By Rob Bradfield
Staff Writer
Baylor has won the right to control the BaylorGirls.xxx domain.
The National Arbitration Forum, a national body which settles legal disputes out of court, awarded Baylor control of the BaylorGirls.xxx domain name, which was previously owned by a Massachusetts resident.
Baylor originally filed a complaint against the domain’s owner in February, and a decision was reached by the arbitration panel on March 21.
“The Panel finds that the disputed domain name has been registered and used in bad faith,” the decision reads.
During the proceedings, the university asserted their ownership of the Baylor name and said the domain owner had not made any effort to use the site.
Baylor also said the site’s inactivity constituted a clear case of using the Baylor trademark in “bad faith.” The domain’s owner did not respond to the arbitration panel.
The site, which is registered with GoDaddy.com, has remained inactive since the .xxx opened for public sale in 2011.
The panel decided in favor of Baylor because of the domain owner’s inactivity, as well as the similarity to the Baylor trademark. The domain name was so similar that it could be confused with a university-sanctioned web site, the panel said.
The university is pleased with the decision issued by the forum, and will actively pursue any similar issues which may arise in the future, Lori Fogleman, Baylor director of media communications, said.
“We will be uncompromising in our defense of our trademarks and our brands against any misuse,” Fogleman said.
