This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2005, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A federal judge, refusing to stay his earlier ruling in a "cybersquatting" case, has ordered a former Utah Internet businessman to immediately surrender disputed Web sites to the Provo Towne Center mall.
U.S. District Judge Paul Cassell's decision reiterates a Dec. 7 ruling in favor of mall owner General Growth Properties Inc.
That left Steven Rasmussen, acting as his own attorney, with only an appeal to the 10th Circuit Court in Denver to continue his fight to hang on to three domain names he began registering eight years ago.
The dispute dates back to June 1997, when court records indicate Rasmussen registered the first domain name (http://www.provotownecentre.com) for use as an Internet-based online shopping site. He subsequently registered the same name on Web sites with "net" and "biz" extensions, respectively.
Present owners of the mall, which had broken ground about the same time Rasmussen registered his first site, contend that beginning in 2002 they repeatedly attempted negotiations to get Rasmussen to relinquish the disputed domain names. He steadfastly refused.
In 2003, General Growth and its subsidiary, Provo Mall LLC, took their case before the U.N.'s World Intellectual Property Organization. In January 2004, an arbitrator with the Geneva-based panel ordered Rasmussen to turn the sites over the mall's owners.
Rasmussen, accused by the world panel of having acted in bad faith in registering the sites, challenged the decision in Salt Lake City federal court. Cassell upheld the U.N. body's ruling, and on Monday rejected Rasmussen's bid to delay the judgment.
Once again, he was ordered to turn over the sites, along with being assessed court costs and attorneys fees -- in recognition of his poor financial status -- not to exceed $1,000.
Neither Rasmussen, who now lives in Eagle River, Alaska, mall owners nor their attorneys immediately returned calls Wednesday seeking comment.