Posted by
CmdrTaco
on from the can-I-have-malda@unix.com? dept.
rbuysse writes "Just browsing around, and I ran across that unix.com is going to be put up for sale! Starting 5/11, it is going to be auctioned off on eBay".
Pretty sweet domain name... How much do you think it'll go for?
Some troll out there will buy Unix.com for a million bucks, and then show they have millions of hits on their site and then have an IPO and become a multimillionare, even without any substance on their site
I'ts going to go for a hell of a lot more now that it's been on Slashdot. I wonder if Malda has any monatary intrest in it. Slashdot has gotta be great free advertising for it.
--
Jordan Bettis
``Wherever you go, there's another stupid sigfile quote.''
One (1) rolodex of BOFH excuses, containing at the least, 365 unique excuses
Two (2) litres of Jolt Cola
One (1) lb of Blue Mountain coffee
Three (3) crossover cables
And a bound edition of the Rainbow series of books.
(j/k, btw. I don't have printed rainbow books. D'ya think I could pull this bid off if I did, tho?)
For the record, a search at the Patent Office's web site, reveals that Union Metals in fact owns the trademark, oddly enough. I'm just tacking this on to make my post somewhat less redundant, since two other people mentioned it was trademarked while I was posting.;)
For the record, a search at the Patent Office's web site, reveals that Union Metals in fact owns the trademark, oddly enough.
Remember that several companies can own the same trademark, as long as they do different things. IIRC The Open Group owns the Unix trademark with regard to operating systems. And in fact if someone created a "Unix Burgers" restaurant, or something, I'm pretty sure they could trademark it and use the unix.com domain. I'm not to familiar with cybersquatting laws tho...
wait so...if i really wanted this url, and i didnt want to pay anything, i should go register "unix lemonade stand", sell some people a few cups of lemonade to ensure they think its a real biz. THEN AFTER the auction, just go up to the person who bought it and make them turn it over to me because officially, i'm allowed to own that website? wow...loopholes are cool.
--
"This is where god would go if he wanted to get off blow!"
1) You could only use the trademark with regards to the lemonade stand -- you couldn't get the trademark on Unix Lemonade and then use it to sell computers
2) In order to get the domain taken away from someone, the effective date on your trademark would have to be earlier than the "record created on" date on the domain's whois record. Now, if you can prove that you've been selling Unix Lemonade since January 18, 1976, then you could have that date as the effective date even if you don't register it until next week (the name of your company and your products are your trademarks even if you don't register them -- registration just makes it easier to defend them).
Damn with the TradeMarks. Unix has been more than just a trademark, its turned generic to the unix environment. Therefore, Linux, minix maybe violating unix trademark as it is synonymous to unix.
I think people reserve the rights to buy generic domains.
If the TradeMark is such a priority, the whole world would be owned by TradeMark owners.
TradeMark rights should be given to those who have marketed the brand in all facet of the world and being recognized in not just a fragment of it. Coke is well recognized therefore i believe they own the rights to the domain coke. While, many others are not internationally recognized trademarks
Re:Here is the current whois entry
by
ygbsm
·
· Score: 2
More importantly, Tim Bass would qualify as a geek:
From the silkroad.com website:
Tim Bass, President of Silk Road
Education
* Graduate Studies, The Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics
* B.S.E, Tulane University, School of Engineering, 1987
Magna Cum Laude, Departmental Honors, Electrical Engineering
Affiliations
* Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, IEEE
* IEEE Technical Committee on Security and Privacy
* Armed Forces Communications and Engineering Association
* Association of Computing Machinery
* Internet Engineering Task Force, IETF
A contractor geek, but still a geek.
Re:Here is the current whois entry
by
Dman33
·
· Score: 1
A contractor geek, but still a geek.
And soon to be a very rich geek...
Re:Here is the current whois entry
by
Ineversaidthat
·
· Score: 2
I checked out www.unix.net and found it empty in fear of a lawsuit. Then www.unix.org, which didn't resolve. I've seen the Silkroad name and Tim's as well over the years, and yeah, he qualifies as a confirmed geek. It's unfortunate that the Open Group is probably the only purchaser who could get away with putting it up. I wonder if that's why it's in this shape.
It all depends on what kind of dip. Is it sour cream and onion? ranch? fermented? We need DETAILS people! This purchase can single-handedly change the entire course of history, and they don't even tell us if it's Hidden Valley or Shenadoah's Pride!? STOP THE INSANITY! How can anyone even consider making such an important financial decision with so little important information. Enquiring minds have a right to know. Someone could go into this deal expecting high-quality onion-dip and come out with some generic stuff. What happened to the spirit of open source?
/*--Why can't I find the QNX OS on any warez sites? * (above comment useless as of 4-26-2000) */
Re:What kind of dip though?
by
hobber
·
· Score: 1
Que? What do you mean, "what kind of dip?"
There is only one possible choice when dealing with Dorritos. Tostito's Queso con Salsa!
That's right, it's the cheesiest.
No offense to Kraft.
MJ
-- ~~The two most common things in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity.
why what other dip goes with frito-lay products but sheep dip. you can go for the continental 'big-horned' if you are on a budget or indulge in the 'champagne' welsh.
(having worked for frito-lay, i feel i am at liberty to comment) >:)
-i
Could mean some bucks for The Open Group, too
by
orpheus
·
· Score: 3
The real question is: "How much will The Open Group" get out of the deal? (I read that they hold the trademark on Unix(TM) now.
It doesn't seem that the seller is OpenGroup (I can't confirm this, my whois is crapping out, but the DNS is CAIS and SILKROAD), but any commercial owner (or computer-related owner) will have to negotiate with OpenGroup to use the domain at all.
__________
--
If you can go to bed, knowing you did
a valuable thing today, you're very lucky.
If you can't... it's not bedtime
Re:Could mean some bucks for The Open Group, too
by
orpheus
·
· Score: 1
Interesting comments. I've downloaded the Open Group trademark use guidelines, but don't know when I'll have a chance to read it. However:
1) "Proper use" may be all-caps, but that does not mean all-lowercase isn't an infringement. Licensed users, fair-use users (everyone who has that "*nix is a trademark of..." disclaimer), and the press would be interested in 'proper use'. Infringers obviously aren't, but that doesn't mean they can't be sued.
