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Winston & Strawn Secures Win for NBA's Chris Bosh in Cybersquatting Case

Posted on: Thursday, 7 May 2009, 10:11 CDT

Chris Bosh Gets Return of 'Chrisbosh.com' and $120K Judgment

CHICAGO, May 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors forward, his digital marketing firm Max Deal Technologies, his agent, Henry Thomas, and his law firm, Winston & Strawn LLP, announced the recovery of the domain "chrisbosh.com". The return of the domain follows an April decision in federal court for the Southern District of California.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070820/AQM151LOGO)

The court ordered that Luis Zavala, and his company Hoopology.com, which registered the domain "chrisbosh.com", turn over the domain to Bosh and cease all infringing conduct. The infringing website displayed ads using Chris Bosh's name to generate revenue for Zavala and Hoopology.com, and had no actual association to Bosh. Zavala and Hoopology.com currently own nearly 800 other domains incorporating the names of various professional athletes, college and high school athletes as well as well-known entertainers, product names and other entertainment properties.

"I am very happy with this ruling," said Chris Bosh, a four-time NBA all star, and Olympic gold medalist. "My intent was to make sure that consumers find me when they are looking for me on the Internet, rather than a website that is confusing and tries make money off my name and my intellectual property."

The court ordered the transfer of the domain and $120,000, which includes statutory damages, prejudgment interest, attorney's fees and costs.

"Chris is the last person who would try to confuse his fans on the web, especially given how Internet savvy he is," said Brian Heidelberger, Winston & Strawn partner who represented Bosh in this matter. "It was rewarding for us, his agent and his web design firm that the court ordered the transfer so that they can use the domain to further establish Chris' web presence via his popular viral videos and other entertainment properties."

Winston & Strawn noted that the firm has extensive experience in Internet law and has successfully represented many other major corporations and individuals in cybersquatting cases.

Max Deal Technologies offers digital marketing consulting to clients who demand to stay current with the fast paced world of online communication. Unlike other companies who specialize in only one area, Max Deal Technologies handles web design, e-commerce, audio/video production, and hosting all under one branch.

CSMG represents several elite athlete clients and provides media and marketing services to both new and established sports property brands.

Winston & Strawn LLP is an international commercial law firm with 12 offices. More information is available at www.winston.com.

SOURCE Winston & Strawn LLP

Source: PR Newswire

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