Once upon a time in Narnia, a little Scots boy lost a battle with corporate lawyers …

AN 11-YEAR-OLD boy was last night ordered by a court to hand back his birthday present – a Narnia-based website address – after one of the biggest legal firms in the world said it belonged to its multi-millionaire client.

Comrie Saville-Smith, from Edinburgh, an avid fan of the CS Lewis novels, was given the domain name narnia.mobi as a gift by his parents after it became available online.

But yesterday the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Switzerland ruled in favour of New York-based law firm Baker & McKenzie, representing Lewis's estate, that the name belonged to its client.

Last night Gillian Saville-Smith, Comrie's mother and a writer, described the decision as a "scandalously one-sided appraisal of the evidence" and added: "We are shocked by the decision. We put up a spirited fight because we wanted to prove that you do not have to hand something over just because someone richer and more powerful tell you to do so."

The family's international legal battle began in April, when they received an unexpected and irate telephone call from the US lawyers demanding they hand over the domain name and threatening legal action.

The Saville-Smiths refused and rejected the offer of a refund for the cost of the site, then another offer asking them to set their own price for the address.

Mrs Saville-Smith and her husband, Richard, a charity adviser and accountant, had paid £70 for the domain name from the internet registration company Fasthosts, keeping it as a surprise for their son's 11th birthday to coincide with release of the film of the second Narnia book last month.

They then received a 128-page legal document before the case went before the WIPO.

Responding to yesterday's judgment, Mrs Saville-Smith continued: "This decision by a one-man panel, supposed to be impartial, allows a multi-million-dollar company to seize a domain name purchased entirely legitimately by ourselves which has not been used in any way improperly or illegally.

"We provided clear statements and evidence to prove we had not profited, nor sought to, from this domain name – yet these statements and evidence have simply been ignored.

"Our lawyer has presided over 80 World Intellectual Property Organisation panels. It is clear from the judgment that the panel had pre-decided to award the decision to the CS Lewis Company.

"There was absolutely no evidence of a 'bad faith' registration put forward by the CS Lewis Company's lawyer's, which was required by the WIPO rules to find against us.

"Justice has not been served, and instead the interests of corporate power and money have wrongly triumphed. 'Narnia' had great meaning before its huge commercialisation in recent years and this judgment effectively says money, not the truth, is all that matters now regarding CS Lewis's magnificent fictional kingdom – despite the values and spirituality that originally lay behind it."

The Saville-Smiths said they could not afford to continue the legal fight.

Stranger than fiction? How the tale unfolded

30 APRIL: Law firm Baker & McKenzie calls and demands that the Saville-Smiths hand over the domain name.

5 MAY: Mr Saville-Smith writes to firm: "You seek an amicable settlement, but in your first contact you threaten my wife with legal action."

8 MAY: Law firm e-mails: "Please advise whether you would be willing to transfer the domain name to CS Lewis Pte Ltd."

8 MAY: Mr Saville-Smith replies: "I am not infringing their trademark, so I see no reason why I should to accede to your request."

Later that day the law firm contacts the family, saying: "What would you consider a reasonable offer?"

9 MAY: Mr Saville-Smith writes back: "We don't want to sell the domain name, as it is a special present for a ten-year-old boy."

28 MAY: The family receives a copy of a 128-page legal complaint filed with the World Intellectual Property Organisation in Switzerland.