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News

LivingSocial Room Service? Domain registrations hint at something new

LivingSocial Room Service

It’s no secret that LivingSocial aims to set itself apart from Groupon.

That said, it looks like the daily deals giant might be adding a new type of deal based on two new domain names it purchased this week through the registrar MarkMonitor:  LivingSocialRoomService.com and LSRoomService.com.

Both domains were bought on October 4.

LivingSocial already has Escapes, for affordable weekend getaways and vacations, so it’s always possible these purchases are nothing more than part of the company’s strategy to defend its brand.

Here’s a look at the Whois record for LivingSocialRoomService.com.

Registrant:
        Domain Administrator
        LivingSocial Inc
        829 7th St. Suite 301
         Washington DC 20001
        US

    Domain Name: livingsocialroomservice.com

        Registrar Name: Markmonitor.com
        Registrar Whois: whois.markmonitor.com
       
    Administrative Contact:
        Domain Administrator
        LivingSocial Inc
        829 7th St. Suite 301
         Washington DC 20001
        US
    Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
        Domain Administrator
        LivingSocial Inc
        829 7th St. Suite 301
         Washington DC 20001
        US

    Created on…………..: 2011-10-04.
    Expires on…………..: 2013-10-04.
    Record last updated on..: 2011-10-04.

    Domain servers in listed order:

    ns6.markmonitor.com
    ns7.markmonitor.com
    ns1.markmonitor.com
    ns5.markmonitor.com
    ns4.markmonitor.com
    ns3.markmonitor.com
    ns2.markmonitor.com

Update on November 15, 2011:  LivingSocial announced the test launch of new food ordering and delivery features as part of the LivingSocial Instant service called LivingSocial Room Service.

Categories
Movies News

New James Bond film to be titled Skyfall? Domains privately registered [UPDATED]

Daniel Craig James Bond

It appears the name controversy over the next James Bond film slated to release in November 2012 by MGM and Sony Pictures is now settled.

The film will be called Skyfall, according to several domain name registrations privately purchased through the brand protection company MarkMonitor this week.  MarkMonitor is the same company used by Sony Pictures for thousands of its own domain names, including SonyPictures.com (see Whois).

The domains include web addresses such as JamesBond-Skyfall.com and Skyfallthefilm.com.

Here’s a complete list of registrations made on October 3 through the registrar MarkMonitor.

http://whois.domaintools.com/jamesbond-skyfall.com
http://whois.domaintools.com/jamesbond-skyfall.net
http://whois.domaintools.com/jamesbondskyfall.com
http://whois.domaintools.com/jamesbondskyfall.net
http://whois.domaintools.com/skyfall-film.net
http://whois.domaintools.com/skyfall-thefilm.com
http://whois.domaintools.com/skyfall-thefilm.net
http://whois.domaintools.com/skyfall-themovie.com
http://whois.domaintools.com/skyfall-themovie.net
http://whois.domaintools.com/skyfallfilm.net
http://whois.domaintools.com/skyfallmovie.net
http://whois.domaintools.com/skyfallthefilm.com
http://whois.domaintools.com/skyfallthefilm.net
http://whois.domaintools.com/skyfallthemovie.com
http://whois.domaintools.com/skyfallthemovie.com

Need further proof these names belong to Sony Pictures?

The company registered other Skyfall movie names back in mid August like Sky-FallMovie.com, that just transferred from the sonypictures.com domain servers to Mark Monitor’s name servers.

Those earlier registrations include: skyfall-movie.com, sky-fallmovie.com, skyfall-movie.net, and skyfallmovie.com.

[Updated, Nov. 3:  Sony officially confirmed the title as Skyfall.]

Discussion: WhatCulture!, Omelete, Comic Book Movie, FilmiFIN, IGN, NeoGAF, Cinemateaser, Latino Review, The Hollywood Reporter, Movieline, The A.V. Club, Access Hollywood, Yahoo! Movies, X17, Journal Star, E! Online, TheCelebrityCafe.com, PopWatch, Monsters and Critics, TDW, New Zealand Herald, The Hollywood Reporter, HeyUGuys, Fused Film and msnbc.com

Categories
News Video Games

Build your zombie town: CrowdStar quietly releases Zombie Universe for iOS

Zombie Universe

One of the top Facebook game developers CrowdStar, has apparently quietly released a new game for the iOS called “Zombie Universe”.

Considering the popularity of zombie games and shows, “Zombie Universe” has the potential to attract even more gamers because of the Halloween season.  In addition to Halloween, The Walking Dead season 2 premieres on October 16 on AMC.

But there’s a catch for zombie fans looking to play Zombie Universe; if you have an iTunes U.S. store account, you may run into problems trying to download the free app, as the app is currently only available in the iTunes Canada store. 

