Andrew Hetherington of Wirral, Merseyside, registered the domain
name in 2000. He claimed to have purchased it from the Liverpool
Flying Club of America with the intention of setting up “Liverpool
Fashion Club.” He also claimed to have a business plan and funding
in place.
Liverpoolfc.tv offered Hetherington the sum of £50,000 in return
for the transfer of the name. He rejected the offer and requested
£125,000.
The company observed that the site at Hetherington’s domain name
stated that the domain was for sale in September 2001. However,
this then changed to include reference to “Liverpool Fashion Club.”
The web site purported to require password entry. Liverpoolfc.tv
noted that the source code of the page revealed the password entry
form to be inactive.
A panellist of the World Intellectual Property Organisation
summarised the company’s arguments as alleging that “the ‘Fashion
Club’ story is a sham and the demands for excessive compensation
show the true purpose of [Hetherington].”
The panellist concluded, in ordering the transfer of the name,
that, in any event: “it seems that ‘Liverpool Fashion Club’ is a
far more descriptive and appropriate name for a business venture of
the type alleged to exist.”
