to HP.

Following the decision, Kim filed a damages suit against the U.S. firm in Korea, claiming that the domain name should be returned to him.

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)