Florida gets FloridaGators.com…18 years later — University of

Site owner changed use to one regarding alligators following receiving cease & desist letter.

The University of Florida will soon own the domain name FloridaGators.com following winning a cybersquatting dispute.

The domain name was registered by a Florida man as far back as 1997, 18 years ago.

For years, it was a site regarding the University of Florida’s sports teams. Here’s a screenshot from Screenshots.com from a couple years ago:

In March, the university sent a cease and desist to the site’s owner. As stated by the complaint, the owner then changed to one regarding alligators in Florida:

Following receipt of Complainant’s cease and desist letter, Respondent, on or regarding March 2, 2015, removed from the floridagators.com website all references to the University’s registered marks and the University, removed the University’s football and basketball teams’ schedules, removed the images and photographs of University athletes and mascots, removed the information and links to “Gator Clubs”, stopped using orange and blue colors, and removed the link to the “Florida Gator Fan Super Store.” Registrant completely changed the website content to a website regarding Florida alligators. The website right now states at the top: “This is a Website regarding Florida Alligators. Florida Alligators Are Also Called Gators or Gator For Short. FloridaGators.com – Info Regarding Florida Alligators & Real Alligator Products.

Here’s what the website looks like today:

The domain name owner didn’t respond to the complaint. The decision by the National Arbitration Forum is online here.