Mediaboss Marketing

March 19, 2012 - 16:02 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - A Turkish cybersquatter has registered at least a dozen variants of Pope Benedict's name as .xxx internet domains and is using them to promote Islam, The Register reports.

Cybersquatted sites including PopeBenedict.xxx currently proclaim "Everyone will find Islam" alongside pictures of the Quran and Kaaba.

Unsurprisingly, the sites also state that "This Web Site is For Sale".

PopeBenedict.xxx is registered to one Bulent Ozcan, a resident of Turkey, according to Whois records. Other domains evidently squatted by the same person include: josephaloisiusratzinger.xxx, josephaloisiusratzinger.com, benedictus.xxx, benedictxvi.xxx, ratzinger.xxx, xvibenedictus.xxx, xvibenedictus.com benedictusxvi.xxx pontificio.xxx holyfather.xxx and josephratzinger.xxx.

While the pope is not the first person to be cybersquatted in the new .xxx domain Sir Richard Branson recently recovered richardbranson.xxx from a squatter this does seem to be the most comprehensive effort to trash an individual by linking their name to .xxx porn (and to promote a "competitor").

The Vatican's quickest option for shutting down the domains might be to file a Rapid Evaluation Service complaint with the National Arbitration Forum, the U.S. body hired by .xxx manager ICM Registry to handle this kind of case.

RES complaints cost $1,300 to file, but cybersquatted domains can be permanently suspended in as little as two working days. Because the policy covers personal names, the Pope won't need to show trademark rights in his name.

However, it would probably be cheaper to file a complaint using the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy, which unlike RES offers bulk discounts, instead.

The Vatican briefly got its cassocks in a twist last December when it mistakenly thought that vatican.xxx had been registered by a cybersquatter.

The rest is here:
Turkish cybersquatter registers Pope Benedict's name as .xxx internet domains