ESPN Registers 65 TeamName Plus NationESPN.com Domains: I AssumeThey Get a Pass On Trademarks

I love ESPN like every sport loving man in this nation.  They were one of the first and used to be the best (a little cluttered for me now) sports site on the net.  They, like every other national company, have tried to become more localized in their approach.  With the addition of ESPN Chicago and other major cities, they are trying to not only become the source for local sports but also the source for more regional sports as well.  It seems that they are trying to capitalize on the term “nation”.  The word nation has become THE word when referring to a fan base.  For instance, the Illinios Fighting Illini would be called the Illini Nation.

I’ll be curious if they build out each and every team name and I’m also curious if their rights for use of the team names applies to registering domains.  Obviously it must but I would think the teams own the right to the name and that ESPN has made a prior agreement to be allowed to register these domain because many do use the University or professional sports’ trademarked names.  Here is a screenshot of a few of the names.