Messi.net is on a GoDaddy auction; the domain was registered in May for a total of 10 years.
That might have been the worst up-front waste of registration fees, as soccer megastar, Lionel Messi, is known to be extremely litigious.
A quick search at UDRPSearch reveals that Mr. Lionel Andres Messi Cuccittini – the full name of the Argentinian player – has filed and won three UDRPs against the following domain names:
- LionelMessi.com in October 2015
- Messi.com in October 2015
- LioMessi.com in January 2016
Lionel Messi owns several trademarks incorporating his name, as seen from a previous UDRP case:
The Complainant is a successful professional football player who has, for the most part, developed his sporting career at Futbol Club Barcelona, competing in the Spanish Professional Football League, and at the Argentine national football team. The Complainant is known by various names including “Messi”, “Lionel Messi”, “Lio Messi” and “Leo Messi”.
The Complainant is the owner of various trademarks consisting of or containing the word elements LIONEL MESSI, LEO MESSI and LEO as a word mark or as a word/device mark.
In particular the Complainant has rights in the Community Trade Mark LIONEL MESSI with registration number 006353131, applied for on October 11, 2007 and several Spanish trade marks for LEO MESSI for goods and services in classes 3, 9, 14, 16, 25 and 28 since 2006 (the “Trademark”).
Registering the names of famous athletes is a surefire way to lose money, and perhaps more.
