Last summer DotWeekly wrote about the domain name FantasyIsland.com selling in a Go Daddy expired domain auction for $22,005 USD.
The first comment made by a reader of the article was that the purchase was a waste of money.
“What a waste of money IMO. That purchase makes no sense unless you own the rights to the show Fantasy Island. If not, what the hell can one do with it? A titty bar? “Boss boss, de UDRP, de UDRP,”” wrote Mike.
Well, now Columbia Pictures Industries, which has owned the Fantasy Island trademark since the early 1980s, has filed a domain dispute (Case Number: D2012-0043) over FantasyIsland.com with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the current owner is going to have to think about what to do.
What makes this case interesting is that the current owner Howard Guessner, has owned the domain name dating back to 2004 all the way up through today, according to Whois historical records. So it appears Guessner may have renewed the domain in time and never paid $22K to Go Daddy to purchase it in an expiring auction.
I’ve reached out to Guessner via e-mail to learn more and will update this post if I hear back.
[Updated on February 29, 2012:. The name has been ordered transferred to Columbia Pictures Industries. The decision was issued on February 19, 2012. Full details of the decision can be read here.]