2) Wasn't UnixWare a licensed usage (when UNIX belonged to ATT). Didn't SCO have to negotiate use of that trademark? I vaguely recall they did. Details would be appreciated, if some reader has them. [OOps - just spotted this. Section 4.1 of the trademark agreement says: "The Licence specifically prohibits Licensees of any Trade Marks from registering with the relevant trade mark authorities specific forms of the Trade Marks including trade marks used in combination." Of course infringers aren't licensees;->]
3) Even if this wasn't a matter of legal firepower (which of course it is) I don't think any of us would expect to last five nanoseconds in court trying to use a domain-name like coca-cola.com (Look ma! A hyphen, I'm unique!) or CocaCola.com (one word) or playing the Capitalization game (since Coca Cola (TM) is properly capitalized)
__________
--
If you can go to bed, knowing you did
a valuable thing today, you're very lucky.
If you can't... it's not bedtime
UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group
by
jjo
·
· Score: 2
I'm afraid that given current US cybersquatting law, and the fact that the Open Group now has title to the UNIX* trademark, anyone bidding on 'unix.com' had better be clear about their rights to use it before bidding.
Ever since I heard of Unix
I've always had a ball,
From SunOS to Minix
I must have run 'em all
But I ain't seen nothing like him
On systems large or small
That tired, squinting, blind kid
Sure makes a mean sys call!
He sits like a statue,
Becomes part of the machine,
Feeling all the limits,
Knows what the signals mean
Hacks by intuition
His process never stalls,
That tired, squinting blind kid
Sure makes a mean sys call!
He a Unix Wizard,
I just can't get the gist
A Unix wizard's
Got such a mental twist
How do you think he does it?
I don't know!
What makes him so good?
Ain't got no distractions
Don't hear no beeps or bells
Don't see no lights a flashin'
Ignores his sense of smell
Patches running kernels
Dumps no core at all,
That tired, squinting and blind kid
Sure makes a mean sys call!
I thought I was
The process table king,
But I just handed
My root password to him.
Even on my favorite boxen,
His hacks can beat my best.
The network leads him in,
And he just does the rest.
He's got crazy Finger servers
Never will seg-fault...
That tired, squinting karma whore
Sure makes a mean sys call!
--
.
Take all good things in moderation, including moderation.
He didn't. Jamie Mason is credited with that one, w/ additions by Wayne Throop. This parody -- and others like at -- are at LEAST 9 years old, as it's archived in a post
From: hanssgen@ira.uka.de (Stefan Haenssgen)
Date: 18 Dec 91 14:53:37 GMT
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Computer Songs & Poems Collection follows in 5 parts
Merry Xmas!
This is the COMPUTER SONGS COLLECTION V1.0, containing songs and poems about computers.
Congratulations. You now seem to be posting at 0, meaning you've somehow pulled yourself out of the -2 cellar. I never understood how you got there in the first place, since your posts all seem to be pretty good.
casualty of the moderation wars? Thats some interesting stuff there, care to give a little history lesson?
Since I'm pretty new as a/. poster(I read the stories but didn't post for the longest time) I'm just becoming aware of the whole moderation/karma/troll thing, and to me its one of the most interesting things on/.
--
No, Thursday's out. How about never - is never good for you?
That was too cool man, that would make a great song if any body is intrested in starting a Band devoted to programming / web design stuff I would not only want it, but want to release it, we could be called "The Hard Coders" or "Slashdot This" something crazy. if any one is intrested in the digital band contact me at Becho62282@earthlink.net
Trollmastah, a well-known participator in the on-line forum, Slashdot, although once dismissed as a so-called "troll," has risen to the top of the turnip truck by soliciting offers from record producers across the country. They are professing a newly rejuvenated interest in a funky-fresh style among computer kiddies that has been tagged as "digital bands."
No one actually knows what a digital band is, but they're pretty sure it's really stupid.
In summary, I offer the following lyrics from the up-and-coming digital band, Slashdot This, in order to retain topicality (i.e. not off-topic):
UNIX.com: It's What's For Dinner
Maybe Bill will Buy It
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 1
I say Bill will buy it!
And if we're fortunate, AT&T will sue him too!!!
Koosh guns?!? Bah.. I'll see that bid and up you one complete set of System 3000 manuals, a 1980 AMC Eagle wagon with a blown clutch pack and a tick in #6, and the loose change in my watchpocket. (About a buck fifty US)
-- .sig: Now legally binding!
Wait a second doesnt Open Group own Unix trademark
by
ratsdliw
·
· Score: 2
If The Open Group owns the registered trademark for Unix then they could easily sue Vannoy Heights Trust (the peeps auction the site off) for domain name squating and get it back for free.
So I guess it's a trick question. The ANSWER is: The Open Group is going to get the domain back for FREE.:)
You can find more info about The Open Group here. And you can learn about what trademarks they own here.
Thats what it will sell for...
Although of course the "lawful" holders of
the trademark may choose to pay the guy now
instead of feeding their lawyers:) It really
depends on what would be more expensive.
It might be interesting to see how Microsoft reacts to this. I understand they offered a great deal of money for linux.com when it was for sale. I was recently at the Boeing/Microsoft technical lookahead and they see Sun as their primary competitor. Perhaps Unix.com is in their strategic plan. Sounds like Sun should be the primary customer for this... --
Quantum Linux Laboratories - Accelerating Business with Linux
* Education
* Integration
* Support
Sounds like a great way for MSFT to make Judge Jackson get REALLY angry. Somehow, I doubt he'd appreciate it if they had the audacity to try...
...then again, if it colored his judgement to the point where it made it easier to win on appeal due to provoking him into an excessive penalty, who knows?
*shrug*
-- Only the dead have seen the end of war.
What's the best way to sell a high-value domain?
by
daviddennis
·
· Score: 2
I own amazing.com . Had it for years, ran my personal web site. Right now, my site is "between servers", so it might not be a bad time to sell.
