The ex-Police frontman filed the complaint in June with the Geneva, Switzerland-based World Intellectual Property Organization against Michael Urvan, who said he is an online gamer who has gone by the Internet nickname “Sting” for eight years. The domain has been registered to him for five years.

But an arbitrator, Andrew F. Christie of Australia, ruled against Sting. He acknowledged that Sting is a “world famous entertainer” known by that name, but Christie reasoned that Sting isn’t his real name – which is Gordon Sumner.

“Sting” also is more difficult to protect since it is a common English word and isn’t registered by the singer as a trademark or service mark, he said. Christie found no indication of “bad faith” on the part of Urvan, whose Web site contains almost exclusively game information and links. At the bottom is a notice: “This domain is not for sale.”

A link to “current news” connects to a message posted July 25 that reads, “Phone company came by and installed the DSL copper … I’ll be ready to rock ‘n roll. Speaking of Rock ‘n Roll – Long live Sting.com!”

The arbitration panel evicts “cybersquatters,” or Internet users who register famous names in the hope of selling them for a big profit. As domain names have become more valuable, the market has grown for registered domain names in a system that is largely first-come, first served.

The WIPO is a specialized United Nations copyright and intellectual property agency. It allows firms and individuals to arbitrate complaints and avoid lengthy and expensive lawsuits when cybersquatting is obvious or big money is at stake.

Companies that have won such cases through the agency include Christian Dior, Deutsche Bank, Microsoft and Nike. Julia Roberts was recently successful in evicting a cybersquatter, as WIPO ruled she had a common law trademark right to her name.