The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers created xxx domain names earlier this year in an effort to corral pornography and adult entertainment in a separate space on the Internet. The general public was allowed to start buying up these naughty addresses on Dec. 6, but owners of registered trademarks were given first grabs months ago. The onetime blocking cost is $200 per address, and most buyers (which include celebrities and major companies) plan to do absolutely nothing with the sites after buying them.
Many of those trademark holders were colleges and universities — an industry that has long seen its bright-eyed students, nerdy librarians and philandering professors become erotic fodder. I am guessing that having to come up with a list of addresses to purchase was not only a lesson in modern brand protection, but also an exercise in creative thinking .
So, which addresses made those lists?
Most schools bought just the basics, such as variations of its name and athletics teams. For example, Brigham Young University bought two addresses, BYU.xxx and BrighamYoungUniversity.xxx. Penn State University bought up four .xxx domains: Penn State, PSU, Nittany Lions and The Pennsylvania State University. Indiana University spent $2,200 to purchase 11 domains, including Indianauniversity.xxx and Hoosiers.xxx.
“We’re not trying to think of every variation of Girls Gone Wild or Girls of Indiana or Hoosier Girls,” Valerie Gill, the university’s director of licensing and trademarks, told the Associated Press. “The possibilities are endless, and we could be spending thousands and thousands on that. The majority of us are just trying to hit our main trademarks and use that as a means for fighting uses we can’t even dream up at this point.”
Still, some schools dreamed that big. The University of Kansas dropped nearly three-grand on a bunch of addresses, including KUgirls.xxx and KUnurses.xxx.
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