Oct 14, 2009 11:35 am US/Central
NBA Star Chris Bosh Beats Cybersquatter
Case Resulted In Restoration Of Nearly 800 Wrongfully Appropriated Domain Names
CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) ―
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Chris Bosh #4 of the Toronto Raptors walks on court against the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center on April 13, 2009 in Washington, DC.
Ned Dishman/NBAE/Getty Images
NBA player Chris Bosh has been hailed for his prowess on the court, but he's now also being lauded for his efforts in court after a case brought to light by the Toronto Raptors star resulted in the restoration of nearly 800 Website domain names wrongfully appropriated from celebrities and athletes.
Bosh's law firm, Chicago-based Winston & Strawn LLP, secured the victory, and through his social media firm, Max Deal, Bosh is offering to return the domain names for free to the rightful owners. The offer was announced by Bosh's agent, Henry Thomas in a release on Wednesday.
The domain names were awarded to Bosh on Sept. 24 by Judge Florence-Marie Cooper and carried out Tuesday, following an award of $120,000 in April, for violation of Bosh's rights under the Federal Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act in federal court in California, the release said.
The court ruled against Luis Zavala and his company Hoopology.com, which had registered the domain "chrisbosh.com."
The infringing Web site originally displayed ads using Bosh's name to generate revenue for Zavala and Hoopology.com, but had no actual association with Bosh. Zavala owned and used nearly 800 domains which incorporated the names of various pro, college and high school athletes, as well as entertainers, products and other entertainment properties, the release said.
Bosh's attorneys convinced the court to award Bosh each of the nearly 800 domains, which included sites incorporating names of Olympic gold medalists, NBA stars including Eddy Curry, Carmelo Anthony and Rashard Lewis; as well as the president, GM and 11 current and former Raptors, the release said.
The domain names Zavala appropriated included those in the names of area high school basketball players Nik Garcia of Niles West, Chancellor Carter of Loyola Academy, Josh Crittle of Hales Franciscan, John Shurna of Glenbard West and Dion Dixon from Crane Tech. Chicago Bulls players whose names were taken included Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng and Tyrus Thomas, according to a list from Winston & Strawn.
"From my perspective, Chris is a cyber-hero," Brian Heidelberger, the Winston & Strawn partner who represented Bosh in the matter, said in the release.
"I am thrilled that I am able to offer the return of these domain names to a host of other athletes and celebrities whose names were cybersquatted," Bosh said in the release.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2009. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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