Agassi, Graf at center of domain lawsuits

LAS VEGAS, May 14 (UPI) -- Former tennis stars Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf allege in lawsuits filed in Las Vegas their names have been illegally used in Internet site domain names.

Agassi Enterprises Inc. alleges in a U.S. District Court lawsuit that Agassi, a former U.S. Open and Wimbledon champion, never gave permission for his name to be used in registered domain names by suit defendants, the Las Vegas Sun reported Wednesday.

The companies targeted by the Agassi suit are located in St. Johns, Antigua; Panama City, Fla.; and Scottsdale, Ariz. The lawsuit filed on Tuesday seeks an injunction that would force those companies to hand over ownership of the domain names to Agassi.

Meanwhile, the SGF License LLC company that represents Graf filed a similar lawsuit on behalf of Graf, Agassi's wife and the winner of 22 Grand Slam singles titles.

The lawsuit filed by the Las Vegas company alleges two companies and an individual violated Graf's copyright of her own name by using it in domain names.

The Sun said the defendants in Graf's suit are in the Cayman Islands, London and Illinois. Graf is also seeking control of the targeted domain names through her suit.