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.”