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News Trademarks Video Games

Zynga files for trademark on the word “Ville” in Europe

Zynga ville

Zynga ville

On March 1, 2011, Zynga filed for a trademark on the word: ville.  The trademark was filed with the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM), the official trade marks and designs office of the European Union. 

Zynga’s trademark representative is Rouse, a specialist in international IP business whose client list ranges from Honeywell and BP to Christian Dior and Starbucks Coffee.

Zynga IP

Could this be Zynga’s response to a recent lawsuit? 

Or is the company doing whatever it takes to protect its “ville” line up of games on Facebook?

In January, TechDirt broke the story that the social network gaming developer, sent a cease and desist letter to a West Virginia company that is developing a game named Blingville for Facebook, alleging trademark infringement for its use of the word “ville”.  The letter resulted in Blingville filing a lawsuit against Zynga. 

While Zynga doesn’t own the trademark on “ville” and hasn’t filed one yet with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, not filing for a trademark in the U.S. first is not necessarily uncommon, as seen with its trademark filing for Rewardville. 

Since I broke that story about Zynga filing for the Rewardville trademark which appeared on TechCrunch back in January, I’ve been checking back regularly with OHIM to see if another application was filed.  And this past week, it was.

You can take a look below at the “ville” trademark application from the OHIM website.
  Ville trademark filed by Zynga
Zynga Inc Ville Trademark

Goods and Services

According to the application filed, Zynga is seeking three different classifications in “goods and services”, including for “online computer and electronic games”.

9: Scientific, nautical, surveying, photographic, cinematographic, optical, weighing, measuring, signalling, checking (supervision), life-saving and teaching apparatus and instruments; apparatus and instruments for conducting, switching, transforming, accumulating, regulating or controlling electricity; apparatus for recording, transmission or reproduction of sound or images; magnetic data carriers, recording discs; automatic vending machines and mechanisms for coin-operated apparatus; cash registers, calculating machines, data processing equipment and computers; fire-extinguishing apparatus; computer game software; video game programs; computer software platforms for social networking; interactive video game programs; downloadable electronic game programs and computer software platforms for social networking 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 in the fields of virtual communities, electronic gaming, entertainment, and general interest via the Internet or other communications networks with third parties; magnetic coded gift cards.

25: Clothing, footwear and headgear; clothing, namely, t-shirts, sweatshirts, socks, jackets, button down shirts, polo shirts, dresses, skirts, jeans, shorts, sweatpants, neckties, aprons, belts, gloves, jerseys and headwear.

41: Education; providing of training; entertainment; sporting and cultural activities; entertainment services, namely, providing online computer and electronic games, enhancements within online computer and electronic games, and game applications within online computer and electronic games; providing online reviews of computer games and providing of information relating to computer games; providing an Internet website portal in the field of computer games and gaming; entertainment services, namely, providing virtual environments in which users can interact through social games for recreational, leisure or entertainment purposes.

How will it play out?

How will Zynga’s attempt at trademarking the word “ville” play out for its line up of current and future “ville” properties?

Will it result in Blingville losing its name?

Will it result in other companies losing their names? 

No one will likely know anytime soon, but news of the trademark is sure to create some bad publicity for Zynga.  In February, the company settled a lawsuit filed by Digital Chocolate over the use of “Mafia Wars”.

“Though the companies settled the lawsuit, neither disclosed terms for the settlement, according to The Recorder. The full list of charges against Zynga included federal/common law trademark infringement, federal/state/common law unfair competition, false designation of origin, and cyber-squatting”, wrote Eric Caoili for Gamasutra.

While Zynga does own the domain zyngaville.com, which it re-directs to its homepage, the company doesn’t own ville.com.  The domain name is currently registered to the domain company Marchex.

Discussion: The Inquisitr, Techmeme, TechDirt, Wired, Games.com News, Business Insider, Silicon Republic, CNET, Gamertell, and Inside Social Games.

Categories
Disputes News Video Games WIPO

Another Zynga domain name goes live — Rewardville.com

rewardville

The last time I wrote about Zynga and domain names, the company had filed disputes over the domains zyngagiftcards.com and zyngaworld.com with WIPO, the World Intellectual Property Organization.  Before that, the company had sent a cease & desist letter to the developers of Blingville, which resulted in Blingville responding with a lawsuit. 

While these disputes have yet to be resolved, Zynga is making more headlines over the domain name rewardville.com this week — a name that helped get this blog a mention in TechCrunch.

Zynga’s RewardVille Now Available: Everything you need to know

So, what’s the news this week on Rewardville?

Brandy Shaul, a writer for Games.com, announced yesterday that Rewardville is now available. 

“…we told you there was a way to force RewardVille to spawn on your Facebook account, but what if you didn’t have any friends that had posted a link to their prizes that would allow you to join Zynga’s rewards program? FarmVillePro has discovered that there is a single, universal, link that you can click on the activate the program on your account, and we can confirm that it does indeed work,” writes Brandy.

The story includes the link to get Rewardville when you connect through Facebook, which continues to work.

If you’re a fan of Zynga’s Facebook games, there’s no shortage of tips, tricks and information over at Games.com.

