Porn site operator sues cybersquatters

Firm goes following alleged cybersquatters of its adult site brands.

The firm behind PornHub.com, RedTube.com and YouPorn.com has filed multiple lawsuits in U.S. District court against the owners of at least ten domain names it alleges are cybersquatting on its brands. The lawsuit was filed by Licensing IP International S.à.r.l., which is commonly known as MindGeek.

Targeted in the suits are typos, country codes and other domains that contain its brands: PoernHub.com, PornGub.com, RedTube.cc YouPorn.fm, Yyouporn.net, Youupornhub.com, Youpornstop.com, Zaxredtube.com, Youpornespanol.com and Youporn.com.bz.

MindGeek filed the cases (pdf) against DOES, saying it doesn’t know who is behind the domain names. The suit mentions the use of whois privacy, but doesn’t say specifically that the owners of these domain names are using whois privacy services.

In fact, the owner of PornGub.com is not using whois privacy, and its contact information is clearly listed.

The firm is seeking control of the domain names and a penalty of $100,000 under the U.S. Anti-Cybersquatting Act.