Grammy-nominated Clinton Sparks gets domain name back after it expired.
DJ, producer and songwriter Clinton Sparks has won the rights to the domain name ClintonSparks.com, which expired after a dispute with his agent.
Sparks and his Get Familiar Music Company registered the domain in 2002 and the agent let it lapse in 2017.
A Ukranian SEO expert then registered the domain name and put up a fake profile of a University of Pennslyvania professor (see image). The profile picture is actually of an American University professor.
The fake profile on ClintonSparks.com links to two sites: UPENN.edu and an academic essay writing service. It seems that the domain owner registered this domain based on its SEO value, and then used the fake site to bolster its backlink profile. The site was designed to confuse search engines.
With the help of attorney John Berryhill, Sparks and Get Familiar Music filed a UDRP with National Arbitration Forum. Berryhill rarely represents Complainants, but he chooses interesting cases when he does.
Jon Schultz says
If I was an attorney I would have preferred to represent the Respondent. In my opinion no one should have a right to any domain, unless initially assigned it by the registry under extension-specific rules.
Eugene Fraxby says
Just as well it doesn’t actually operate like your miserable view of how it should be! Suck it up!