Month: September 2012

Categories
News Video Games

Ubisoft Entertainment takes over web address used in Ghost Recon Beta scam

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

Ubisoft Entertainment has taken ownership of the domain name GhostReconBeta.com.

The domain, which had been registered in April 2012 by a Netherlands resident, had been used in a beta scam for the video game Ghost Recon: Future Soldier.  Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, the latest installment in the series, was released in May for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Beta scams for video games are fairly common online and usually involve a website and web address that are confusingly similar to that of a legitimate well-known brand.  The websites will claim to offer beta keys to upcoming video games, but instead trick users into filling out survey scams and downloading malware to their computers.

Earlier this year, Microsoft took control of the domain names Halo4Beta.biz and Halo4Beta.net, after filing complaints against the owners.

While little evidence of the GhostReconBeta.com scam website can be found online, Ubisoft Red Storm responded to a Twitter message from gamer @BlackDogsUnit back in late May, saying that the website ghostreconbeta.com was not legit and any information about Ghost Recon would come through official channels on GhostRecon.com.

Ubisoft Red Storm

According to Whois historical records, the person who registered GhostReconBeta.com, is no stranger to using the names of well-known companies for the purpose of scam surveys.  At the time of this story, they own and operate websites and domains like SpotifyGiveaway.com (Whois), WarFaceBeta.com (Whois) and HawkenBeta.com (Whois).

Spotify Giveaway scam website

Though it’s unfortunate companies have to deal with these types of sites, it’s surprising they don’t register domains that can be used to trick consumers.

A quick check of other popular titles by Ubisoft, shows several domain names not registered.

Rainbow6Beta.com, SplinterCellBeta.com, and WatchDogsBeta.com are just a few examples of names that are readily available.

Today, GhostReconBeta.com does not resolve to a web page.

Categories
Movies News

Lucasfilm gets DarthVader.com domain, decades after first Star Wars movie

Darth Vader

Darth Vader was introduced in 1977 when the first of the Star Wars films was released.  Now, more than 35 years later, Lucasfilm has secured the rights to the DarthVader.com domain name.

As of this week, according to Whois records, the domain name is registered to “Lucasfilm Ltd”.

DarthVader.com Whois

For more than 10 years, the name was owned by the same individual named Ron Koskinen, before going into Whois privacy in early July 2012.

Of course, while it would have been impossible for Lucasfilm to register the name in the 70s, and very few companies registered names in the 80s, the studio could have picked up the name somehow in the 90s or 2000s.

Lucasfilm has owned and operated StarWars.com since the nineties, according to Whios History and the website Archive.org.

No surprise, Lucasfilm has had trademarks to the “Darth Vader” name dating back to the late seventies, but the studio has brought very few public complaints against owners of Star Wars domain names, disputing only a handful of cases since the early 2000s at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Many of the disputes you don’t hear about are likely handled by Lucasfilm lawyers sending cease and desist letters or demanding the names be turned over.

One of the more notable Lucasfilm complaints was over Tatooine.com back in 2000.

Lucasfilm lawyers sent a letter to the owner Steve Mount asking that the name be relinquished.

Lucasfilm letter

Steve Mount had registered the domain Tatooine.com in 1997, and told a CNET reporter he used the website to post photographs and advertisements for his programming and web design services.  The dispute made headlines, but the name was ultimately turned over to Lucasfilm.

It’s unknown whether Lucasfilm acquired the name DarthVader.com from Koskinen or another private party.

It’s also unknown if the studio opened up its checkbook and bought the name for a large amount of cash or if it had its lawyers send a letter demanding the name.

The movie studio hasn’t been so lucky with the web addresses of other popular characters belonging to Star Wars films.

HanSolo.com (Whois) is registered to HANSOLO Building Services.

ObiWanKenobi.com (Whois) is a parked web page monetized with ads.

Lucasfilm doesn’t even own LukeSkywalker.com (Whois) or Chewbacca.com (Whois).

I’ve reached out to Koskinen by email to see if any more details about the exchange can be provided and will update this post if I hear back.

At the time of this story, DarthVader.com does not resolve to a web page.

UPDATE 1 – OCT. 8, 2012: It turns out, Tucows donated the DarthVader.com domain name to Lucasfilm after it had expired.  “In exchange, Lucasfilm agreed to make a donation to the Tucows Elves Project. This annual charitable effort is organized by Tucows staff and provides toys to the children of lower-income families in the Parkdale neighborhood adjacent to the Tucows Toronto office.”  Via Canada News Wire.

