Through an agreement entered into with the government of Tuvalu,
a small Pacific island nation, dotTV became the exclusive registry
and registrar for the “.tv” domain, the country code top level
domain originally reserved for the island.
Through its own web site, dotTV sells most of the “.tv” domain
names on a first-come, first-served basis, for an initial annual
registration fee of $100. Other common, generic terms it deems to
have broader commercial appeal with greater demand are put up for
auction on its web site.
The lawsuit alleges that the head of Future Computing, Je Ho
Lim, was notified by dotTV that his bid for the “Golf.tv” domain
registration for the sum of $1,010 was successful. Shortly
thereafter, the lawsuit says, dotTV attempted to renege upon its
agreement, notifying Je Ho Lim that he should “disregard” the
acceptance notification, blaming “an e-mail error that
occurred.”
“Shortly thereafter,” said Richard D. Farkas, lawyer for Future
Computing, “dotTV publicly offered the ‘Golf.tv’ domain name again,
both to my client and others, this time with an opening bid of $1
million. Meanwhile, a recent press report indicated an anonymous
buyer had purchased the domain name for $600,000. If this proves to
be true, the motives of the parties will have to be given careful
examination.”
The court action seeks the rights to the name and unspecified
compensation.