Has anyone tried selling a high-value name, and if so, what was the experience like?
wait a minute..didn't /. invent UNIX?
by
medicthree
·
· Score: 2
I thought slashdot invented unix..doesn't this mean they own the rights to the domain? obviously this story was posted so that slashdot could claim the domain for themselves as the legal owners, and then with all this attention they'd re-sell it and buy AOL.
unix.com
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 1
Shouldn't unix.com be open-source? They need to give it away to anyone who needs a domain name, and have content contributed based on merit. No single entity should license unix.com. After all, we know what AT&T did for unix.com licensing...
Silly, no one in his right mind would want beta.slashdot.org...
If you get that domain you'll have your site permanently slashdotted!
j/k...
---
Tip: Sick and tired of these tips? Type "set tips 0" any time.
> set tips 0
Error: Unknown option name "tips."
--
Ner lbh sebz gur HFN? Gura lbh'ir whfg ivbyngrq gur QZPN!
Re:Hello.... AT&T
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 1
Nah, it's currently in the hands of the Bastard Consortium (aka The Open Group).
It looks like unix is OK but UNIX is not
by
Cy+Guy
·
· Score: 3
The Open Group's Trademark Usage Guide seems to only consider UNIX written in all caps as the trademark. So perhaps as long as it is written as either unix, or Unix, or unix.com there is no infringement.
Also, I know some cybersqauters have been allowed to register trademarks that include the.com when the word used in the second level of the domain is already a registered tradmark not related to the internet.
Finally, SCO has trademarks on several terms with Unix (using an initial capital U) such as UnixWare, which may also indicate that the consistent use of unix.com wouldn't violate the Open Group's trademark.
Re:It looks like unix is OK but UNIX is not
by
jbarnett
·
· Score: 3
From the Trademark Usage Terms it clearly states "It must not be used as a generic term."
If this site put up unix.com as a be-all *nix site, this this/might/ be in voliation of that (depening on how much the Open Group is willing to spend on lawyers).
Also it could be agrued (not by me) that domain names are case insenitive and there isn't really any way to tell the differance between UNIX.COM and unix.com, which could be taken as a voliation of the (all caps) UNIX trademark
--
"`Ford, you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.'" -THHGTTG
Re:It looks like unix is OK but UNIX is not
by
GhostCoder
·
· Score: 1
IIRC, from NSI's rules, the.com is not considered when resolving trademark infringements. So if you own the trademark on unix.com, you can't go after a squatter that has unix.com via NSI's arbitration. In the same way you can't claim that you are using it as unix.com to get out of a trademark dispute with someone who own the unix trademark.
However in regular court it could go either way.
Re:It looks like unix is OK but UNIX is not
by
Pierce
·
· Score: 1
Since UNIX is case sensitive, shouldn't 'UNIX.com' be different than 'unix.com';-)
Re:It looks like unix is OK but UNIX is not
by
Wah
·
· Score: 1
I hereby open the bidding for YaHoO.coM and eBAy.Com
I know this is completely ignorant, but why
should anyone get millions of dollars for this domain. No one needed it before?
'Stop the senseless domain name craze.'
Ebay won't allow the auction
by
adam_megacz
·
· Score: 5
Well, unix.com
is slashdotted, so for this post I'll assume that
it is not being sold by Open Group,
the rightful owners of the trademark on the name "unix".
The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999 amends current trademark law to encompass domain names, and has already been
tested in the courts. This bill would make registration,
use, or sale of the domain by anyone other than
the Open Group a crime, and I'm pretty sure that
eBay would halt the auction (according to their
current policies)
Re:Ebay won't allow the auction
by
blakestah
·
· Score: 4
Well, unix.com is slashdotted, so for this post I'll assume that it is not being sold by Open Group, the rightful owners of the trademark on the name "unix".
Trademarks are contextual. If someone has a business with the name unix that has nothing to do with operating systems (or probably even computers), they can ALSO have a trademark for the name unix. Trademarks only own a name for specific contexts. For example, ever been to soundgarden.com ?? How about soundgarden.net ? The band wants the names since they have the name trademarked. Others have valid uses of those names that have nothing to do with the band. As such, the band CANNOT retrieve the domain names.
Re:Ebay won't allow the auction
by
xmedh02
·
· Score: 1
That is true. I recall seeing a czech construction or building company called UNIX. The people there for sure didn't know anything about operating systems.. Well, perhaps these bricklayers will buy it.:-) BTW, does anybody know any company called Windows? Like, er, glaziers who started their shop in 1995?:-)
UNIX� is a registered trademark of The Open Group.
by
jbarnett
·
· Score: 4
It must not be used in connection with products, unless the product is licensed to use the mark.
There are detailed guidelines referring to the visual presentation, form and manner of use.
In editorial or articles, but not advertising the trade marks may be used without prior permission - provided that the rules in our
Trademark Usage Guide are followed.
I better get some karama for this dammit;)
--
"`Ford, you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.'" -THHGTTG
Bill is only worth 57.1 Billion anymore...
by
Ken+Broadfoot
·
· Score: 1
nothing goes without marketing
by
Nilz
·
· Score: 1
OK,
unix.com is cool. Registering is much cooler. And then, what?
You don't get much traffic with just a cool domain name. You have to use marketing!
And with marketing you can push any domain name. If the domain name isn't cool, marketing will make it cool.
Hubris and the Russian Sub Incident
by
lbrlove
·
· Score: 1
It is not of such great importance what you or I think it is worth. The people who matter are the people selling it. If I understand Ebay correctly, you can set the initial value and/or reserve price. I would love to know what is the reserve price they are setting for it. If it had not been/.ed, it probably would have never met their (arrogant?) reserve.
Now that it has been/.ed, it will probably be hard to tell what it finally goes for. Remember the company selling the Russian subs? They were so swamped with phony bids after the publicity they got, that it was hard to nail down a serious bidder. I bet the current owners will be unhappy with whatever result they get.
-L
Re:Hubris and the Russian Sub Incident
by
lbrlove
·
· Score: 1
Why would I apologize for reading the article correctly the first time, oh Anonymous Coward?
Read my post: "I bet the current owners will be unhappy with whatever result they get."
