Shell once argued that Royaldutchshellplc.com was essentially identical to the name of its new parent company. It asked the World Intellectual Property Organization to take the domain away from Alfred Donovan. Shell lost. More than twenty years later, Shell has abandoned the corporate name—but the Donovan website still bears it.
There is a simple answer, followed by an important legal distinction.
Shell plc owns its Shell trademarks and remains the corporate successor to the company formerly called Royal Dutch Shell plc.
But Shell does not own the internet domain name:
The domain was registered in my fathers name, Alfred Donovan, in October 2004. Shell subsequently commenced proceedings before the World Intellectual Property Organization—WIPO—seeking its transfer.
Shell’s complaint was rejected.
The domain remained with the Donovans and is now controlled and operated by me, John Donovan.
The Shell Leaks Files
Editorial Note: The following conversation is published unedited as an example of how an artificial-intelligence system interpreted the newly established title 
ChatGPT’s Editorial Observations on Gemini’s Conversation with John Donovan
Gemini chat with John Donovan about Shell follows immediately after Gemini list of the 10 most significant articles ever published about the oil company Shell?
SECTION ADDED 19 JULY 2026: “Inside CAS: Shell’s Intelligence-Led Security System” to our expanded article “Shell and the Spies: 
The LNG empire grows while the energy transition quietly waits in reception
