Vitalize LLC is the mother company of Bodybuilding.com, a major online destination for training, exercise, and nutrition information. In 2008, the company announced the acquisition of the web site, domain, and associated business for $100 million dollars.
Not a bad deal for the previous owner, amateur bodybuilder Ryan DeLuca, who bought the domain Bodybuilding.com for just $20,000 dollars in 1998.
And now back to present times.
Vitalize LLC has just filed an application for the registration of the BB.COM trademark, with an “intent to use” clause. Typically, this indicates a fresh ownership of the matching domain name, BB.com.
“ONLINE RETAIL STORE SERVICES IN THE FIELD OF NUTRITIONAL PRODUCTS, APPAREL AND FITNESS PRODUCTS”
The domain name BB.com was registered in 1993, at a time when domain registrations were free. Over the course of 27 years, BB.com was barely used. By 1997, it hosted content for BiblioBytes, according to Archive.org.
BB is the universal shorthand version of “bodybuilding” among its numerous fans.
Hidden under WHOIS privacy, the domain information for BB.com has not changed in recent years, but an April 8, 2020 update might indicate a sale occurred on that date. If the domain were sold, it was probably moved to a new account within Network Solutions, via a “push” and the domain’s expiration date remained the same.
Why would Vitalize LLC file for the registration of the BB.COM mark?
It’s an ongoing trend among owners of generic domain names, following the decision by SCOTUS on the Booking.com trademark application.
Since then, dozens of generic domain names have been applied to be registered as trademarks, inclusive of the TLD. We keep track of these applications, and so far none has been decided upon.
Will these applications become the new norm? Watch this video from NamesCon Online 2020.