Penn State Bought Adult .XXX Domain Names

[Analog]

Penn State University -- now wracked by the sex-abuse allegations against former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky -- purchased several .XXX domains roughly two months before news of the ongoing child sex-abuse scandal surfaced.
A FoxNews.com investigation found that Penn State was not alone, as fellow Big 10 Conference member Ohio State University also purchased a total of 19 domains, including buckeyeblitz.xxx and goldpants.xxx.
In September, Penn State spokesman Jeffrey Hermann said the university purchased four .xxx domains -- Penn State, PSU, Nittany Lions and The Pennsylvania State University -- or the most popular of its federally registered trademarks.
"The cost was $200 per trademark, but this purchase should also prevent someone from buying a domain that includes our trademark along with other words," Hermann wrote FoxNews.com in an email. "Our purchase of nittanylion.xxx is intended to prevent someone from purchasing a url such as nittanyliongirls."


http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/11/30/penn-state-buys-adult-domain-names-to-block-usage/

 

[Udgnim]

this is really a non story

 

[bignateyk]

The cost was $200 per trademark, but this purchase should also prevent someone from buying a domain that includes our trademark along with other words,"

I'm not seeing the problem here...

 

[trmiv]

Why is anyone even mentioning this? Our company did the same thing to prevent someone from purchasing an xxx domain with our company name. I'm sure a lot of organizations have done the same.

 

[fatpat268]

this is really a non story

bingo.

Hell, it'd be stupid for big companies not to do it. Last thing they want is little kids going to google.xxx and getting porn instead.

 

[Mike Gayner]

this is really a non story

/thread

 

[SagaLore]

"Our purchase of nittanylion.xxx is intended to prevent someone from purchasing a url such as nittanyliongirls."http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/11/30/penn-state-buys-adult-domain-names-to-block-usage/

Uh... what? Did they misspeak, or do they not realize they would also have to purchase nittanyliongirls.xxx and every other variation that includes dashes and misspellings?

 

[DaveSimmons]

Is anyone dimwitted enough to be outraged by this?

> http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/11/30/penn-state-buys-adult-domain-names-to-block-usage/

. . . oh right, Fox News viewers.

 

[sactoking]

Uh... what? Did they misspeak, or do they not realize they would also have to purchase nittanyliongirls.xxx and every other variation that includes dashes and misspellings?

My guess is if someone registered something like nittanyliongirls.xxx then Penn State would sue them for trademark infringement and make one of their demands the surrender of the domain name. So, instead of having to spend $200 on an endless iteration of possibilities they buy the key ones to bolster a trademark claim and then get the others for free when they sue.

 

[AstroManLuca]

this is really a non story

agreed

in other news, astromanluca took a poop this morning

 

[Kadarin]

This was worth a thread why?

 

[SagaLore]

My guess is if someone registered something like nittanyliongirls.xxx then Penn State would sue them for trademark infringement and make one of their demands the surrender of the domain name. So, instead of having to spend $200 on an endless iteration of possibilities they buy the key ones to bolster a trademark claim and then get the others for free when they sue.

Yea but it doesn't work that way. 😛

 

[Wonderful Pork]

Uh... what? Did they misspeak, or do they not realize they would also have to purchase nittanyliongirls.xxx and every other variation that includes dashes and misspellings?

Right from the article:

The cost was $200 per trademark, but this purchase should also prevent someone from buying a domain that includes our trademark along with other words,"

 

[Gooberlx2]

Why is anyone even mentioning this? Our company did the same thing to prevent someone from purchasing an xxx domain with our company name. I'm sure a lot of organizations have done the same.

Very first thing I thought too.

 

[waggy]

good. smart move finally from them.

 

[CrazyAznDriver]

Not a big story. Now it would have been bigger if they were buying up pedostate, pennstatelikestorapeboys, or psunambla, before the stories about Sandusky broke lol.

 

[alien42]

pedostate.xxx is still available

:whiste:

 

[Zenmervolt]

Yea but it doesn't work that way. 😛

Actually, it kind of does...

ZV

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Clearly the University was putting itself into position to become the largest retailer of child pornography in the continental United States. Thank God the scandal surfaced before they were able to further their insidious agenda.

 

[OutHouse]

Is anyone dimwitted enough to be outraged by this?

> http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/11/30/penn-state-buys-adult-domain-names-to-block-usage/

. . . oh right, Fox News viewers.

i just read through several pages of user comments and didnt see one that was "outraged" . all of them were bashing the news story just like the users in this thread.

 

[zinfamous]

Why is anyone even mentioning this? Our company did the same thing to prevent someone from purchasing an xxx domain with our company name. I'm sure a lot of organizations have done the same.

yeah, seems obvious.


where's the story: "Barack Hussein Obama purchases WhiteHouse.xxx and Michele_Obama.xxx to fulfill his perverted commie-loving sex-crazed lifestyle?"

Oh wait..give Fox a few hours and I'm sure they'll run it.

 

[AMDZen]

. . . oh right, Fox News viewers.

This.

However its not like we don't have enough to be outraged about with Penn State.

They deserve all the negative press they get, even the undeserving.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

They deserve all the negative press they get, even the undeserving.

Makes sense.

 

[Kadarin]

Clearly the University was putting itself into position to become the largest retailer of child pornography in the continental United States. Thank God the scandal surfaced before they were able to further their insidious agenda.

And thank you foxnews.com, for bringing this VERY IMPORTANT story to light....