Tag: Grand Theft Auto V

Complaint Denied: Take-Two loses another domain dispute, this time over GTA.tv

Post author By J.B.
Post date November 26, 2013

Take-Two Interactive Software had a pretty good track record in 2013 when it came to domain complaints, winning more than two dozen disputes over names like gtatv.com and betagtav.com.

But lately, the company has been running into trouble. The last two rulings have not gone in the company’s favor.

Take-Two recently lost a dispute over a domain name of a fake snuff website it used to own, and now a WIPO panel has denied its complaint over gta.tv, a three-letter domain name whose acronym is often interpreted as “Grand Theft Auto”, a pretty common term these days, which Take-Two seems to think it has a monopoly on.

Details of the ruling, which was posted online today, have yet to be released.

In 2012, Take-Two trademarked the terms “GTA TV” and “Rockstar TV”.

According to WHOIS records, the domain GTA.tv is registered to iCity Corp.

(Image of Grand Theft Auto V via Rockstargames.com)

Tags Grand Theft Auto V, GTA.tv, Take-Two

Disputes Featured News Video Games WIPO

Take-Two quickly takes control of GTAV.com domain name following complaint

Post author By J.B.
Post date August 16, 2013

Well that was quick. Just over a week ago, Take-Two filed a domain dispute against the owner of GTAV.com with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Though decisions can take up to several months to be reached, it appears the previous registrant handed over the name to Take-Two ahead of a ruling.

According to WHOIS records, Rockstar Games has become the new owner of the domain name within the last 24 hours. And the timing couldn’t have been better for gaming company Rockstar Games, as Grand Theft Auto V (GTA V) is due out for release very soon. Here’s a look at the GTAV.com WHOIS record:

It’s entirely possible Take-Two shelled out some cash to get the name, but chances are we’ll never know the back story since the complaint will likely end up being officially withdrawn in the next few days.

At the time of this story, the case still shows active on WIPO’s website.

On August 15 August 2013, the first official gameplay video for the multiplayer feature of the game was released.

You can watch the video below to see what all the buzz is about.

(Image of Grand Theft Auto V via RockstarGames.com)

Tags Grand Theft Auto V, gtav.com, Rockstar Games, Take-Two Interactive

Disputes Featured News Video Games WIPO

Take-Two goes after GTAV.com domain name, files dispute with WIPO [UPDATED]

Post author By J.B.
Post date August 6, 2013

With the release of the highly-anticipated Grand Theft Auto V fast approaching, Take-Two has been aggressively going after fake beta websites like gta5betacode.com by filing complaints with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Since the beginning of the year, the video game company has filed more than two dozen disputes, and so far, every decision that has been issued by a panel has gone in the company’s favor.

Riding a wave of success, the company has now set its sights on the four-letter domain GTAV.com, which is currently registered to a resident of Spain according to WHOIS records.

Case Number D2013-1382 popped up on WIPO’s website earlier today.

At the time of this posting, GTAV.com redirects users to the official Grand Theft Auto V website located at: http://www.rockstargames.com/V/.

As late as February of this year, however, GTAV.com was a blog centered on the upcoming video game. According to screenshots.com, the site had been online since March 2012.

Below is a screenshot of the blog from February 2013.

This dispute may or may not be a win for Take-Two.

The current registrant has had the name since at least 2008 according to WHOIS history.

And as the recent case of WiiU.com shows, it’s no slam dunk.

UPDATE 1 August 16, 2013: Take-Two has taken control of the GTAV.com domain name.

Talking about this story: IGN, Joystiq, VG247, Examiner.com, Computerandvideogames.com, NowGamer, Game Politics, Vandal, PlayNation.de, Latinos Post, GameZone, XGN Entertainment, GamerZona, VR-Zone, JVN.com, Eurogamer, MeriStation, PlayGround.ru, 3DNews, PC Games Hardware, PC Games and Gameblog

(Image of GTA V via RockstarGames.com)

Tags Grand Theft Auto V, gtav.com, Rockstar Games, Take-Two Interactive

Take-Two Interactive registers HungoverX.com domain name [UPDATED]

Post author By J.B.
Post date August 4, 2013

Take-Two appears to have made an interesting domain registration in late July. On July 25, the video game company registered HungoverX.com, according to WHOIS records.

Though the name was privately registered through Network Solutions, the WHOIS record clearly shows Take-Two. The information that is marked private is contact information like the email address.

HungoverX.com also switched domain servers to TAKE2GAMES.com in the past 24 hours.

It’s unknown what, if anything, the video game company has planned for Hungover X.

Maybe it’s related to the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto V.? It’s just speculation, but in both Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and GTA IV, drinking was an activity.

Here’s a look at the WHOIS record for HungoverX.com.

No announcement has been made by Take Two and the domain currently does not resolve to a website.

Take-Two doesn’t seem all that interested in related domains, as the .com was the only name registered at the time of this story being published.

The company will be attending GAMESCOM 2013 later this month.

UPDATE 1 August 6, 2013: HungoverX is a Bureau: XCOM Declassified mini-game, reports Joystiq. The website is now live, having gone online in the past 24 hours.

Talking about this story: Game Informer, Joystiq, Examiner.com, GameSpot, NowGamer, VG247, VGChartz, Blogocio, Eurogamer and PSX Extreme

Tags Grand Theft Auto V, Hungover X, HungoverX.com, Take-Two, Take-Two Interactive

Disputes Featured News Video Games WIPO

Take-Two continues legal fight over Grand Theft Auto V beta domain names

Post author By J.B.
Post date April 7, 2013

Take-Two Interactive has been plagued with scammers who register domain names, and then set up websites that falsely claim to offer beta codes to Grand Theft Auto V, which will release on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC later this year.

The legal team at Take-Two has been busy the past few months, filing several complaints with the Word Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) over names like betagtav.com and gta5betacode.com. In the last few days, five more cases involving GTA V have popped up on the website over at WIPO bringing the total case count to 12.

The latest round of disputes involves the following names.

gtavbetacodes.com (WHOIS / Case)
gta5betacodes.com (WHOIS / Case)
gta5-beta.com (WHOIS / Case)
gta5freedownload.com (WHOIS / Case)
gta5download.org (WHOIS / Case)

While some of the domains don’t resolve to a website or are parked, others are full-fledged websites with the intent to deceive users.

Here’s a screenshot of gtavbetacodes.com, which tries to get unsuspecting users to download a file to their computer.

To date, Take-Two has won disputes over getgtavbeta.com, betagtav.com, gtavbeta.org and gtaavbeta.net.

Talking about this story: Examiner.com

(Image of Grand Theft Auto V via RockstarGames.com)

Tags Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto V, GTA V, PS3, Take-Two, Take-Two Interactive, Xbox 360