Plans to set up a foundation in the name of the late singer Amy Winehouse may have stalled — because of a cybersquatter.
Hours after the “Back to Black” singer was found dead in July 2011, her father Mitch Winehouse announced plans to establish a foundation for drug addicts in her name.
However, later that day, British citizen Martin McCann acquired the domain name amywinehousefoundation.com from an online registry, reports the Sun.
He is now refusing to hand over the domain name to the Winehouse family, meaning plans for the foundation have been put on hold.
Mitch Winehouse said that, rather than concentrating on allocating funding, he was being forced to send checks back to donors, since he has been unable to establish a bank account in the intended name.
He explained that McCann was seeking to re-sell the domain name for a profit.
These actions were defended by McCann, who said he was “not ashamed or embarrassed” by his plan to profit from the Web address.
“It only takes the click of a mouse. Detach yourself from emotions and think business,” he stated.