Talking about this story: Domain Name Wire and Bill Hartzer

Categories
News Trademarks Video Games

Activision files ‘Laser Blast’ trademark, Atari 2600 game first published in 1981

Laser Blast

Activision has submitted a new trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office that hints that an Atari 2600 classic video game is getting remade.

On September 13, 2012, the video game company filed a trademark (Serial Number:  85728268) for “Laser Blast”.

The goods and services in the application cover, “Computer game software; computer game software for use on mobile and cellular phones, handheld computers, and portable and handheld digital electronic devices.”

Laser Blast was originally released in 1981 for the Atari 2600 video game system.

The game was designed by David Crane, one of Activision’s co-founders, who left the company in 1986.  In Laser Blast, “you are a spaceship blasting away at enemy bases, which appear in intervals of three, while they blast right back at you.”

Laser Blast

Activision also has a trademark for “Laser Blast” for video game cartridges, that dates back to April 1981.

In July, it was announced that Activision Leeds, the newly-founded UK studio, was revamping Activision’s first major game Pitfall.

So far Activision has made no announcement as to a remake, but this has all the signs of another Activision Leeds project.

Categories
News Technology

New RIM domains hint at BlackBerry 10 apps like Flick, Newsstand, Peek & more

Blackberry 10 Smartphone

Earlier this month, a photo of the upcoming BlackBerry 10 L-Series smartphone was leaked online that hinted at some new apps.

Now, RIM has registered several domains that likely reveal more about the lineup of apps including Flick, Flow, Hub, Keyboard, Newsstand, Peek, PlayOn, Remember, Story Maker, Time Shift, BBM Video, BBM Voice, and Voice Control.

The leaked photo of the device that surfaced on September 3, showed several apps including Facebook, Pictures, Remember, Maps and Story Maker.  While the photo didn’t offer many details, RIM’s latest round of domain registrations may provide more clues.

On September 14, Research In Motion Limited, bought up dozens of names through the brand protection company MarkMonitor.

The list of domains includes names like BlackBerryFlick.com (Whois), BlackBerryPeek.com (Whois), BlackBerryPlayOn.com (Whois), BlackBerryRemember.com (Whois), BBMVideo.com (Whois), BlackBerryStoryMaker.com (Whois), BlackBerryTimeShift.com (Whois), and BlackBerryVoiceControl.com (Whois).

The majority of the names were registered publicly to RIM, like BlackBerryPeek.com.

BlackBerryPeek.com

A handful of names like BlackBerryHub.net were registered anonymously using MarkMonitor’s Whois privacy service DNStination.

BlackBerryHub.net

Here’s a look at many of the new registrations:

bbmvideo.com
bbmvideo.net
bbmvideo.org
bbmvideo.biz
bbmvideo.info
bbmvideo.us
bbmvoice.net
bbmvoice.org
bbmvoice.biz
bbmvoice.info
bbmvoice.us
blackberry10os.us
blackberryflick.com
blackberryflick.net
blackberryflick.org
blackberryflick.biz
blackberryflick.info
blackberryflick.us
blackberryflow.net
blackberryflow.org
blackberryflow.biz
blackberryflow.info
blackberryflow.us
blackberryhub.net
blackberryhub.org
blackberryhub.biz
blackberryhub.info
blackberryhub.us
blackberrykeyboard.net
blackberrykeyboard.biz
blackberrykeyboard.info
blackberrykeyboard.us
blackberrynewsstand.net
blackberrynewsstand.org
blackberrynewsstand.biz
blackberrynewsstand.info
blackberrynewsstand.us
blackberrypeek.com
blackberrypeek.net
blackberrypeek.org
blackberrypeek.biz
blackberrypeek.info
blackberrypeek.us
blackberryplayon.com
blackberryplayon.net
blackberryplayon.org
blackberryplayon.biz
blackberryplayon.info
blackberryplayon.us
blackberryremember.biz
blackberryremember.info
blackberryremember.us
blackberrystorymaker.com
blackberrystorymaker.net
blackberrystorymaker.org
blackberrystorymaker.biz
blackberrystorymaker.info
blackberrystorymaker.us
blackberrytimeshift.com
blackberrytimeshift.net
blackberrytimeshift.org
blackberrytimeshift.biz
blackberrytimeshift.info
blackberrytimeshift.us
blackberryvoicecontrol.com
blackberryvoicecontrol.net
blackberryvoicecontrol.org
blackberryvoicecontrol.biz
blackberryvoicecontrol.info
blackberryvoicecontrol.us

At the time of this story being published, none of the domain names appear to resolve to a web page.

