Manchester petrolhead loses domain name battle

A petrolhead says he feels victimised after losing a David and Goliath court battle with two car giants.

Motoring enthusiast Dave Redshaw, 53, set up dozens of car clubs for fellow fans of high-end motors and now runs more than 70.

He bought website domain names including bmwcarclub.org.uk, minicarclub.co.ukand rollsroycecarclub.co.ukto set up sites so owners could swap tips and advice.

However his burgeoning empire caused BWM and Rolls Royce to take exception and they launched a legal battle.

They complained to internet watchdog, Nominet, which has now ordered Mr Redshaw, who now lives in Monton, Salford, to hand over 11 of his domain names.

The dad-of-three has also had to hand over a further 11 international domains after a parallel hearing in Geneva.

The Manchester Evening News reports that Mr Redshaw, whose Auto Crowd Group trades from a base in Manchester city centre, had offered to sell web domains and a trade mark for £440,000, and later offered to accept £75,000 but said he would waive that if he was given cars ‘to the same value’.

And he has now hit out after saying seven years work will go to waste.

Lawyers for BMW and Rolls Royce insisted at the hearing in London that Mr Redshaw’s clubs were a commercial activity and that their ‘central purpose is to generate income’.

They said users would be confused into believing they were endorsed by the car makers.

Nominet expert Matthew Harris said Mr Redshaw had ‘endeavoured to run the sites as a significant commercial enterprise’. He said: “It is difficult to see why a genuine enthusiasts’ club might legitimately require such a large number of registrations”.