Penn States Buys .XXX Domain Names
Trust me, not for the reasons you may want to joke about.
A few years ago, it used to be my job to compile the list of banned words from the backs of customized jerseys on the MLB Shop. As you might imagine, that list was awesome: shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits– they were all present. But so were some more creative phrases, like “A Roid,” "Sanchez, Dirty,” “Steamer” (on Indians jerseys), and my favorite, “Pooholes.”
That anecdote is to show how far brands will go to defend their good name against clever pranksters… or, in the case of Penn State, enterprising Internet folk: [Daily Collegian]
With .xxx domains about to go on the market to the public, the university has been purchasing sites to prevent unaffiliated porn sites from making use of the school’s name.
Earlier this year, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers voted to create the .xxx domain in an effort to better flag sites with adult content, but with this decision came concern from universities and many other trademark owners.
“These domains are obviously going to be used with adult entertainment. Schools as well as other trademark owners have done so much to protect and promote their brand,” Michael Drucker, vice president and associate counsel for The Collegiate Licensing Company, said. “They don’t want that brand to be associated with the adult entertainment business.”
This sunshine period opened in September, at which time Penn State purchased four .xxx domains: Penn State, PSU, Nittany Lions and The Pennsylvania State University.
As Emily Riden of the Daily Collegian writes, the purchase option was extended to all registered trademark holders before .xxx domains go on-sale to the general public on December 6 (– marks calendar –). But with Penn State, there’s that whole child sex abuse thing, so their decision to gobble up the names in September, according to the Daily Collegian, proved to be a smart one.
The purchases, which cost the school $200 per domain name ($800 total, because I'm good at math), protect against any use of the above trademarks in a .xxx url. Example from the article: nittanyliongirls.xxx would be off limits. Which is a shame.
Now, if only they would have kicked the pedophile off campus…
Related:
Tim Curley is still receiving his pay from the university
New accusers claims over 100 incidents of sex abuse against Jerry Sandusky
H/T to (@TheSchoolPhilly)
