So remember back in September, we were talking about celebrities' names being protected on dot-triple-x domains?
“The reason we banned the celebrities' names was because it's very difficult for them to trademark their names. We didn't want to have the embarrassment of AngelinaJolie.xxx coming up at the launch of the new domain,” said Stuart Lawley, the chief executive of ICM Registry.
It seems this courtesy did not extend to things like colleges and universities.
No matter, says University of Missouri. They'll just pay for the privilege of having their name banned.
“Registered trademark owners only had the option — if they were not in the adult community — to remove their names from the registry,” said Jocelyn Johnson, a spokeswoman for ICM Registry. But how much are they paying?
Not much, says a spokesperson for MU. Just about $129 a year.
“You could have some entrepreneurial student maybe who gets the idea of creating an adult entertainment site using the name of the university,” says Terry Robb, director of informational technology at the University of Missouri. “Not just a student, but anybody. We don’t really want that to happen.”
So they've procured both www.mizzou.xxx and www.missouritigers.xxx to prevent their use. However, other variations not trademarked by MU can (and probably will, now that their domain purchase has made news) be used by anyone who pays for them. Wanna take bets on the first one that'll be bought?
“The reason we banned the celebrities' names was because it's very difficult for them to trademark their names. We didn't want to have the embarrassment of AngelinaJolie.xxx coming up at the launch of the new domain,” said Stuart Lawley, the chief executive of ICM Registry.
It seems this courtesy did not extend to things like colleges and universities.
No matter, says University of Missouri. They'll just pay for the privilege of having their name banned.
“Registered trademark owners only had the option — if they were not in the adult community — to remove their names from the registry,” said Jocelyn Johnson, a spokeswoman for ICM Registry. But how much are they paying?
Not much, says a spokesperson for MU. Just about $129 a year.
“You could have some entrepreneurial student maybe who gets the idea of creating an adult entertainment site using the name of the university,” says Terry Robb, director of informational technology at the University of Missouri. “Not just a student, but anybody. We don’t really want that to happen.”
So they've procured both www.mizzou.xxx and www.missouritigers.xxx to prevent their use. However, other variations not trademarked by MU can (and probably will, now that their domain purchase has made news) be used by anyone who pays for them. Wanna take bets on the first one that'll be bought?
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