Here’s another lesson for domain newbs that think it’s a good idea to register domain names of potential athletes or celebrities. Casie Cathrea, is the California’s Women’s Amateur Title holder and was the youngest female to ever qualify for a LPGA tour event last year. Casie Cathrea already has a web page located on Cathrea.com. However, her family never registered her first+last name .com and when her dad found out CasieCathrea.com was registered to a man named Leonard Meng Lee in California and the domain had golf links on the site he became angry and demanded the Lee hand over the domain.
That’s when the Lee offered CasieCathrea.com to the family for a $1000 payment. Harry Cathrea, Casie’s dad decided that instead of paying Lee $1000 that they would threaten to file a lawsuit instead under the Federal Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. Mr. Cathrea was not going to pay for the domain and was ready to fight for it. By threating lawsuit and using pressure from local media, Leonard Meng Lee finally transferred CasieCathrea.com to the Cathrea family free of charge.
The local media’s coverage of this story was a bit amusing. I think Harry Cathrea must have some pull with the Liverpool news station as reporters went to the cybersquatters house to try and speak with Mr. Lee about the domain names and potential lawsuit. The local news also claimed in their story that Lee had put up a website selling golf equipment on CasieCathrea.com. What he actually had done is parked the domain using golf keywords, not developed a site to list golf equipment, there’s a little difference there. Anyways, moral of the story… don’t register the name of a 14 year old athlete… or any athlete for that matter, save yourself the drama and get into a real money making niche.
Good for the family to fight for the domain, the domain was clearly registered in bad faith and in the end the domain name squatter did the right thing and turned the name over. Don’t mess with us young ones!
Amusing? Not really
I am always amazed how some people behind web postings include something that somehow discredits or calls into question someone else’s ethics while remaining seated behind a computer keyboard where no response is ever expected. I have no pull with an Emmy Award winning reporter. However I am sure you posting something calling into question a fact “that he actually had done is parked the domain using golf keywords, not developed a site to list golf equipment, there’s a little difference there.” and then trying to explain more specifically as if no one knew what was up is idiotic. The fact both of you are correct and he was pushing golf equipment. How the page got there is less important than its contents and why. The only difference I see is no one called your ethics on a website into question. Kind of funny I do not remember giving permission to a website reposting legitimate story’s from other sources they fail to give credit to permission to use my copyrighted picture. Kind of funny how that works. It seems online rules different but your use of materials not your own while questioning the ethics of others seems a bit like someone saying ” I did not have sexual relations with that women”
Have a great day
HC
Hi Harry,
Thanks for your response here. Yes, I thought it was amusing the kind of attention that the ‘new story’ received. Are you telling us that the media contacted you to write about the dispute between you and Lee over CasieCathrea.com? Also, how does my post make those who don’t understand the difference between parking and developing a website feel idiotic? This is a domain name publication, most of my readers are in the domain industry and already understand the differences.
Would you like me to take the pic down? It’s not problem for me to do that, the pic was credited to amateurgolf.com, where I originally found it.
Harry, I am on your side in all of this. I along with *most other legitimate ‘domainers’ or domain name investors in this business frown upon cybersquatting and or using domains for malicious intent.
Thanks again for your comment.
Best Regards,
Mike
No the picture can stay. My point was you inferred by your writing that I had some influence over a reporter which for the record is insulting. She was describing something in a way a non-computer person would. The “key word” parking using “golf” pushed product. The explanation from the cybersquatter he thought my daughter was a Rapper was shown to be wrong by how he “parked” Casie’s name. Laura was not wrong in what she described seeing because how domain was “parked” was made to look like a normal website pushing golf products and equipment. Its meant to look like a normal website to people outside the squatting world. How it is designed is not material to this story and not meant to mislead in any way. You know its funny nobody talks about how companies who register domains allow cybersquatters to “park” there squatted sites using easy to design templates and generate revenue from others success as a result. I found one company “parking” more than 4000 domains. There was no undo influence by anyone here and that was my point.
Harry Cathrea
@Harry – Point noted. Sorry if I incorrectly inferred that you had influence in getting the story local media coverage.
“You know its funny nobody talks about how companies who register domains allow cybersquatters to “park” there squatted sites using easy to design templates and generate revenue from others success as a result.”
I agree with what you are trying to say. In most cases, the parking companies are separate entities than the domain registrar. Some parking companies like Sedo.com do scan and deny domains with trademark potential. I agree that there should be some filter in place at the registry level that does not allow for trademark domains to be registered/kept. In time I think ICANN will finally implement an improved way to deal with tm violation domains.
Harry, I googled your name after seeing your family on the episode of Wifeswap reran today. I was instantly amazed how much you remind me of my brother-in-law, who was adopted at birth. You have physical looks, the way you carry yourself/walk, etc similarities w/him, but your voice is truly identical to his. As I was intrigued by these, I kept watching the show and saw that you are also from the same general area in California where he was born & raised. Not sure if it’s possible you’re related, but thought I’d see if there was a possibility. Congrats on the continued success of of your daughter, Casie. Also, I have a good friend I’ve known since high school that is a Sales Manager for Golfweek magazine. If you are ever interested in more publicity for her there, she can make it happen. Thank you for your time in reading this. Hope your family had a great Christmas & here’s to 2012 (NOT being the end of the world hehehe) I think your whole attitude of laughing at that crazy woman from Wifeswap was awesome, you’d didn’t stoop to her level of arguing, another characteristic of my brother-in-law. So wild how even you humor/laugh is so similar to his!