An intelligent reader realizes that this is written in future tense, and 5/11 falls into that category when referenced from today.
As to the apology, I was not insulting anyone on/. (at least not by intent), but I think I will apologize to you after all. I am just not sure whether to apologize for you being an imbecile (learn to read) or you having no balls (Anonymous Coward).
A Pacer? That'd better be the 258 CID model.. Otherwise you'd be better off tossing a crushed Yugo in!! Please note, the Eagle has a PI stripped from a 1975 U.S.G.S. Cherokee.
I'll sweeten the pot with three dogeared copies of Byte from the eighties, a low mileage Chrysler Torqueflite (for said Eagle), the open tin of Altoids on my desk, and a box of fancy company logo pens that strangly enough found their way into my briefcase.
All I know is I'd rather have a crushed Yugo, 12x14x24, in my living room as a 'conversation piece' than a running AMC Pacer with that Gawd-awful four in my driveway.
When my friend told me about this, I though he said that "www.eunuchs.com" was up for sale. I immediately went to the bank and gave them a convincing argument about why they should loan me to money to get the site.
Now I'm sitting here with $400,000 burning a hole in my pocket, and no website for me and my kind!
The Register says Hell.com is being offered. 'Course they're looking to get 8 mil.
--
I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
Re:What's the best way to sell a high-value domain
by
humphrm
·
· Score: 2
I've never done it, so I can't say for sure. However, I will say that in general cyber-squatters are seen as lower forms of life. The fact that you've owned & used your domain for some time will be lost on those who villify cyber-squatters.
I know that with my two domain names, dolnick.com and famille.org, I've had groups e-mail me accusing me of cyber-squatting (even though I run legit public web pages on them) simply because they wanted the name. Some French company even roundaboutly offered to open their wallet for famille.org.
Me, I probably wouldn't sell them. If I really had to sell them, I would probably try doing an e-bay auction and give the proceeds to charity, and clearly advertise that fact. Even if you need the money, you could say something like 50% of the proceeds go to charity. You get a nice tax write-off and then you can even post your auction on Slashdot with a good conscience! (Who knows, maybe Rob will post your story twice...:-)
-- --
"In order to have power, I must be taken seriously."
-Mojo Jojo
Well, he registered this thing in 1993. I should hope no lawyer could come around and say he all of the sudden can't sell a site that he's had for that long.
Registrant:
unix.com inc. (UNIX-DOM)
218 Cherokee Road
Hendersonville, TN 37075
Domain Name: UNIX.COM
Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
Bass, Tim (TB7)
....
Record last updated on 04-Jan-1997.
Record expires on 19-Nov-2000.
Record created on 18-Nov-1993.
Database last updated on 23-Apr-2000 20:00:32 EDT.
The guy is still cybersquatting as UNIX is trademarked already when he bought the domain in 93. This means he bought the domain knowing that the name "belongs" to AT&T or the Open Group (not sure when the changeover happened).
SCO not a good example...
by
LinuxParanoid
·
· Score: 2
I'm almost positive that SCO has licensed rights for use of the term Unix from the Open Group or its precedessors. SCO bought UnixWare from Novell, Novell bought UnixWare from AT&T who originally owned the trademark for and SVR* implementation of UNIX. Novell owned the trademark and transferred it to the Open Group, if I recall correctly, while retaining the right to use it in their own product. I would imagine that that right was transferred to SCO with the sale of UnixWare.
UnixWare *would* violate the trademark if it weren't already licensed from the OpenGroup. But SCO almost certainly does have such a license.
--LP
Re:SCO not a good example...
by
IntlHarvester
·
· Score: 1
Unlike the old days, any product can call itself "UNIX" if it meets The Open Group's Single UNIX Specification.
I don't think that you have to pay to licence the trademark, but the conformance testing costs money.
What potential use would this domain have outside of the obvious corporate use? I can't imagine that any group besides a unix-related company will win the bid.
What you REALLY want is multics.org. It's available and waaaaay more geeky than unix.com.
For the old time COBOL monkeys out there, primeOS.com is available. I think there are ~6 prime boxes still in operation, so there's a built in audience.
If you want to go head to head with taco and hemos, I suggest ampersanddot.org. It's free as well. &., how cool is that?
--Shoeboy
Re:You don't want unix.com
by
travisd
·
· Score: 1
For the old time COBOL monkeys out there, primeOS.com is available. I think there are ~6 prime boxes still in operation, so there's a built in audience.
5. I just shoved mine out the door last month. Actually it's probably still in operation -- I gave it to the guy who did our administration for it. CVSI (www.cvsi.com) who bought the remains of Prime actually owns prime.com.
Apparently the government still uses a bunch of them. The FBI specifically I believe... Imagine that...
Re:What's the best way to sell a high-value domain
by
Pope
·
· Score: 2
I'll give you $70 for amazing.com and not a penny more. Why on earth would you *want* to sell it?
Pope
-- It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
Since Unix is copyrighted, too bad you can't register *nix.com.
SV
-- I patented screwing your mom. But it got revoked for "prior art."
It may not go for all that much.
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 2
This may be another indicator that we're on the downside of the "Internet Gold Rush" bell curve. Remember the article in WIRED about how the tiny country of Tivoli was going to become and island full of multi-millionares because they had the.tv domain? Well, as I remember it only sold for about $5 million. A nice bit of change to be sure, but heck, Bill Gates lost almost 2000 times that yesterday when his stock went down.
Also, we're reading more and more how e-business IPO's arn't automatic cash cows any more. Fidelity isn't even taking IPO meetings any more because the market is so weird.
So, we may very well be beyond the point where a domain name alone, no matter how cool, is worth millions. Besides, ask yourself this "Which big company would benifit more by owning this domain rather than using the domain name they already have?" Those kinds of companies already have recognizable domain names. UNIX.COM is so generic that it's branding value just might not be that strong.
Hear that sound? It's zeros dropping off of the price tag.
It will sell, but then it won't.
by
grandfenwick
·
· Score: 1
Selling a high-profile domain name like this on eBay at this point is pretty useless. There are too many people out there who'll bid on it just to up the price, with no intent of paying.
