Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh is offering to return nearly 800 domain names to their rightful owners for free after winning custody of them in court.
The domain names belonging to professional athletes and celebrities were awarded to Bosh on Sept. 24 by Judge Florence-Marie Cooper. The decision was carried out Tuesday.
"I am thrilled that I am able to offer the return of these domain names to a host of other athletes and celebrities whose names were cybersquatted," Bosh said in a statement Wednesday. "I will offer the return of the domain names free of charge."
Bosh won custody of the names after winning a US$120,000 award in April 2009 for the violation of his rights under the U.S. Federal Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act in a California federal court.
The ruling came against Luis Zavala and his company Hoopology.com, who had registered the domain "chrisbosh.com" and displayed ads using Bosh's name to generate revenue without having any association to Bosh.
Zavala also owned and used nearly 800 other domains including those of NBA stars Deron Williams, Tayshaun Prince, Rashard Lewis, Danny Granger and Maurice Williams.
The list also features 11 current or former members of the Raptors, including Hedo Turkoglu, Andrea Bargnani and president and GM Bryan Colangelo.
