According to Sherdog.com, a website devoted the UFC and Mixed Martial Arts news, results, and fighting, the parent company of the UFC and WEC went to court to take over the domain name, TheUltimateFighter.com. Zuffa, LLC claims the registrant did not have the rights to use their “Ultimate Fighter” trademarks, a number of which are registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The domain name is currently listed for sale at Sedo, and according to the listing, it has received three offers. The UFC and Spike TV currently use a similar domain name, UltimateFighter.com to promote their Ultimate Fighter programming, which is known as The Ultimate Fighter.
Sherdog reported that the domain owner does not plan to dispute the lawsuit and intends to give the domain name to Zuffa, LLC. In my opinion, this is the smart move. The owner could have spent anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars (and quite possibly more) to defend his ownership rights, and the results are certainly not guaranteed. Even if he would prevail, I don’t know if that particular domain would be worth the price of defending it. Certainly that would depend on the legal fees that would be incurred.
As Kenny Rogers once sung, “you’ve got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, know when to walk away, know when to run.”
Thanks to Dan Cera for the tip.
Sorry Elliot,
It was this name that I was wondering how it is different than the sale of IReport.com….should’nt they just buy it from the owner?
@ Ron
1) Perhaps their attorneys on retainer drew up the suit at no added cost to them.
2) It sets a bad precedent telling people they will buy domain names that cybersquat on their brands.
3) It shows they will do whatever it takes to protect their brands.