Sues Pac-10 Conference Over Domain Name — Pac12.com Owner
Lawsuit filed over Pac12.com domain name.
The owner of the Pac12.com domain name has sued the Pacific-10 collegiate athletic conference in an effort to keep his domain name.
Austin Linford filed the suit (pdf) following the PAC-10 filed a UDRP complaint (pdf) with World Intellectual Property Organization to get the domain name Pac12.com. Linford is asking for a declaratory judgment of non-infringement.
Although it originally appeared that the domain name changed hands immediately following the PAC-10 disclosed it was changing to the PAC-12, I’m now convinced that the same person owned the domain name. Linford just used different registrant information in WHOIS. This means he owned the domain name some five years ahead of the conference disclosed its name change.
Linford changed the contents of Pac12.com to a play on the late Tupac Shakur following the PAC-10 sent him a cease-and-desist letter.
In addition to registering Pac12.com, Linford also states he registered Pacific12.com and PACtwelve.com.
The legal filing in U.S. District Court in Utah ought to halt the UDRP proceeding. In his complaint, Linford states the PAC-10 tried to stack the deck in its favor by selecting two UDRP panelists who were graduates of PAC-10 schools.