Here’s a look at a Rewardville video produced by Zynga that sprang up online yesterday.

Categories
Disputes News WIPO

CharlieSheen.com — The case of celebrity domain names and legal disputes

Charlie Sheen

The Charlie Sheen drama that has been all over the media, no doubt, is creating interest online, which naturally means that people are typing in the web address, charliesheen.com, on the internet.  In January 2011, the same month Charlie Sheen was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center by paramedics, the domain name saw a spike in visitor traffic according to Compete.com, an online service that provides free information for websites. 

So, what’s going on with possibly one of the hottest domain names of the moment? 

I haven’t seen any other news sites or blogs cover this story and there is a whole lot of backstory, not only on the domain name itself, but on the owner, who has a taste for great domain names, including celebrity domains like pamanderson.com.

Here’s a look at the charliesheen.com domain, and some related stories that have sprang up in the past week as a reaction to Charlie Sheen’s venture online with Twitter and more.

The domain name: charliesheen.com

The plain and simple answer to what’s up with the domain name is that there is no website online, just a HTTP 404 Not Found web page.  Charlie Sheen also doesn’t own the right to the domain: charliesheen.com, a person by the name of “Jeff Burgar” of the company “Alberta Hot Rods” is the registrant according to Whois records provided by DomainTools.   The very same Jeff Burgar of “Alberta Hot Rods” who owns some great domains, like Tammy.com, AbrahamLincoln.com, StevieNicks.com, Blondes.com, as well as over 1,000 more domain names including, yes, Hotrods.com.

The owner: Jeff Burgar of Alberta Hot Rods and domain disputes

The owner, is also the very same “Jeff Burgar” of “Alberta Hot Rods” who has had to respond to a number of domain disputes at WIPO, most of which involved high-profile celebrity domain names he registered in the nineties, and most of which were lost and transferred to the complainant. 

Cases have involved Pamela Anderson who won pamanderson.com, Ashley Judd who won ashleyjudd.com – the list goes on and on – catherinecookson.com (transferred), ianfleming.com (transferred), direstraits.com (transferred), tomcruise.com (transferred), larryking.com (transferred), jrrtolkien.com (transferred), and michaelcrichton.com (transferred).  For a look at all the cases involving “Alberta Hot Rods”, go here and type “Alberta Hot Rods” in the Named Respondent search field.

But Jeff’s Alberta Hot Rods was successful in a few domain disputes.  The case of the common first name domain, lana.com, saw the complainant denied.  Alberteinstein.com was denied to The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.  And the complainant for scorpions.com was denied the name.

The re-direct and website: celebrity1000.com

Take a jump in Archive.org’s Wayback Machine, and the name charliesheen.com re-directed at one point to the website, Celebrity1000.com (also offline), which served as a fan network starting back in 1996 which included a directory of celebrity websites ranging from David Haselhoff to Demi Moore.  

Celebrity1000.com, is also owned by Jeff Burgar to this day.  And the site has been named in several decisions around “registration and use in bad faith” handed down by WIPO after complainants like Pamela Anderson, pointed out the site was misleading to internet users, and celebrity domains had been stockpiled and used to further the fan network of Celebrity1000.com and its advertising revneues.

Interestingly enough, JeffBurgar.com (which is privately registered) redirects to WIPO.org, the World Intellectual Property Organization.  I can’t say whether the same Jeff Burgar who owns charliesheen.com owns jeffburgar.com, but it’s certainly an interesting use of a name.

The fate of the domain name: charliesheen.com

While Charlie Sheen hasn’t filed a domain dispute over the name at this point, if it ends up in a legal dispute before a panel of WIPO decision-makers, it’s all but certain that charliesheen.com will be transferred to Charlie Sheen.

Recap of Charlie Sheen online

Here’s a quick recap of stories related to Charlie Sheen now to taking to the internet with his antics.

– Twitter: Since joining Twitter on March 1, 2011, Charlie Sheen who tweets using the name @charliesheen, has nearly 2 million followers at the time of this story.  Guinness World Records  announced he set a new record for fastest time to 1 million followers, which he achieved in just 25 hours and 17 minutes.

– Prank: CharlieSheen.com for $275,000:  A person posted a video of himself fooling his friend into believing that he registered charliesheen.com for $12, then tricking him into thinking they’re selling it for $275,000.  Watch how it unfolds.

Categories
News

The latest updates on New Jersey Internet Gambling Bill, gambling domains, sales, and more

Governor Chris Christie

There’s been a number of headlines this past month about internet gambling and gambling domains.  Here’s a roundup of news and gossip from around the web, with stories ranging from the New Jersey Internet Gambling Bill and ongoing negotiations for the sale of gambling.com, to 2011 domain sales and predictions. 

New Jersey Internet Gambling

I wrote earlier in the week how The New York Post was predicting New Jersey Governor Christie would veto the state’s Internet Gambling Bill.  Though it was thought Gov. Christie had until Feb. 24 to sign the bill, veto the bill, or veto the bill with conditions, otherwise it would become law if no action was taken – it appears he has longer. 

