Category: News

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News

Panel denies Salesforce the name Forces.com in domain dispute

Force.com

After filing a complaint (Case No. 1416951) with the National Arbitration Forum last month against Internet Venture Holdings (IVH) over Forces.com, Salesforce.com has been denied the domain name.

Not surprisingly, the panel found that <forces.com> was not identical or confusingly similar to any mark in which Salesforce.com has rights.  As a result, the name was ordered to remain with its owner Internet Venture Holdings (IVH) and will not be transferred to Salesforce.com.

Because the panel concluded that the domain was not identical or confusingly similar, it didn’t bother establishing whether IVH had no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; or whether the domain had been registered and was being used in bad faith.

There was also no finding of reverse domain hijacking.

If Salesforce.com really wants a generic domain, they should pay the asking price, not bully smaller companies.

Full details of the panel’s decision can be read online here.

Categories
News Video Games

Electronic Arts registers Quicklime Games via brand protection company

Electronic Arts offices

Electronic Arts offices

Electronic Arts made an interesting domain purchase this week through CSC, a company that helps businesses protect their brands. 

On January 4, EA registered the domain name QuicklimeGames.com (WHOIS).

It’s unknown why the company registered the name. 

The web address currently does not resolve to a web page and EA has made no announcement regarding Quicklime Games.  EA already has a large number of studios and development teams, but perhaps another studio awaits.

For those who do not know the meaning of the word Quicklime, it’s a chemical compound that is a key ingredient in making cement. 

Discussion: GameSpot

(Image of EA corporate headquarters in Redwood Shores, California via EA.com)

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Movies News

Prequel will be called 300: The Battle of Artemisium according to domains

300 The Battle of Artemisium

It appears Warner Bros. Pictures has finally settled on a title for the prequel to 300 after kicking around several working titles like 300: Battle of Artemisia.

According to newly registered domain names, the film studio will go with the rumored title 300: The Battle of Artemisium.

On January 3, several names were privately registered through the internet brand protection company MarkMonitor like thebattleofartemisium.com, 300thebattleofartemisium.com and 300-thebattleofartemisium.com.

Although the owner of each domain is hidden behind MarkMonitor’s privacy service DNStination, Warner Bros. is a client of MarkMonitor, so there’s little doubt that Warner Bros. is the registrant.

Last June, Warner Bros. publicly registered names like 300thebattleofartemisia.com (WHOIS), but has taken extra steps to privately register this week’s names.  So if I had to speculate, I would say “300: The Battle of Artemisium” is no longer a rumored title.

Talking about this story: Movieline, Cinema Blend, IGN, 411Mania, FilmWatch and Celebrities.com

Categories
Disputes National Arbitration Forum News

MGM Resorts going after typo domains following reversal of online poker policy

Mandalay Bay

According to reports, Nevada may become the first state in the U.S. to offer online gambling, this, following the Department of Justice’s policy reversal on the Wire Act.

Now MGM Resorts International, the Nevada based corporation that owns and operates over a dozen gaming properties in Nevada, has apparently filed a complaint (case number: 1422265) over the typo domains belaggio.com (correct spelling bellagio) and mandalabay.com (missing a ‘y’).

The case, which commenced today, was filed with the National Arbitration Forum.

According to WHOIS records for belaggio.com and mandalabay.com, both domains are owned by Modern Empire Internet Ltd, a Hong Kong based company that owns over 3,000 domains. 

The names are currently parked with Above.com, an internet company that offers parking services for domainers who want to maximize their parking revenues.

Modern Empire Internet Ltd has been the respondent in several domain disputes in the past, including cases that involved popular typos like wlmart.com and theknott.com, both of which it was ordered to transfer to the complainants.

Because the National Arbitration Forum doesn’t publicly identify complainants on its website until a decision has been issued by a panel, the official complainant isn’t immediately known.

But it’s safe to say MGM Resorts International is the complainant, as they own both mandalaybay.com and bellagio.com.

(Image of Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino via MandalayBay.com)

Categories
News

Linkdin.com cyber squatter throws away $22K, domain now belongs to LinkedIn

Linkdin.com WHOIS

Back in December, LinkedIn filed a complaint (Case No. 1417534) with the National Arbitration Forum over the typo domain LinkdIn.com (missing an ‘e’). 

The web address redirected consumers to an online scam that asked a handful of questions and attempted to gather personal information by promising free gifts like a $1,000 Walmart gift card, to anyone who finished filling out the survey.

The owner learned an expensive lesson after they allegedly paid $22,000 to the buy the domain at SnapNames in July 2010.

Now, the domain name belongs to LinkedIn (WHOIS).

LinkedIn withdrew the domain dispute in late December.  It appears the respondent in the case agreed to turn over the name without waiting for a panel to order the name transferred.

It’s unknown whether LinkedIn paid any amount of money to expedite the transfer of the domain, but it’s unlikely, considering LinkedIn was pretty much guaranteed a win.