Liverpool Football Club loses domain name dispute case

Recently, Liverpool Football Club lost a dispute case regarding the LiverpoolFCTickets.com domain name. The case was heard by the Czech Arbitration Court, which ruled against the club. Arbitrator Victoria McEvedy made the ruling based on an exception clause in the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), which allows third parties to use trademarks in certain circumstances.

It is reported that the domain name was registered 25 years ago and was acquired by its current owner on December 12, 2024. However, Whois records do not confirm this acquisition date. The domain name was found to be related to advertisements related to Liverpool tickets and football live broadcasts. Although the domain name registrant did not respond to the dispute, the panel still ruled in favor of the registrant. Interestingly, the panel suggested that Liverpool Football Club tried to obtain the domain name for free, which looks like a speculative act of the club.

Typically, such cases tend to support trademark holders, especially when there is no evidence that the registrant has a legitimate intention to use the domain name. However, in this case, although the domain was parked on a page displaying links to Liverpool tickets and live football ads, which would not normally be considered legitimate use, McVitie said the domain could be used for legitimate purposes, although there is no evidence of ticket resale.

The ruling was unexpected. Will it set a new precedent for future domain name dispute cases involving well-known trademarks?