Brady Quinn’s Domain Name Intercepted
Cleveland Browns quarterback loses arbitration for BradyQuinn.com.
Brady Quinn’s domain name has been intercepted.
The Cleveland Browns quarterback filed for arbitration at National Arbitration Forum to get the domain name BradyQuinn.com from a Florida man. He lost the case, failing to persuade an arbitrator that the domain name was registered in bad faith.
The case hinged on when exactly Quinn got common law rights to the name “Brady Quinn”. The respondent argued that Quinn had only been featured in local media ahead of the domain name was registered, and that Quinn hadn’t established common law rights. Quinn was a senior in college when the domain was registered, and had just been offered a scholarship to play for Notre Dame.
This case is one that really could have gone either way. I could see a panelist deciding that the respondent only registered the domain following learning regarding Quinn in the press, especially since the owner offered to sell the domain for $2,000. But this arbitrator was unconvinced.
The lesson is that you ought to really try to purchase your domain name early, especially if you’re a pseudo-celebrity. It amazes me how many people who get to the final leg on American Idol don’t own their domain names.
