A London-based property developer is locked in a legal battle with Hugh Hefner over the use of the web domain 'playboy.london'.
Michael Ross, 50, registered the domain in August 2014, shortly after the '.london' domains went on sale.
The former playboy - once described as one of Britain’s most eligible bachelors - paid £34.99 for the URL, thinking it could eventually be used as a funny website for his son.
But when Hugh Hefner's Playboy Enterprises spotted the registration, they went to the World Intellectual Property Organization to order that the domain was handed back.
Instead of giving it back, Ross is challenging the decision in court.
He argues that a playboy is a "man of means" who pursues a life of pleasure and thinks that describes him.
"I'm based in London. I think I have got as much right to this as you," he told Bloomberg.
He's peeved at the aggressive stance Playboy has taken over this, saying he registered the domain "for a bit of fun" but Playboy’s aggressive stance made him "dig my heels in".
Ross supports his claim by referring to his "colourful past", including the fact he used to date a Playboy model and visited the Playboy Mansion. He also competed in the extravagant Gumball 3000 rally car race several times.
Playboy's lawyers argue that playboy.london was registered "in bad faith", hence why the corporation has been granted the domain by WIPO.
The case will be heard at the High Court of Justice in London.
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