The highest American court refused to take up the appeal of Jean-Noël Frydman, who accused France of having "expropriated" it in violation of American property law.
The high court's refusal validates the decision of a federal court of appeal which, in March, ruled that Paris could not be prosecuted on American soil in this case because of its "sovereign immunity".
Mr. Frydman, a French expatriate in the United States, had registered in 1994 the domain name France.com, whereas the Internet was only a confidential platform.
Its information site for Francophones and Francophiles living in the United States was transformed in 1997 into an online travel agency intended for the American public.
He assured, in an interview with AFP, having sent "between 100,000 and 150,000" tourists to France in nearly 20 years, before the French state asked him, in 2015, to recover the name France.com .
Seized by France, a Parisian court ordered 2016 the transfer to the State of the domain name, a decision confirmed on appeal in September 2017. Mr. Frydman then appealed to the Supreme Court.
Without waiting for the outcome of this appeal, the company Web.com, which managed the IP address, transferred the name to the French State.
"To correct the wrongs inflicted on his business", the businessman then turned to American justice, in vain.
Today, France.com is automatically redirected to France.fr, the official portal for tourism in France.
© 2021 AFP