Last year when PokerHost.com filed a UDRP complaint for the domain name PokerHost.net which was registered by WSOP Bracelet Winner and Domainer Dutch Boyd – they lost. Not only did they lose the case, but Dutch Boyd who owns thousands of domain names himself, won a reverse domain hijacking charge.
Andrew Allemann from Domain Name Wire has details about the actual case and the reverse domain hijacking charge which dates back to November/December 2008.
Dutch Boyd posted the story of his battle with Poker Host Inc on DutchBoyd.com and PokerHost.net. He even started a gripe site on the domain. While he posted updates on the battle with Poker Host on PokerHost.net, he claimed that if Poker Host Inc had just made him a reasonable offer on the domain before threatening him at a Casino and with the UDRP that he would’ve sold the name.
That was then, this is now
After Dutch Boyd won WIPO and slamdunked it with a reverse domain hijacking charge – the price of PokerHost.net shot up, leaving no doubt that if the name was ever sold to Poker Host Inc that Dutch would make a killing
PokerHost.com now owns PokerHost.net
There’s no doubt that PokerHost Inc now owns PokerHost.net. It looks like the name changed hands in the Spring (5/15/2009) – about five months after the WIPO decision in favor of Dutch Boyd. While we can’t seem to find any news of the transaction, Poker Host Inc now runs a FREE version of their .com online poker site on the .net extension.
The Company pissed off Dutch Boyd pretty good.
Although you can’t read the archives that were originally posted on PokerHost.net – you can still scour DutchBoyd.com for stories. Here’s a link to his first posts on the issue.
Why do Online Poker Rooms need the .NET?
If you’re a fan of Poker, you’ve probably noticed players on TV wearing t-shirts and hats stamped with the .net of the Online Poker Room. In the US, it is illegal to advertise gambling on TV, but if you can create a FREE (non-Cash version) sister site on the .net extension for example, then you can advertise. Most online Poker Rooms follow this model using the DotNet extension. Leaving their .com for cash players, but drawing in more traffic through advertising channels with their FREE .net version.