According to iTunes, Zombie Universe was released on September 30, 2011 on iTunes, and is compatible with the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.

On September 27, 2011, Crowdstar Inc. filed a trademark application (Serial Number: 85433506) with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for “Zombie Universe by CrowdStar Network”.

The goods and services cover: “Downloadable computer game software for use on wireless devices and computers; computer-game software, video game software, and computer game application software; interactive-video-game programs; electronic game software and electronic game application software that may be accessed via the Internet, computers and wireless devices; computer software to enable uploading, posting, showing, displaying, tagging, blogging, sharing or otherwise providing electronic media or information regarding the fields of virtual communities, electronic gaming, entertainment and general interest via the Internet or other communications networks with third”.

CrowdStar also looks to be releasing another game called “Wildlife Safari” according to the USPTO.  On the same day the company filed a trademark for Zombie Universe, it also filed the “Wildlife Safari” trademark (Serial Number: 85433505).

Categories
News

Why did Amazon buy KindleVine.com, is a pre-release buzz site on the way?

Kindle Vine

There’s no question that Amazon owns a lot of domain names.  This past week the company purchased several hundred new names, including a group of more than 500 names, after announcing the Kindle Fire and Amazon Silk.

While large quantity purchases are usually part of a company’s intellectual property strategy in order to protect their brand, it’s easier to speculate on the individual purchases such as KindleVine.com, which Amazon acquired this week from its owner in Canada.

With the announcement of the Kindle Fire, one can only imagine the slew of products, services and peripherals Amazon will soon offer, possibly including:  Kindle Vine. 

Amazon already runs a program called “Amazon Vine” that invites the most trusted reviewers on Amazon to post opinions about new and pre-release items to help customers make informed purchase decisions.

Could an entirely separate invitation-only program run by Amazon be set up for Kindles?

The domain name exchanged hands at the end of September, and now the registrant shows Amazon as the owner.  Previously, KindleVine.com was a web site that served up eBay listings involving Amazon’s Kindle device.

Here’s a look at the Whois record.

Registrant:
   Amazon Technologies, Inc.
   P.O. Box 8102
   Reno, Nevada 89507
   United States

   Domain Name: KINDLEVINE.COM
      Created on: 25-Apr-08
      Expires on: 25-Apr-12
      Last Updated on: 29-Sep-11

   Administrative Contact:
      Hostmaster, Amazon 
      Amazon Technologies, Inc.
      P.O. Box 8102
      Reno, Nevada 89507
      United States

   Domain servers in listed order:
      NS-1.AMAZON.COM
      NS-2.AMAZON.COM
      NS-3.AMAZON.COM

Categories
News Technology

Motorola gets MotorolaRAZR.com 7 years after launch, in time for Droid RAZR

Motorola RAZR V3i

Seven years after Motorola launched the Motorola RAZR, called by some the “iPod of Mobile Phones”, it has secured the rights to the domain name MotorolaRAZR.com, through Corporation Service Company (CSC), a company that specializes in corporate identity protection.

While the RAZR is one of Motorola’s brands, the timing of the acquisition could continue to strengthen rumors that Motorola is planning to combine two of its most recognizable brands into a new device called the “Droid RAZR“.

It doesn’t appear Motorola used legal means to acquire the domain, as no cases are found in the online databases of the National Arbitration Forum or WIPO.  However, it’s possible lawyers for Motorola sent the owner a cease-and-desist letter.

It’s also very possible that Motorola opened up its wallet and paid the previous owner a large sum of money to get the name quickly.  I’ve reached out to the previous owner of MotorolaRAZR.com for more details, and will update this post if I hear back.

DroidRAZR.com was only recently registered in mid September, the same day rumors began to surface of a “Droid RAZR” smartphone.  However, Motorola doesn’t appear to be the owner.

Here’s a look at the updated Whois record for MotorolaRAZR.com.

Registrant:
Corporation Service Company
Domain Registrar
2711 Centerville Road Suite 400
Wilmington, DE 19808
US

Registrar Name….: CORPORATE DOMAINS, INC.
Registrar Whois…: whois.corporatedomains.com

Domain Name: motorolarazr.com

Created on…………..: Sun, Oct 31, 2004
Expires on…………..: Wed, Oct 31, 2012
Record last updated on..: Sat, Oct 01, 2011

Administrative,Technical Contact:
Corporation Service Company
Domain Registrar
2711 Centerville Road Suite 400
Wilmington, DE 19808
US

Although the registrant is CSC, Motorola uses the brand protection service to purchase domain names for its released and yet-to-be released devices like the Accusense, the Energia, and the Kore.

Discussion: Electronista