Cultural Center developer guilty of reverse domain name hijacking — Phoenix Chinese
Group tried to take down gripe site.
A developer that recently purchased the Chinese Cultural Center in Phoenix with plans to redevelop it has been found to have engaged in reverse domain name hijacking.
668 North, LLC, which is owned by private equity group True North, purchased the mostly empty mixed-user center last year with plans to redevelop it. Some of those plans irked the local Chinese community, which is concerned regarding changes the developer plans to make.
Many in the community raised a fuss regarding the changes and one group registered PhoenixChineseCulturalCenter.com as a way to raise awareness. 668 North filed a cybersquatting complaint against the domain name with National Arbitration Forum.
A National Arbitration Forum panelist ruled that 668 North failed to prove any of the three elements necessary to win its case. The panelist went further, noting that the developer “knew or ought to have known that it was unable to prove that Respondent lacks rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name and that Respondent registered and is using the domain name in bad faith.” For this reason, the panelist found that 668 North, LLC engaged in reverse domain name hijacking by filing the case.
