Archive for February, 2012
What is Google’s RoboHornet?
It may be nothing, it may be something. But what is known is that Google privately registered the domain names RoboHornet.com and RoboHornet.org on February 17, 2012, then removed the Whois privacy and transferred the domains to its own name servers a week later.
RoboHornet.com (Whois) and RoboHornet.org (Whois) were both registered through internet brand protection company MarkMonitor.
According to Whois historical records, Google chose to keep the registrant information private. That is, until the record was updated on February 24, revealing Google Inc. as the owner.
So, what is RoboHornet?
I won’t bother speculating at this point, because Google buys new domain names all the time for a variety of reasons, including future projects that may never see the light of day.
However, after a brief internet search, I did come across a small piece of information. On May 4, 2011, it appears a Google developer created a project called RoboHornet on Google Project Hosting, a free collaborative development environment for open source projects.
As of today though, the RoboHornet project home page returns a 403 error.
Neither RoboHornet.com nor RoboHornet.org resolve to a web page.
Discussion: Marketing Land
Facebook snags adult entertainment domain name Facebookofsex dot-XXX
One of the more popular phrases adult websites use to attract visitors is “Facebook of Sex”. Type the phrase into Google’s search engine and the search results and sponsored ads that appear will show you just how many websites market themselves as the “Facebook of Sex”.
The Whois information for Facebookofsex.xxx was updated this week and now reflects Facebook, Inc. as the registrant of the domain.
The web address was first registered back on December 10, 2011 by a resident of Quebec, shortly after general availability of .XXX domain names began.
Last year Facebook filed a lawsuit against the owner of Facebookofsex.com saying, “Facebookofsex.com is a blatant attempt … to hijack Facebook’s fame for illicit financial gain”.
The website is no longer in use, but according to a rough traffic estimate provided by Compete, the site received nearly 4 million visitors per month before going offline.
I’ve reached out to the previous owner of Facebookofsex.xxx to learn more, and will update this post if I hear back.
Motorola files MOTOSMART, MOTOGO! trademarks for mobile and smartphones
With the Mobile World Congress (MWC) set to begin shortly in Barcelona, Motorola has filed two new trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for MOTOSMART and MOTOGO!.
The goods and services in the MOTOSMART trademark filing (Serial Number: 85548438) cover, “Mobile phones and accessories therefor, namely battery chargers and power adaptors.”
The MOTOGO! filing (Serial Number: 85548421) is slightly different and covers, “Mobile phones, smartphones, and accessories therefor, namely battery chargers and power adaptors.”
Both applications were filed on February 21, 2012 by Motorola Trademark Holdings, LLC.
At the time of this story being published, Motorola has yet to announce the MOTOSMART or MOTOGO! devices.
Discussion: MobileSyrup.com
Google Inc. registers more GoogleWeb, ChromeWeb, and Screenwise domains
Search Engine Land’s Matt McGee reported earlier this month that Google had registered a number of Labs, Screenwise and Adwords domains.
Among the list of fourteen names were domains like GoogleWebLab.com, ChromeWebLab.com, and ScreenwiseMedia.com.
Now Google has registered more variations of GoogleWeb, ChromeWeb and Screenwise.
On February 23, Google picked up ChromeWebDev.com, ChromeWebWorks.com, GoogleWebDev.com, GoogleWebWorks.com, and ScreenwiseSelect.com.
It also appears Google privately registered ScreenwiseSelectPanel.com (Whois) and ScreenwiseTrendsPanel.com (Whois) through the internet brand protection company MarkMonitor.
The Screenwise domains supplement Google’s Screenwise (screenwisepanel.com), a panel of a few thousand people who are paid to gather data. As noted by Search Engine Land, the domains hint that Google is serious about becoming a consumer data gatherer and source.
While the purpose of obtaining the Screenwise domains is pretty obvious, less is known about the GoogleWeb and ChromeWeb names.
At the time of this story, none of the new domains resolve to a web page.
