The case of the hardcore porn site allegedly abusing the trademark of a popular teenage girl e-zine has taken a new twist after it was discovered that the offending site was sold to a Florida-based company a month ago.

Last Thursday the publishers of respectable Teen Magazine (www.teenmag.com), EMAP Peterson, went to court to stop New Jersey-based Blue Gravity Communications from using the URL www.teenmagazine.com to forward people to a hardcore porn site.

This change of ownership - which was confirmed by a CEN representative - appears not to have been reflected in publicly available registration documents. According to the CEN spokesman, the first he heard about the case was on Friday morning. He said he wasn't aware of any cybersquatting or trademark infringements. "We don't need any hassle," he said. "We already own 3,000 domain names. If they own it, it's a home run for them. "But we don't think they have the trademark for adult use of the site.

"Whatever happens, we got a great deal of publicity over this," he said.

David Jacobs, the lawyer representing EMAP Peterson was unaware that the site had been sold. According to all the documentation, Blue Gravity still owns the site, he said. "And if [Blue Gravity] did sell the site why did they tell the LA Times on Thursday that they still owned the site?"

As of Friday, Jacobs had received one complaint from someone who stumbled across explicit material instead of the latest tips on how to throw the best slumber party ever.

See also

Register Cyber Squatting Coverage