The Swiss art group registered its domain name in 1995, while toy retailer eToys registered its in 1997. However, although etoy is entitled to trademark protection, this did not stop a US judge issuing a preliminary injunction against it - a move that has led to roars of protest across the Internet.

The firm has also been ordered to stop using the etoy.com domain name or risk fines of up to $10,000 per day.

Network Solutions, which maintains the domain names registry for the .com suffix, has also sided with the US company and blocked email services to etoy.com, although this was not mandated by the court order.

But a Network Solutions' spokesperson said it routinely shuts down contested domain name sites when court orders are issued.

As a result, however, representatives from etoy have organised a protest rally in New York this week.

Suzanne Meszoly, director of etoy's advisory board, said: "An ebusiness giant is restricting the very existence of an art company," and added that the company simply just wanted to exist as "a meaningful and creative art project".

But the Swiss have garnered support from across the Internet. A protest group, RTMark, said it has a group of hackers working on ways to interfere with eToys site traffic count and server operations.

A number of other sites have also been established to contest the top toy seller's methods, including Toywar.com and Eviltoy.com.

But Ken Ross, eToys' vice president of communications, attested that the company had experienced no interuption to its business as a result of the action.

"Traffic this holiday season has been robust and the site has performed in a very efficient manner," he claimed.