Officials from four pro sports leagues this week sued a Canadian
businessman over what they term deceptive domain name usage.
Jeff Burgar faces allegations of trademark infringment and deception for
using popular sports team names in e-mail addresses sold on his flairmail.com site, according to an
Associated Press report.
Baseball, football, hockey and basketball officials filed the claim in a
New York court, hoping to bar Burgar’s use of sports team-themed
addresses. According to the report, the plaintiff says users might expect
league newsletters and other fan perks as part of the package, and might
blame the organizations for spam they could receive after signing up for
the specialized address.
The league members are suing for the transfer of the domain names to their
organizations under the new federal domain trademark laws, and also seek
unspecified damages, the report said.
Flairmail reportedly lists around 175 sports team names in its roster of
“stylish” e-mail addresses, as well as celebrity fan communities, Tarot
readings, and other astrology services.