[Update 2 on March 7, 2012:. Microsoft Corporation won the rights to Halo4Beta.net. On March 6, 2012, a single-member panel ordered the domain name transferred from Edward Lee (the respondent) to Microsoft (the complainant).]
[Update 1 on March 5, 2012:. Microsoft is going after another phony Halo 4 Beta site. A complaint has now been filed (Case Number: 1432610) with the National Arbitration Forum over Halo4Beta.biz (screenshot) The domain name is owned by a resident of Illinois according to Whois records. I’ve reached out the owner for more information and will update this post if I hear back.]
Original story on January 28, 2012:. Nearly two weeks ago, David Ellis of 343 Industries, the company that is developing Halo 4, warned Halo fans through Twitter that if you see a site claiming to allow you to sign up for a Halo 4 beta it’s a fake.
The site in question was hosted at Halo4beta.net (pictured above), and now Microsoft’s legal team is taking action by going after the domain name.
A complaint (Case No. 1426106) has officially been filed with the National Arbitration Forum.
Apparently wanting to avoid legal troubles after gaming sites went abuzz with David Ellis’ warning, the operator of Halo4beta.net took the website down, but that’s not going to be enough for Microsoft.
Microsoft can fully expect to have the National Arbitration Panel order the name be transferred, in what should be an open-and-shut case.
Stay tuned as I’ll be posting the details of the decision as soon as they’re available, likely no more than a few weeks from now.
Halo 4 has a holiday season 2012 release date.
Last June, Microsoft acquired the domain name Halo4.com for an undisclosed amount of cash, rather than filing a domain dispute. When I asked the seller about the selling price/negotiations with Microsoft, the seller told me via e-mail, “The only term of the agreement that I can disclose is that I can’t disclose any terms of the agreement.”
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9 replies on “Microsoft files complaint over another fake Halo 4 Beta site [UPDATED]”
[…] After warning of fake Halo 4 Beta site, Microsoft files complaint over domain [Fusible] halomicrosofthalo 4Newsbeta Discuss Share Tweet Email More get_count_post('http://www.kotaku.com.au/2012/01/microsoft-to-seize-fake-halo-4-beta-domain/','post-487503'); « Previous post […]
[…] has filed a complaint with the National Arbitration Forum to have the site permanently shut down and its domain name […]
[…] in a few suckers and nab their personal information by squatting on a seemingly legit domain for Halo 4. Fraudulent beta invites are redirecting people to a site with Halo4Beta in the URL, surely enough […]
[…] Fusible reported yesterday that Microsoft was filing a complaint with the National Arbitration Forum with the hopes of having the domain name transferred to its ownership. To do this, Microsoft would have to prove to the Forum that the site was registered maliciously. Although the site went down after Ellis’ warning, leaving a message of “This Account Has Been Suspended,” Microsoft still plans to pursue the case. […]
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[…] Well, the Web site was taken down after the press got a hold of Ellis’ warning. Best to get out of the scam business before it explodes in your face. Microsoft is forcing it to explode by filing a complaint against the Web site with the National Arbitration Forum according to Fusible. […]
[…] complaint (Case No. 1426106) was officially filed with the National Arbitration Forum back in late January, shortly after […]
[…] early March, Microsoft Corporation won the rights to Halo4Beta.net, the first Halo 4 beta website to gain notoriety for tricking users into getting a bogus beta […]