UPDATE 1 – SEP. 16, 2012:  You may have noticed that BlackBerryFlow.com was missing from the list.  The name was owned by Kevin Michaluk, the Founder and Editor In Chief of CrackBerry.com, as recent as July 2012.  According to Whois history, Research In Motion acquired the name from Michaluk in late July.  It’s unknown whether RIM paid cash for the name or if it was simply handed over.  CrackBerry.com is one of the most trafficked BlackBerry community sites on the internet.  Quantcast reports the site gets over 8 million monthly visitors.  I’ve reached out to Kevin by email to learn more about the transaction and will update this post if I hear back.

UPDATE 2 – SEP. 16, 2012: Kevin Michaluk was nice enough to provide a quick history on the domain in the comments below. You can also read about the domain BlackBerryFlow.com, along with information on the other names mentioned in this story in a CrackBerry.com post that was published earlier this evening.

Talking about this story: CrackBerry.com, CrackBerry.com Forums, N4BB BlackBerry Forums, BBin, BlackBerry Empire and BlackBerryOS.com

(Image of BlackBerry 10 Smartphone via N4BB)

Categories
News Video Games

Microsoft acquires Halo 7, Halo 8 & Halo 9 domains via brand protection company

Halo 4

  • Microsoft hints at future of Halo franchise with Halo 7-9 domain names

  • Halo5.com, Halo9.com domains acquired by Microsoft in Feb/March 2012

  • Halo4.com acquired in 2011 for undisclosed amount after E3 unveiling

  • Halo.com does not belong to Microsoft, belongs to product distributor

With all the Microsoft video game talk about Halo 4 that is scheduled to be released on November 6, 2012, Microsoft is looking to the future and working to protect its Halo brand online.

This week, the company acquired several more domain names centering around its cash cow Halo, hinting that the franchise will be around for years to come.

Through the internet brand protection company MarkMonitor, Microsoft has apparently acquired the domains halo7.net (Whois), halo7.org (Whois), halo8.org (Whois), halo9.net (Whois) and halo9.org (Whois).

It’s unknown whether Microsoft opened its checkbook to get the names and it’ll likely remain that way.  History has shown that the terms of agreement between Microsoft and private domain sellers is not disclosed publicly.

Each of the newly acquired names is registered to DNStination Inc, a Whois privacy service administered by MarkMonitor.  The change in ownership took place within the last 48 hours.

Halo9.net

Microsoft has had a busy twelve months acquiring Halo-related domain names.

In March of this year, it secretly acquired Halo5.com and Halo9.com from their previous owners using Corporation Service Company’s Name Rally.

In 2011, Microsoft acquired Halo4.com for an undisclosed amount from its previous owner.

So, what does Microsoft’s Halo dotcom scorecard look like?

Here’s a look.

Halo.com – active website owned by HALO Brand Solutions, not Microsoft.

Halo1.com – active website owned by HALO ONE, not Microsoft.

Halo2.com – owned by Microsoft Corporation.

Halo3.com – owned by Microsoft Corporation.

Halo4.com – owned by Microsoft Corporation.

Halo5.com – owned by Microsoft Corporation.  Privately registered.

Halo6.com – parked by Colby Thiesen, not owned by Microsoft.

Halo7.com – active website, not owned by Microsoft.

Halo8.com – active website owned by Halo 8 Productions, not Microsoft.

Halo9.com – owned by Microsoft Corporation.  Privately registered.

Halo10.com – owned by Microsoft Corporation.

Talking about this story: Computerandvideogames.com, Capsule Computers, EGMNOW, elotrolado.net, Eurogamer.pt, FOK!, Game Informer, Game Rant, Game Revolution, Gameranx, GameZone, IGN, MCV, MeriStation, NowGamer, playm.de, Shack News, Strategy Informer, Tecmundo, VG247 and Xbox 360: The Official Xbox Magazine