Anyone remember year2000.com and the big deal over that putz's eBay auction? He sold his name for $10 mil; there were tons of press stories over "highest amount paid for a domain name ever." Then he found out that every bid was either retracted or an outright joke. Doesn't look like it's sold yet, judging by the stale y2k scare hype that's still up there.
The same thing will happen here. If unix.com sells, it will be privately. I wouldn't be surprised if this was just an elaborate publicity stunt to drum up interest from serious buyers, and not the bid-kiddies on eBay.
So I look down the list of comments, and besides the usual assortment of first posts and Natalie Portman ate my grits, I see two things:
1. UNIX is copyrighted by the Open Group, so anybody who buys unix.com is screwed.
2. Domain names want to be free and selling them is nothing more than taking advantage of the system.
Does anybody but me see a problem here? I mean, these comments are pretty much the summary of any comments on Slashdot. Somebody posts something and all you amateur lawyers come popping out of the woodwork spewing buzzwords that you don't even understand! Honestly...who knows how much it will go for or if it's even sellable? And, for that matter, who cares? Maybe the Open Group...maybe Union Metals Company...maybe Industria del Vestido...maybe Unix Systems Laboratories...maybe AT&T...maybe Rodenstock USA, Inc...but how in the world could it make a difference to anybody here?
And so what if somebody is making a buck or two off the domain name? VA Linux Systems paid a bunch of money for linux.com. I guess that it was OK, though, because they guy who sold it took care to make sure that it went to the "right people".
Everybody wants to make buck. But I swear, you'd think that Slashdot was a breeding ground for socialism if you gave many of the comments you read much credence. Maybe the real deal is that everybody should be allowed to make a buck after I make a buck.
Sheesh. This has turned into a rant. Don't take my word for it, take a look at the comments you see on the site. And, for that matter, take a look at that last 10 or 15 "Ask Slashdot" questions. Maybe the default answer ought to be, "Talk to your lawyer, 'cause if you take the advice you find here, you'll be in BIG trouble!"
"And so what if somebody is making a buck or two off the domain name? VA Linux Systems paid a bunch of money for linux.com. I guess that it was OK, though, because they guy who sold it took care to make sure that it went to the "right people"."
VA linux bought linux.com. They didn't squat on it or even sell it. I don't know the situation but yes in buying it they probably made some squatter rich. But that doesn't mean they agree with squating.
"Everybody wants to make buck. But I swear, you'd think that Slashdot was a breeding ground for socialism if you gave many of the comments you read much credence. Maybe the real deal is that everybody should be allowed to make a buck after I make a buck."
Money is not wrong it's just a matter of how you come by your money. Squatters don't make any contribution back to scociety. Squating doesn't require any inteligence, craft or creativity. Squatters are taking something that is supposed to be free and charging for it. That's theft in my book. Squatting is not a noble profession.
"Maybe the default answer ought to be, "Talk to your lawyer, 'cause if you take the advice you find here, you'll be in BIG trouble!"
I have found that you believe everything you hear, it means you are stupid.
Excuuuse me? Slashdot a breeding group for SOCIALISM? Now that should be moderated (+3, Hilarious)! Nowhere have I seen such an intense concentration of libertarian and anti-socialist feelings as on Slashdot.
Mind you, I'm not making a political statement either for or against anything, here. But this part of your comment is ridiculous! (The rest of it is very sound, though.)
unix.com may well sell for $0
by
JoeBuck
·
· Score: 2
Unix is a registered trademark of the Open Group. That
organization could pretty much demand that it
be turned over, thanks to the new cybersquatting
law: someone is clearly attempting to profit
by selling someone else's trademark.
You want domains from Ebay?
by
mholve
·
· Score: 1
Trademarks were contextual ...
by
JoeBuck
·
· Score: 3
But the cybersquatting law makes them broader.
unix.com can be seized by the Open Group as
soon as they ask for it. It's not even a close
thing.
Re:Trademarks were contextual ...
by
Sabalon
·
· Score: 1
It depends on what it was being used for. NSI or whoever has already handled a few cases like this, where someone with a trademarked name was told they couldn't have whatever.com because the person who had it was actually using it (not squatting) and had nothing to do with what whatever.com was.
Re:Trademarks were contextual ...
by
ianezz
·
· Score: 1
ok this really pisses me off( trademarks)
by
Emugamer
·
· Score: 1
Trademarks are very iffy in my book andthey really piss me off . especially when people trademark other peoples work or word then cash in on their invention. I think I am going to trademark every word in the dictionary then make a fortune by suing publishing companys for trademark infridgement ($5 dollars for every time they use the work "the"). I know it doesn't work that way but still trademarking anything that you didn't do first just really pisses me off.. anyway I think I am, probibly missing a few legal aspects of it but please tell me what is stopping me from doing the fore amentioned plan.
Re:ok this really pisses me off( trademarks)
by
Xenu
·
· Score: 2
You have to use a trademark for it to be valid, and even then, it is only applicable to the category of product that it is used for. There are also geographical concerns. Your trademark may not be valid in countries where you do not market and sell your product. Printing the name of a trademark is not infringement. Trademarks are not the same thing as copyrights.
This term, which is an abuse of the UNIX trademark, and should not be used, is often used in association with products
that share some properties in common with systems carrying the UNIX trademark. Users of such terms should consult
the trademark usage guidelines, which give numerous examples of how to correctly use the trademark, and make the
necessary corrections.
Well, the UNIX trademark has been `owned' by various people since UNIX really started. AT&T, Novell, now it's X/Open that owns the trademark. It's not like they acquired it illegally or unfairly. Any trademark-related issues arisen from someone other than X/Open owning it should be expected.
There was no reason to put quotes around the word owned in that last post. They really do own it.
Re:What's the best way to sell a high-value domain
by
daviddennis
·
· Score: 2
Fortunately, I don't think anyone who seriously looked at my situation would consider me a cyber squatter. I got the name in 1994, before anyone had even heard of cybersquatting. amazing.com also doesn't map to any specific company or type of business; since it's an ordinary English word there are no trademark issues.
