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Facebook Timeline getting a movie maker app? Domains privately registered

Timeline Movie Maker

Facebook announced dozens of new apps for its Timeline feature this past week, and now it looks like another app to help users tell their story may be on the way.

This is merely speculation at this point, but it appears a top brand has privately registered the domains timelinemoviemaker.com (Whois), timelinemoviemaker.net, and timelinemoviemaker.org, through the internet brand protection company MarkMonitor. 

Because the owner of the domains is hidden behind Whois privacy, it may not be known for some time what the plan is.  MarkMonitor counts among its clients Facebook, Microsoft, and other internet giants, so it could literally be any of dozens of companies.

Facebook has had its share of drama since announcing Timeline.  Back in September, Timelines.com filed a trademark-infringement suit against Facebook. Then last month, Facebook filed a counter lawsuit.  “Facebook dropped the legal equivalent of a bunker-buster on its rival with a new filing that asks a court to strip Timelines.com of its trademarks. The claim asks the court to declare that Facebook is not infringing and to cancel the marks because they are generic,” wrote Jeff Roberts for paidContent.

Timeline Movie Maker may be something, it may be nothing.  It may not even have anything to do with Facebook Timeline. 

But for now, we’ll just have to wait and see.

[Update 1 on Jan. 22, 2012: It does appear Facebook is behind the registration.  Today, the web address began redirecting today to http://www.facebook.com/about/timeline.]

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Movies News

Top 10 Stories of 2011: #9 Sony confirms next James Bond title will be Skyfall

SKYFALL

Number 9 in this year’s Top 10 stories is the story of the upcoming James Bond film Skyfall, which will land in theaters in November 2012.

On October 3, more than a dozen domain names having to do with Skyfall were registered. 

Though privately registered initially using DNStination Inc., what made these names special was that they were all registered through the internet brand protection company MarkMonitor, which is used by more than half the Fortune 100. 

The list of registrations, which today now show Sony Pictures as the owner in WHOIS records, included names like jamesbond-skyfall.com and skyfallthefilm.com. 

Simply referred to as ‘Bond 23’ at the time, shortly after I published my story speculating the next Bond film would be called Skyfall, well over a dozen news sites mentioned my article including Access Hollywood, IGN, The Hollywood Reporter, and X17, to name a few.

On November 3, Sony officially confirmed the title as Skyfall.

Here’s a look at the full press conference, marking the start of the production.