Is Google planning to be more than just a client of RightsFlow? [UPDATED]

Updated at 2:38pm EST:  Just as I speculated early this morning, RightsFlow has been acquired by Google.  The news was announced only news minutes ago.

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Original post 4:11am EST: Google has made some interesting domain name registrations this week, revolving around the phrase “Rights Flow”. 

The search engine giant which officially launched its music streaming service Google Music last month, registered eight different names like GoogleRightsFlow.com, GoogleRights.com and GoogleFlow.net (GoogleFlow.com is owned by someone other than Google). 

It’s fun to speculate about Google domain registrations, although often they turn out to be nothing more than part of the company’s overall intellectual property strategy to protects its brands, not a product or service that is ever launched.

If you’re not familiar with the company, RightsFlow, which counts Google among its clients, provides intellectual property and copyright management services. 

According to the company’s website, RightsFlow is a leading technology-enabled provider of a mechanical licensing and royalty payment technology platform for online music services, record companies, distributors and artists.

Could Google end up being more than just a client of RightsFlow, to help it with its music service?  RightsFlow also has a product called Limelight, that allows anyone to clear cover songs quickly and easily, for one low price.

Guess we’ll have to wait to see what the domains end up as, or, to see if Google makes an announcement in coming days. 

Today, none of the domains resolve to a web page.

Here’s a look at the domains acquired on December 8, 2011, through the internet brand protection company MarkMonitor.

Googleflow.net
Googleflow.org
Googlerights.com
Googlerights.net
Googlerights.org
Googlerightsflow.com
Googlerightsflow.net
Googlerightsflow.org