Highcross Leicester - Highcross Quarter - The Naming Controversy & Domain Name Dispute.

Why the Highcross Leicester was first set to be renamed Highcross Quarter.

High Cross in leicester With the opening of the shops and stores in Leicester's Highcross in the new Highcross quarter many would not argue against the idea that the gravitational centre of the city has moved westwards away from the hustles and bustles of the clock tower and Gallowtree Gate.

Many will now see the hub of the town as the High Street or perhaps even St Peters Square itself within the Highcross quarter.

The commercial epicenter sits well in this area as it is no stranger to its paths, pavements and roads of Highcross Street and High Street.

150 Years ago this very area was the hub of leicester and had been so for centuries. The mighty Daniel Lambert sat as Governer of the city Gaol once located on Highcross Steet in the 18th Century. Part of the wall of that Gaol still remains to be seen there even down to this day. So this area really was the central focal point of the city.

The Highcross monument had been located there as it was the place most likely to be seen by the myriad of passers by that used to throng the unpaved walkways of those days.

The area accommodated the High Cross monument certainly for the 16th or 17th centuries but perhaps even earlier in some form or another... perhaps even from about the 12th century. (Article in Progress...)

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So went the quote...

So went the quote of a certain elderly Leicestershire pensioner.

Within hours of the endearing and feisty Mrs Wisecraft penning those now famous words, the worlds media from New Zealand and Canada to Ireland and Turkey were running the story of what was to become the highest profile domain name dispute case of all time.

This website is about that "naming controversy" and domain name dispute involving the Highcross Leicester or Highcross Quarter along with its impacts and implications including as many believe on the renaming of the £350 Million Highcross Quarter to Highcross Leicester. (Many still call the area Highcross Quarter)

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Old School...

As part of the development an old school dating back some 500 yrs or so was repaired and brought back to its former glory or as close to it as possible.

Now used as a marketing suite with possible use as a restaurant on the cards.

For many years this had been used as a car hire plot that saw the building more or less run down and neglected.

Highcross Leicester - Highcross Quarter - The Naming Controversy & Domain Name Dispute.

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Worldwide Press Coverage...

Reuters and the Press Association picked the story up on the 19th July 2007.

Webwordwizards had worked with our clients to produce a press release which was set up on the high cross quarter websites.

Even as late as Dec 2007 the ladies of the wiccan group and the dispute was still in the news. Morrigan Wisecraft was somewhat flattered and taken aback when we told her that her group was sharing the same headline as the Northern Rock collapse in the Leicester Mercury.

Witches win but rock is rocked... the ladies and the highcross leicester name dispute still in the headlines in dec 2007

Image: Copyright Northcliffe Newspapers (Leicester Mercury)

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Got information for us...?

Do you have information for this website?

We recognise that although we played a part centre stage in the domain name battle and renaming controversy surrounding the Highcross Leicester, that their exists information and facts pertaining to this whole matter of which we are not aware.

We get information on a daily basis that we can present on this website from well wishers who often wish to remain anonymous.

If you would like to contact us and provide such information that we might consider for this website either about the Highcross Leicester, the name dispute and name change or intellectual property disputes in general please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Voicemail:
0116 2166 124

Email:

Mrs Wisecraft's Caption Challenge

Help us complete the captions in this light hearted look at what for us was a very serious and concerning matter.

Press Coverage

The Highcross Name Dispute Press Coverage

Wikipedia Details Our Battle

Seen by many as the worlds foremost collection of knowledge, Wikipedia has now detailed the naming controversy involving the Highcross.

We are pleased that this is the case as the naming controversy has acted as the vehicle by which most people have so far heard of the development. See Highcross

It was interesting how someone tried to remove from the wiki article all reference to the naming dispute.

That person was however warned for vandalising the article and the naming controversy information was reinstated by a responsible wiki contributor.

Why Highcross?

What is a domain name?

A domain name is a unique text identifier which in turn is associated with a particular web based resource.

This is done by linking the text name to a unique number called an IP address which works pretty much like a phone number.

A web resource such as a web page has only one IP address which in turn can be pointed to by unlimited numbers of domain names.

Web addresses are each unique and increasingly in short supply as more and more are taken up (registered) by companies, organisations and individuals.

Most domain names are available on a first come - first served basis.

Many businesses and organisations still do not grasp the importance of considering domain names as often as they should in their day to day operations, functions and planning.

Large organisations are especially culpable in this failing.

The impact of this dispute

The impact this name dispute had on people.

This website is to also explore and set out the impacts that this dispute involving Leicester's Highcross Leicester

Its developers

The ladies of the wiccan group

Webwordwizards.com the IT Consultants for the High Cross Quarter website for the wiccan group

This name dispute which spanned some 12 months from start to finish from September 2006 through to October 2007 not only has lessons for small groups but also for large corporations , in fact very hard lessons indeed for large corporations.

Lessons for other small groups...

click here to read more...

Lessons for other small groups...

Other individuals and small groups who own domain names or wish to do so, can benefit from the lessons learned by ourselves, Morrigan Wisecraft and the other ladies of the wiccan group who stood to lose their domain names to £7.4 billion Hammerson Plc

Some words of advice from our IT Consultants and Web Designers upon whose shoulders it fell to defend this case are as follows:

Record Keeping...

Log conversations and keep records

Always keep any emails or hard copy records you may have surrounding the discussions you have with fellow group members as well as your internet consultants.

Use email rather than phone calls.

Such records are useful in defending a WIPO arbitrated case.

Nominet cases appear to ignore the hard evidence and depend more on the "balance of probabilities" which as the improbable occurs frequently in life would rule out quite a lot including floods in England in July and £7.4 Billion developers inadvertently naming a shopping centre after the highpoints on the witchcraft calendar and then taking umbrage when local elderly witches caught wind of this and moved harder and faster to secure the name before them..

If your going to take Vienna...

Don't be complacent by delaying to register your names...

Although this is no guarantee that you will not have issues at a later date, you should acquire your domain names at the earliest opportunity.

Domain names are in increasingly short supply so if they are available.. get them.

Once you are clear on name for your web project or venture.. you need to move very hard and fast indeed to acquire the domain names especially if you get wind of the fact that someone else may have an interest in them.

As Napoleon once said... "if you are going to take vienna... take vienna" That is very much the mentality you need to adopt about domain names.

Get them all...

Get them all and don't forget the hyphenated names.

A good internet consultant will always know to advise you to acquire all the top level domains pertaining to your web project. This principally means the .com but also the .info, .org and .net. The lower level but useful country domain the .co.uk should also not be forgotten.

A common error by inexperienced consultants is to forget to advise you to consider also the hyphenated domain like this one for this site or for example gum-tree.com. So don't forget to acquire the hyphenated versions of your name if your name uses multiple words.

Mobile Information...

Plan for the future

Portable information access is the future so ALWAYS ALWAYS get the .mobi domain and if you can not then choose another name. It is that important.

Don't be intimidated...

Don't be intimidated by Corporate Goliaths who come after your domain names.

As in our case they may offer ridiculous sums many thousands of times over the actual cost of the names but if you don't want to sell then don't! .

Get advice from a good IT Consultant with domain name dispute case experience and stand your ground on clear principle. "You got there first fair and square"

Remember that the onus is on the complainant to have to prove otherwise.

All being equal (which sometimes as in the lower level highcrossquarter.co.uk case it was not) the decision will be in your favour.

Moral high ground...

At all times in any publicity, do as we did and maintain the moral high ground.