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Red card for Liverpool FC cyber squatter

He was offered £50,000 (Michael Owen's weekly wage) but he was holding out for £125,000 (Jamie Redknapp's weekly medical expenses)...

By Will Sturgeon

Published: 8 April 2002 15:58 BST

Liverpool Football Club has won a battle with a cyber squatter over the domain name LiverpoolFC.com.

The World Intellectual Property Organisation (Wipo) ruled that businessman Andrew Hetherington had no claims over the domain, which it said he registered in 'bad faith'.

Hetherington said he registered the domain for a planned clothing venture to be called Liverpool Fashion Club - though Wipo believes the claim is bogus and concluded that Hetherington's motive had always been to sell the domain to the football club for an inflated sum.

According to a report on BBC Online, Hetherington had been offered £50,000 for the domain by the football club but was holding out for £125,000 until Wipo intervened.

The ruling follows a similar case, regarding the domain FCBayern.com and German club Bayern Munich, in which Wipo concluded web surfers would reasonably expect the initials 'FC' to relate to a football club.

The domain will now be transferred to Granada Media, which runs the club's official website Liverpoolfc.tv.

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