I normally wouldn't want to sell the name, but at the same time when the values of these things are getting close to otherwise hopelesslly unaffordable Malibu real estate, it looks like a tempting proposition.
You can see the content that currently resides under amazing.com at http://207.8.214.218 .
D
----
On the 12th day of auction, netters gave to me...
by
Cmdr+Taco
·
· Score: 2
12 federal injunctions
11 threatening emails
10 lawyers following me
9 appeals denied
8 subponeas daily
7 counts of theft
6 orders to surrender
5 in-dict-ments!
4 phone calls per minute.
3 wifes-a-leaving
2 bankruptcies filed
and a frog suited federal marshall at the door!
While I'm not on the up-and-up with this new cybersquatting law, wouldn't this just not make sense AT ALL? The Open Group asks for unix.com and then someone else who has a rightful trademark to it asks for unix.com and then it would just swap back and forth or what? The government does a ton of stupid things, especially relating to technology, but this just seems absurd...shed some light?
Chris Hagar
--
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." - Thomas Jefferson
Re:Wait a second doesnt Open Group own Unix tradem
by
Microlith
·
· Score: 1
But then, isn't there a mexican company (or european?) diaper company that has a trademark on "UNIX" for diapers?
Who wins the suit then?
Re:What's the best way to sell a high-value domain
by
sideshow
·
· Score: 1
Just Wait.
My dad has had www.screaming.com since early '94. It's mainly used for e-mail. But, an ISP opened in England at www.screaming.net. Bad part is most people forget the difference between.net and.com so thank god for email filters. As if spam was bad enough, imagine getting span meant for 1000 different people. Anyways, some day screaming.net will won't our screaming.com so hopefully when that day comes they will make us rich. So someday someone will want amazing.com and they will contact you. I've gotten inquires for screaming, but nothing serious yet. But time will tell. Plus as time goes on domains are worth more. Well, maybe not www.news97.com
--
Hollow words will burn and hollow men will burn.
Shoppin' for domain names..
by
PopeAlien
·
· Score: 2
This is just an off-topic thought..
What about all those names that become availiable when someone doesn't renew?..What if someone were to rig up a script that checked a list of 'desireable' domain names and alerted the desiree when they became availiable.. You could rig it to page you on your wireless palm when one popped up.. does something like this exist?
Re:Shoppin' for domain names..
by
Ed+Random
·
· Score: 2
Unfortunately, someone already offers this service. Check out myinternet.com; they call it MyMonitor. I prefer to call it "Domain Hijacking"...
The service *might* be used for good purposes, but I fear that the spammer-types will soon adopt this kind of "Domain Hijacking" to make an easy buck off of legitimate domain owners.
"End of the Internet predicted. Film at 11."
Greetings,
Ed.
-- --
Gxis!
Ed.
Re:UNIX� is a registered trademark of The Open Gro
by
lockheed23
·
· Score: 1
The reason you see all that in the Trademark Guide is that they want to keep Unix their trademeark. more to the point, if everyone uses the word "unix" as a generic term for all types of similiar os's (like BSD, Linux, etc) then it becames unenforcable as a trademark. Just like making a xerox copy:)
Since "Unix" is a registered trademark of The Open Group, couldn't X/Open then sue the domain holder for domain squatting? It seems like a pretty straightfoward case, since the TM preceeds the registration of the name.
--JRZ
You think thats weird ? hitdomains.com have just put HELL.com up for sale and according to their blurb the site gets over 100,000 unique visitors per month to the site even though it has no content
Unix.com from Redmond
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 1
Episode 1.
intercepted phonecall 2 days ago somethere in Redmond
Transmission start.
-....they'll be selling unix.com on ebay...
-..hmm..brrR.klanc.I've got an idea about this..
Okay... I have looked... maybe I am a little dense or something... but unix.com is NOT listed on ebay...
In NONE of the posts or the original story post has there been a link to where on ebay that the domain is being auctioned. Nor does ebay have a listing of it... http://search-desc.ebay.com/search/search.dll?MfcI SAPICommand=GetResult&query=unix&categor yid=&ht=1&st=0&category2=3767&srchdesc=y&maxRecord sPerPage=100&SortProperty=MetaEndSort
I'm probably going to be marked down as a troll for this, but really, should the story have been submitted without even including a link to the ebay auction?
Slashdot Mirror
Some troll out there will buy Unix.com for a million bucks, and then show they have millions of hits on their site and then have an IPO and become a multimillionare, even without any substance on their site
Doh!
You've found the hidden slashdot poll!!!
It appears that for every redundant article Taco lists on Slashdot, some new info gets hidden away such as this poll.
E-mail postmaster@unix.com to claim your prize.
I got to this poll through the "Past Polls" page.It wasn't on the front page (the last one is still there.)
Strange or what?
I'ts going to go for a hell of a lot more now that it's been on Slashdot. I wonder if Malda has any monatary intrest in it. Slashdot has gotta be great free advertising for it.
Jordan Bettis
``Wherever you go, there's another stupid sigfile quote.''One (1) rolodex of BOFH excuses, containing at the least, 365 unique excuses
Two (2) litres of Jolt Cola
One (1) lb of Blue Mountain coffee
Three (3) crossover cables
And a bound edition of the Rainbow series of books.
(j/k, btw. I don't have printed rainbow books. D'ya think I could pull this bid off if I did, tho?)
Returned Peace Corps IT Volunteer
Doesn't AT&T still technically OWN the tradmark Unix(tm).
Looks like somebody is buckin to get his ass sued......
Um, UNIX is a trademarked word. I wouldn't pay very much for the domain name, since you might have to surrender it in court.
100 BILLION DOLLARS!!!
Sorry. Couldn't resist. :P
is "Unix" not a target for an AT&T cybersquatting lawsuit?
Returned Peace Corps IT Volunteer
U * N * I * X * . * C * O * M =
85 * 78 * 73 * 88 * 46 * 67 * 79 * 77 =
$798,490,055,082,720.00
That's right baby!
(i know - faux pas replying to yourself)
If memory serves, AT&T sold Unix(tm), to Novell, who then sold it to SCO (?).
Anyway - it's an owned and established tradmark. Bad Karma.