According to PokerNews, “Christie has decided that he actually has until March 3 to make the decision.  The governor’s office claims a legislative recess in New Jersey gives him the extra time, according to Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association chairman Joe Brennan Jr.” 

Another issue that was brought to light in the PokerNews article, is that the NY Post story that claimed the Governor might veto the bill, appears to be false.  PokerNews quotes Brennan: “I’ve heard people say they heard the governor is going to veto the bill,” Brennan said. “Our people are as close to the governor as anybody and they don’t know what he’s going to do because the governor hasn’t indicated to any party of this what he’s going to do. Anyone saying they know, they’re not involved in anything but rumors and prognostication.”

And while New Jersey could be the first state to legalize internet gambling, California could follow shortly thereafter.  Steven Stradbrooke of CalvinAyre.com has more on California legislation.

Gambling Domains 2011 Sales
 
The gambling domain industry had a fantastic year in 2010 in which two gambling domains sold for seven-figures:  slots.com for $5.5 million and Poker.org for $1 million.  While 2011 is just getting started, Sedo Broker Ryan J. Colby who recently brokered the top-selling domain name in 2011 so far to date with Gamesforgirls.com for $500,000, has predicted this year will be one of the best on record. 
 
“I’m making an early prediction that 2011 will see the highest number of seven figure domain name sales on record”, Ryan tweeted last week.
 
Though there haven’t been many big gambling domain sales in 2011 to date, OnlineCasinos.ca sold for $28,000 earlier this month.  And there’s a good shot Ryan’s prediction will become true, with gambling domain names like tournament.com and gambling.com on the market.   The sale of gambling.com is being brokered by Sedo, which brings me to my next headline.
 
The Sale of Gambling.com will complete during the Second Quarter
 
Speculation grew that billionaire Calvin Ayre might purchase gambling.com to add to his growing Bodog empire.  A story that appeared on BlackJack Champ even speculated he would own the name by the end of January.  Well, Media Corp Plc still owns the domain according to registrant records, but the company’s 2011 first quarter trading highlights published last month shed some light on what’s going on with gambling.com.
 
“Strong year on year growth has continued at Purple Lounge Limited, the Group’s online poker and casino business and at Eyeconomy, the Group’s wholly owned advertising network. In addition the Group is in ongoing negotiations with a number of parties for the sale of gambling.com. It is anticipated that the sale should complete during the second quarter of the financial year.”
 
Kentucky internet domain name case dragging on
 
There haven’t been many new developments in the Kentucky domain name case that has dragged on for years.  In January, lawyers representing both sides of the case filed briefs in Franklin County Circuit Court, in Frankfurt, KY, iMEGA reported.
 
“Lawyers representing iMEGA asserted the association’s right to contest the Commonwealth’s attempts to seize their members’ Web site addresses, while Kentucky’s lawyers ignored previous court rulings on standing, insisting that iMEGA and other trade associations lacked the right to appear.”
 
As iMEGA points out, “The matter now lies in the hands of Franklin County circuit court Judge Thomas Wingate, who issued the original seizure orders on the behalf of Kentucky.”
 
Have a gambling domain rumor or story tip I should know about?  Contact us or leave it in the comments. 
 
Image Credit: (Governor Photos)
 
 
Categories
News Video Games

UPDATED: Turkish casual game producer Gamegos is rumored buyer of $500,000 domain Gamesforgirls.com

gamesgos

Gamesforgirls.com is taking top honors as the top-selling domain name in 2011 so far to date, nearly doubling the price of the next highest ranking sale – Action.com – which sold for $270,000 in early February. 

While the owner of the domain name gamesforgirls.com is guarded behind Private Whois after Sedo completed the transfer this week, a reader who goes by the name “Anthony James” tipped me off earlier today about who the buyer might be.

I eliminated Bill Kara of Hallpass Media as the buyer, after speaking to Bill last week over email. 

It’s rumored that the mystery buyer who paid $500,000 for the casual games domain is Gamegos, a Turkish game producer with more than 30 million monthly active users across its network of websites. 

I contacted Gamegos to ask for more information, but haven’t received a response.  So it remains speculation at this point.

According to the Casual Games industry news site, casualnews.com, Gamegos owns casual gaming portals like oyunlar1.com, games2girls.com and didigames.com.  Games2girls.com, based on a rough traffic estimate provided by Compete, receives well over a half a million unique visitors per month.  Same with didigames.com and other sites belonging to Gamegos.

It’s only a rumor for now, but Gamegos seems to be one of the best candidates.

Updated: A spokesman for Gamegos using the email address ‘info -at- games2girls.com, wrote me early this morning and confirmed the company purchased the domain.  There was no personal info provided in the email, but Gamegos appears to be a fairly private company, so you can judge the email for yourself below.

About GamesForGirls.com

Games2Girls.com, the first popular free girl games website, online with the
title “Games for Girls” since 2006, bought the domain name “gamesforgirls.com”
for $500.000.
Being the pioneer of girl games market, Games2Girls.com already has hundreds of
exclusive games for girls and keeps developing new games continuously.
The domain gamesforgirls.com will be used for a new project targeting young
girls. It will aim to expand the girl gaming market discovering new joys.

Regards,
Games2Girls.com