Discussion: Marketing Land
Xbox720.com owner redirects domain to US PlayStation 3 website [UPDATED]
Update 2 on Feb. 24 at 8:16pm Est: Jeremiah Germany has commented on the story by e-mail. Jeremiah wrote, “Yes, I still do own the domain. I switched to namecheap after the godaddy SOPA fiasco, which came with free Whois Privacy. Yesterday I was testing the redirect with namecheap. Apparently more than my friends saw the joke; it doesn’t get a lot of hits. I believe you asked me earlier, No, Microsoft hasn’t approached me.”
Update 1 on Feb. 23 at 2:52pm Est: Xbox720.com has stopped forwarding to the US Playstation 3 site. The web address now sends visitors to a different site operated by Jeremiah Germany (the apparent owner of Xbox720.com), in an obvious ploy to get attention for his site. Jeremiah has not responded to a request for comment. I e-mailed Jeremiah earlier today when this story was first posted.
Original story on Feb. 23 at 3:27am Est: It appears the owner of the domain Xbox720.com is none too happy with Microsoft or simply playing an online joke.
As of today, type the web address into your browser and you’ll be redirected to the US PlayStation 3 site (us.playstation.com/ps3).
It’s unknown what prompted the change. Previously, the domain was monetized using the Google Adsense for Domains program, which Google announced only yesterday would be shut down by mid-April.
Last year we saw a similar case of a web address being redirected to a rival’s site with ModernWarfare3.com, when the disgruntled owner of the domain name sent visitors to the official website of Electronic Arts’ Battlefield 3, Activision’s competitor. The redirect of ModernWarfare3.com was short-lived as Activision moved swiftly to get the domain name by filing a complaint with the National Arbitration Forum.
As I wrote about in November, neither Sony, Nintendo, nor Microsoft own the domains for their next consoles.
Xbox720.com was registered to a Jeremiah Germany of New York as late as November 2011, but the contact information became protected after going into Whois Privacy in December.
Since first being registered, Xbox720.com has been host to a number of different sites ranging from a Les Paul guitars site in 2006 to a Google Custom Search page in 2008. In 2009 the site began earning money using Google Adsense for Domains.
I’ve reached out to the most recent owner on record for more information, and will update this story if I hear back.
I’d imagine the redirect will not last long.
Discussion: N4G, Joystiq, Gameranx, Myona News and Bölüm Sonu Canavarı
(Image of Xbox 720 concept by ~djeric on deviantART)
Samsung files trademarks for Galaxy Axiom, Awaken, Heir, Rite smartphones
With the Mobile World Congress less than a week away, Samsung has filed four new trademarks for smartphones with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
On February 16, 2012, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. submitted trademark applications for the Samsung Galaxy Rite (Serial Number: 85545292), the Samsung Galaxy Heir (Serial Number: 85545288), the Samsung Galaxy Awaken (Serial Number: 85545285), and the Samsung Galaxy Axiom (Serial Number: 85545284).
The goods and services in every single trademark filing cover the exact same thing: “Mobile phones; Smartphones”.
Samsung has yet to officially announce any of these new smartphones.
Discussion: The Next Web, Techmeme, Electronista, PhoneArena, SlashGear, Android Community, AndroidAppTests, Geeky Gadgets, MobileSyrup.com and mobileblog.it
(Photo of Samsung announcing the GALAXY Note via Samsung.com)
Google goes after YouTube typo domains that it didn’t win in a previous dispute
Google has been going after popular typos of the web address YouTube.com in recent months and it’s been having its share of success in disputes, winning five typo domain names in early January and several more later that month in another case that also involved Google typo domains.
However, in a separate complaint (Case No. 1413915) that reached a decision in late December 2011, Google only batted .740, as reported by Domain Name Wire.
In that case, Google won rights to 37 typo domain names, but lost its claim to 13 infringing domain names like YouTune.com because the Panelist found that the 13 domains were registered prior to the trademark filings with the USPTO of January 30, 2006. As Domain Name Wire pointed out, it appears Google got screwed. “The first use in commerce date on the trademark is April 24, 2005, which predates the 13 additional domain registrations.”
