Site owner changed use to one about alligators after receiving cease & desist letter.
The University of Florida will soon own the domain name FloridaGators.com after 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 about 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. According to the complaint, the owner then changed to one about alligators in Florida:
Following receipt of Complainant’s cease and desist letter, Respondent, on or about 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 about Florida alligators. The website currently states at the top: “This is a Website about Florida Alligators. Florida Alligators Are Also Called Gators or Gator For Short. FloridaGators.com – Info About 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.
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