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-------------------------------------------------------------- This story was printed from ZDNet Australia. --------------------------------------------------------------
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Resort sends cybersquatter packing By David Hellaby, ZDNet News January 19, 2001 URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/soa/Resort-sends-cybersquatter-packing/0,139023165,120150483,00.htm
An ICANN international domain name disputes panel has ordered daydreamisland.com be handed over to the owners of the Queensland resort of the same name. The domain was originally registered in November 1999 by Brisbane real estate developer Alessandro Sorbello, who claimed he planned to use it to develop an art, music and poetry Web site. However, Daydream Island Resort Investments said the name infringed its registered trademarks and that it had been unable to reach resolution with Sorbello over the purchase of the domain name, which has been inactive since it was registered. The company owns the 17 hectare tropical island, which was originally known as West Molle. It is one of the several resort islands in the Whitsunday area of northern Queensland. Sorbello denied any trademark infringement and claimed he had developed a business plan for his proposed website and had logos designed, however, when asked to submit them to the disputes panel he failed to do so. He claimed that other trademarks existed that included the word 'daydream', and therefore the company did not have exclusivity in the words 'daydream' or 'daydream island'. Sorbello said he had spent hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars planning and developing the 'daydreamisland.com' concept and he had received numerous offers for the domain name, but never sold it. He had the opportunity to register dot-com domain names for other Great Barrier Reef Islands, but did not do so and had no intention of cornering the Great Barrier Reef Island domain name market so there was no pattern of bad conduct. Sorbello claimed that the company tried to entrap him into selling the disputed domain name, and to generate evidence of bad faith. But presiding panellist John V Swinson said the panel found that Sorbello's story as to his pending business for the daydreamisland.com concept lacked credibility. He ruled that the company held a trademark over the Daydream Island name and that Sorbello had no rights or legitimate interest to the domain name and that he had registered it in bad faith. He ordered the name be transferred to the company, which already has a Web site at daydreamisland.net.au.
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