Google hasn’t given up hope on winning those 13 domains.
According to a new filing (Case No. 1428476) with the National Arbitration Forum this week, Google is once again going after: tyoutube.com, youstube.com, youtbue.com, youttube.com, youtubenaruto.com, youtubr.com, youtubube.com, youtubve.com, youtune.com, yoututbe.com, youtuube.com, youyube.com, and yutub.com.
As with all domain disputes, each Panel examines three elements before reaching a decision.
(1) is the domain name identical or confusingly similar to a trademark in which the complainant has rights
(2) the owner has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name and;
(3) the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.
If all three elements are satisfied, then the domain names will finally be ordered transferred to Google.
Each of the typo domains named in Google’s latest complaint, send visitors to an online survey scam (as shown in the picture above of YouTune.com), that asks a series of questions and attempts to gather personal information by promising free gifts like an iPhone 4S or an iPad 2.
Discussion: The Next Web, Marketing Land and DNFBlog.com
Linsanity dot-com website changes from selling Lin apparel to Coming Soon page
It looks like Andrew Slayton who coached Jeremy Lin at Palo Alto High School in California and who registered the domain Linsanity.com in 2010, has opted to stop selling Lin-related apparel on the Linsanity.com website.
As of today, instead of seeing t-shirts for sale with sayings like “Lin Your Face #17″ like seen in the Google cache snapshot above, people going to Linsanity.com will be greeted by nothing more than a “Coming Soon” page.
What appears to have prompted Andrew Slayton to take down the site is the potential for legal problems.
As a number of sites reported earlier this month, Andrew Slayton also filed to trademark (Serial Number: 85537764) the word “Linsanity” for athletic apparel — namely, shirts, pants, jackets, footwear, hats and caps, and athletic uniforms.
But this week, Jeremy Lin filed to trademark both “Linsanity” (Serial Number: 85541426) and his own name “Jeremy Lin” (Serial Number: 85541428).
Jeremy’s own filings cover a much wider range of goods and services.
According to Whois records, Andrew Slayton is still the owner of Linsanity.com.
I’ve reached out to Andrew via e-mail to find out more information and will update this post if I hear back.
[Update 1 on February 20, 2012: Andrew Slayton has unveiled a new look on Linsanity.com that no longer sells Lin-related merchandise.]
Ubisoft Entertainment registers Ghost Recon Network domains [UPDATED]
[Updated:. Ubisoft has unveiled Ghost Recon Network.]
Original Story on February 2, 2012:.Does Ubisoft have something more in store for Ghost Recon?
On February 15, 2012, Ubisoft Entertainment registered three new “Ghost Recon Network” domain names like GhostReconNetwork.com.
The registrations include:
http://whois.domaintools.com/ghost-recon-network.com
http://whois.domaintools.com/ghostrecon-network.com
http://whois.domaintools.com/ghostreconnetwork.com
At the time of this story, the web addresses are nothing more than a parked page on Gandi.net, the registrar where the names were purchased.
Microsoft registers KillmsnNOW and other anti-msnNOW domain names
Earlier this week, Microsoft launched a new site called msnNOW, which serves up the most interesting trends from real-time sources like Twitter.
The site’s launch was followed by the registration of over a dozen anti-msnNOW domains like BiteMemsnNOW.com, msnNOWblows.com and some other names that contain more profane language.
Following is the list of domains registered on February 16, 2012, through the internet brand protection company MarkMonitor.
bitememsnnow.com
blowmemsnnow.com
fuckmsnnow.com
ihatemsnnow.com
ihatemsnnow.net
killmsnnow.com
killmsnnow.net
msnnowbites.com
msnnowblows.com
msnnowcrap.com
msnnowporn.com
msnnowshit.com
msnnowsucks.com
msnnowsux.com
msnnowxxx.com
screwmsnnow.com
Here’s a look at the Whois record for KillmsnNOW.com.
