Steelbro, a New Zealand-based manufacturer of sidelifters, has won a court order stopping a competitor from using the name "Containerlift" in the UK and Europe.

Steelbro, with its European distributor, Containerlift Sales, brought the action in the New Zealand High Court in June, after a competitor, Maxwell Rotors, set up a website, "Containerlift.com" and advertised under the name.

Maxwell Rotors sells second-hand container handling equipment around the world. Its director, Max Tooley, first registered the domain name in 1999 after obtaining a Steelbro Containerlift video, Steelbro said.

The Containerlift group has been operating and selling Steelbro Sidelifters in the UK since 1990. As part of its promotional activity, Containerlift set up "Containerlift.co.uk" in 1997.

The court found there was an "irresistible inference" that Mr Tooley got the idea for the name "Containerlift" from the video, or from his earlier knowledge of the Containerlift company. Steelbro and Containerlift were awarded costs of NZD8,000 (USD5,000).

Meanwhile, Steelbro has received a multi-million-dollar order for the immediate supply of "a significant number" of sidelifters for use in rebuilding war-torn Iraq. After an initial inquiry to one of its US distributors, Steelbro received an order from an unnamed source in Kuwait. The company would not reveal the total number of units ordered.

Steelbro managing director Peter Batcheler said the order was placed after intense negotiations.

"Despite an urgent delivery requirement, we were able to supply the order on time. We had a large number of units available from our international stock, and some were diverted from current production in Christchurch," he said.