Beijing Gome Home Appliance Company, one of the largest home electronics chain stores in the capital city, has sued Hao Peng in Beijing because Hao registered a domain name similar to Gome's name.

Beijing's No. 1 Secondary People's Court is hearing the case this week.

Gome says Hao has caused confusion in the marketplace because Hao registered the domain name guomei.com, which is the same as Gome's Pinyin name GuoMei. Pinyin is a romanized form of Chinese characters.

Gome is asking Hao to pay CNY24000, plus legal fees, to cover Gome's economic losses.

Hao Peng has responded with evidence that shows the domain name is no longer owned by himself, but instead by other unrelated parties.

No judgment has been made in the case, and the court has not said when a decision will be forthcoming.