Registrant:
unix.com inc. (UNIX-DOM)
218 Cherokee Road
Hendersonville, TN 37075
Domain Name: unix.com
Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
Bass, Tim (TB7) bass@SILKROAD.COM
218 Cherokee Road
Hendersonville, TN 37075
(703) 222-4243
Record last updated on 04-Jan-1997.
Record expires on 19-Nov-2000.
Record created on 18-Nov-1993.
Database last updated on 23-Apr-2000 20:01:21 EDT.
Domain servers in listed order:
NS.SILKROAD.COM 198.133.151.18
Work for Change & GET PAID!
It all depends on what kind of dip. Is it sour cream and onion? ranch? fermented? We need DETAILS people! This purchase can single-handedly change the entire course of history, and they don't even tell us if it's Hidden Valley or Shenadoah's Pride!? STOP THE INSANITY! How can anyone even consider making such an important financial decision with so little important information. Enquiring minds have a right to know. Someone could go into this deal expecting high-quality onion-dip and come out with some generic stuff. What happened to the spirit of open source?
/*--Why can't I find the QNX OS on any warez sites?
* (above comment useless as of 4-26-2000)
*/
It doesn't seem that the seller is OpenGroup (I can't confirm this, my whois is crapping out, but the DNS is CAIS and SILKROAD), but any commercial owner (or computer-related owner) will have to negotiate with OpenGroup to use the domain at all.
__________
If you can go to bed, knowing you did a valuable thing today, you're very lucky. If you can't... it's not bedtime
I'm afraid that given current US cybersquatting law, and the fact that the Open Group now has title to the UNIX* trademark, anyone bidding on 'unix.com' had better be clear about their rights to use it before bidding.
*UNIX is no longer a trademark of AT&T Bell Labs.
Ever since I heard of Unix
I've always had a ball,
From SunOS to Minix
I must have run 'em all
But I ain't seen nothing like him
On systems large or small
That tired, squinting, blind kid
Sure makes a mean sys call!
He sits like a statue,
Becomes part of the machine,
Feeling all the limits,
Knows what the signals mean
Hacks by intuition
His process never stalls,
That tired, squinting blind kid
Sure makes a mean sys call!
He a Unix Wizard,
I just can't get the gist
A Unix wizard's
Got such a mental twist
How do you think he does it?
I don't know!
What makes him so good?
Ain't got no distractions
Don't hear no beeps or bells
Don't see no lights a flashin'
Ignores his sense of smell
Patches running kernels
Dumps no core at all,
That tired, squinting and blind kid
Sure makes a mean sys call!
I thought I was
The process table king,
But I just handed
My root password to him.
Even on my favorite boxen,
His hacks can beat my best.
The network leads him in,
And he just does the rest.
He's got crazy Finger servers
Never will seg-fault...
That tired, squinting karma whore
Sure makes a mean sys call!
.
Take all good things in moderation, including moderation.
I say Bill will buy it! And if we're fortunate, AT&T will sue him too!!!
I'll see your bid and raise you a small arsenal of koosh guns from ThinkGeek and one stuffed tux.
/*--Why can't I find the QNX OS on any warez sites?
* (above comment useless as of 4-26-2000)
*/
If The Open Group owns the registered trademark for Unix then they could easily sue Vannoy Heights Trust (the peeps auction the site off) for domain name squating and get it back for free.
:)
So I guess it's a trick question. The ANSWER is:
The Open Group is going to get the domain back for FREE.
You can find more info about The Open Group here. And you can learn about what trademarks they own here.
Thats what it will sell for... Although of course the "lawful" holders of the trademark may choose to pay the guy now instead of feeding their lawyers:) It really depends on what would be more expensive.
However, you could buy it and squat on it hoping to sell it to an ophthamologist :)
It might be interesting to see how Microsoft reacts to this. I understand they offered a great deal of money for linux.com when it was for sale. I was recently at the Boeing/Microsoft technical lookahead and they see Sun as their primary competitor. Perhaps Unix.com is in their strategic plan. Sounds like Sun should be the primary customer for this...
--
Quantum Linux Laboratories - Accelerating Business with Linux
* Education
* Integration
* Support
*Condense fact from the vapor of nuance*
I own amazing.com . Had it for years, ran my personal web site. Right now, my site is "between servers", so it might not be a bad time to sell.
Has anyone tried selling a high-value name, and if so, what was the experience like?
D
----
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I thought slashdot invented unix..doesn't this mean they own the rights to the domain? obviously this story was posted so that slashdot could claim the domain for themselves as the legal owners, and then with all this attention they'd re-sell it and buy AOL.
Shouldn't unix.com be open-source? They need to give it away to anyone who needs a domain name, and have content contributed based on merit. No single entity should license unix.com. After all, we know what AT&T did for unix.com licensing...
Nah, it's currently in the hands of the Bastard Consortium (aka The Open Group).
The Open Group's Trademark Usage Guide seems to only consider UNIX written in all caps as the trademark. So perhaps as long as it is written as either unix, or Unix, or unix.com there is no infringement.
.com when the word used in the second level of the domain is already a registered tradmark not related to the internet.
Also, I know some cybersqauters have been allowed to register trademarks that include the
Finally, SCO has trademarks on several terms with Unix (using an initial capital U) such as UnixWare, which may also indicate that the consistent use of unix.com wouldn't violate the Open Group's trademark.
Work for Change & GET PAID!
I know this is completely ignorant, but why should anyone get millions of dollars for this domain. No one needed it before? 'Stop the senseless domain name craze.'
Well, unix.com is slashdotted, so for this post I'll assume that it is not being sold by Open Group, the rightful owners of the trademark on the name "unix".
The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999 amends current trademark law to encompass domain names, and has already been tested in the courts. This bill would make registration, use, or sale of the domain by anyone other than the Open Group a crime, and I'm pretty sure that eBay would halt the auction (according to their current policies)
Open Group owns the Unix trademark
Trademark Usage Guide(PDF Format)
Please note:
It must not be used as a generic term.
It must not be used in connection with products, unless the product is licensed to use the mark.
There are detailed guidelines referring to the visual presentation, form and manner of use.
