With her performance of “I Dreamed a Dream” on Britain’s Got Talent, Susan Boyle became an overnight sensation. Days after her TV debut, just about every possible domain containing the term “susanboyle” was registered. Despite her fame, Susan Boyle still doesn’t have her own website. In fact, the show’s production …
Read More »U.S. Patent Office rejects subdomain patent
If you have ever had a website with more than few pages, you have probably created a subdomain. Instead of pointing visitors to www.internetblog.org.uk/coolguy, you might want to emphasize your coolness first and have your URL read: coolguy.internetblog.org.uk. Suddenly, you have something close to a new domain, called a subdomain. …
Read More »Facebook Cybersquatting Concerns Prove Valid
It’s only been three days since Facebook launched its new vanity URL system, an event that many intellectual property experts claimed would result in a flurry of cybersquatting. Well, they were right. Since the service’s launch three days ago, hundreds of celebrities, companies, and even royalty have had vanity URLs …
Read More »Trademark Holders Concerned About Facebook Vanity URLs
Later today, Facebook will begin allowing users to register their own vanity URLS, such as http://www.facebook.com/danielfoster. While many users are eagerly awaiting this opportunity, trademark holders are concerned this might be an opportunity for cybersquatting to occur. Trademark lawyers are urging their clients to get on Facebook as soon as …
Read More »Concerns About New gTLDs as Cybersquatting Hits Record Levels
As the web gets larger and larger, it’s no surprise that intellectual property disputes are increasing. In 2008, a record 2,329 cybersquatting disputes were registered with the World Intellectual Property Organization. Celebrities, pharmaceutical companies, technology firms, and retail outlets were just a few groups who filed cases. Don’t expect the …
Read More »'Typosquatters' cash in on user mistakes
According to the web security company McAfee, a new business phenomenon is sweeping the Internet, and like so many before it, the intentions are less than pure. Most have heard of cybersquatting, when an individual or business registers a domain that is identical or strikingly similar to the trademark of …
Read More »Patent Filed for Tiered Domain Registrations
Technology company Demand Media has been granted a patent for a tiered domain registration scheme. The system would allow the customer to purchase a domain at one of several tiers. The idea is to offer discounts to those who may not need the full functionality and features of a typical …
Read More »First .Tel UDRP Disputed Filed
Osram GmbH became the first person to file a UDRP (Uniform Domain Resolution Policy) dispute with the .tel registry this week in an attempt to get the domain osram.tel. The domain is owned by Russian Yuri A Ivanov and was registered on March 24, 2009. The UDRP was set up …
Read More »Google wins domain name case
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) ordered an individual in India, Herit Shah, to turn over the rights of his domain name “googblog.com” to Google. The search engine and cloud computing giant had filed a complaint against Shah for holding a domain that infringes on the Google and Blogger trademarks, …
Read More »Owner Wants £500,000 from Microsoft for LiveSearch.com
Believe it or not, but Microsoft, owner of the search engine Live.com, does not own LiveSearch.com. The name was registered some 13 years ago by Tyler Tullock, an American living in Washington State. Tullock has been making quite a bit of money through Google AdSense with the name from what …
Read More »