In editorial or articles, but not advertising the trade marks may be used without prior permission - provided that the rules in our Trademark Usage Guide are followed.
I better get some karama for this dammit
"`Ford, you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.'" -THHGTTG
So he can't buy it....
Maybe Larry Ellison?
Bitcoin pyramid: Join here: http://www.bitcoinpyramid.com/r/1427 it's FREE!
OK,
unix.com is cool. Registering is much cooler. And then, what?
You don't get much traffic with just a cool domain name. You have to use marketing!
And with marketing you can push any domain name. If the domain name isn't cool, marketing will make it cool.
It is not of such great importance what you or I think it is worth. The people who matter are the people selling it. If I understand Ebay correctly, you can set the initial value and/or reserve price. I would love to know what is the reserve price they are setting for it. If it had not been /.ed, it probably would have never met their (arrogant?) reserve.
/.ed, it will probably be hard to tell what it finally goes for. Remember the company selling the Russian subs? They were so swamped with phony bids after the publicity they got, that it was hard to nail down a serious bidder. I bet the current owners will be unhappy with whatever result they get.
Now that it has been
-L
I see your Eagle wagon and raise you one AMC Pacer hatchback with ...wait, that doesn't need elaboration. It's blue.
[|]
Now I'm sitting here with $400,000 burning a hole in my pocket, and no website for me and my kind!
D'oh!
:o)
Got Rhinos?
I've never done it, so I can't say for sure. However, I will say that in general cyber-squatters are seen as lower forms of life. The fact that you've owned & used your domain for some time will be lost on those who villify cyber-squatters.
:-)
I know that with my two domain names, dolnick.com and famille.org, I've had groups e-mail me accusing me of cyber-squatting (even though I run legit public web pages on them) simply because they wanted the name. Some French company even roundaboutly offered to open their wallet for famille.org.
Me, I probably wouldn't sell them. If I really had to sell them, I would probably try doing an e-bay auction and give the proceeds to charity, and clearly advertise that fact. Even if you need the money, you could say something like 50% of the proceeds go to charity. You get a nice tax write-off and then you can even post your auction on Slashdot with a good conscience! (Who knows, maybe Rob will post your story twice...
-- "In order to have power, I must be taken seriously." -Mojo Jojo
Well, he registered this thing in 1993. I should hope no lawyer could come around and say he all of the sudden can't sell a site that he's had for that long.
Registrant:
unix.com inc. (UNIX-DOM)
218 Cherokee Road
Hendersonville, TN 37075
Domain Name: UNIX.COM
Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
Bass, Tim (TB7)
....
Record last updated on 04-Jan-1997.
Record expires on 19-Nov-2000.
Record created on 18-Nov-1993.
Database last updated on 23-Apr-2000 20:00:32 EDT.
Domain servers in listed order:
NS.SILKROAD.COM 198.133.151.18
NS.CAIS.COM 205.177.10.10
I'm almost positive that SCO has licensed rights for use of the term Unix from the Open Group or its precedessors. SCO bought UnixWare from Novell, Novell bought UnixWare from AT&T who originally owned the trademark for and SVR* implementation of UNIX. Novell owned the trademark and transferred it to the Open Group, if I recall correctly, while retaining the right to use it in their own product. I would imagine that that right was transferred to SCO with the sale of UnixWare.
UnixWare *would* violate the trademark if it weren't already licensed from the OpenGroup. But SCO almost certainly does have such a license.
--LP
Remember when some dillweed bought "business.com" for US$7,500,000? Whatever happened to that mental giant?
- Have a picture
Heh. Sorry, last one left at the time. ;>
I might give it up for $400K... ;>
beginning of '99, on the unix.com web site, they had their, then current, asking price posted. it was $30,000.
i won't be surprised to see two zeros tacked onto that price when it sells on eBay.
-- ken williams
What potential use would this domain have outside of the obvious corporate use? I can't imagine that any group besides a unix-related company will win the bid.
Devolver's Homepage... more fun than a box of crackerjacks.
I wouldn't pay more than 50 cents for a site I can't get to.
With Windows Millenium MS was able to get the boot time down to 25 seconds.
134340: I am not a number. I am a free planet!
What you REALLY want is multics.org. It's available and waaaaay more geeky than unix.com.
For the old time COBOL monkeys out there, primeOS.com is available. I think there are ~6 prime boxes still in operation, so there's a built in audience.
If you want to go head to head with taco and hemos, I suggest ampersanddot.org. It's free as well. &., how cool is that?
--Shoeboy
I'll give you $70 for amazing.com and not a penny more.
Why on earth would you *want* to sell it?
Pope
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
Eight Dollars My Man! Eight Dollars!
That was funny, IMO.
Since Unix is copyrighted, too bad you can't register *nix.com.
SV
I patented screwing your mom. But it got revoked for "prior art."
Also, we're reading more and more how e-business IPO's arn't automatic cash cows any more. Fidelity isn't even taking IPO meetings any more because the market is so weird.
So, we may very well be beyond the point where a domain name alone, no matter how cool, is worth millions. Besides, ask yourself this "Which big company would benifit more by owning this domain rather than using the domain name they already have?" Those kinds of companies already have recognizable domain names. UNIX.COM is so generic that it's branding value just might not be that strong.
Hear that sound? It's zeros dropping off of the price tag.
Anyone remember year2000.com and the big deal over that putz's eBay auction? He sold his name for $10 mil; there were tons of press stories over "highest amount paid for a domain name ever." Then he found out that every bid was either retracted or an outright joke. Doesn't look like it's sold yet, judging by the stale y2k scare hype that's still up there.
The same thing will happen here. If unix.com sells, it will be privately. I wouldn't be surprised if this was just an elaborate publicity stunt to drum up interest from serious buyers, and not the bid-kiddies on eBay.
1. UNIX is copyrighted by the Open Group, so anybody who buys unix.com is screwed.
2. Domain names want to be free and selling them is nothing more than taking advantage of the system.
Does anybody but me see a problem here? I mean, these comments are pretty much the summary of any comments on Slashdot. Somebody posts something and all you amateur lawyers come popping out of the woodwork spewing buzzwords that you don't even understand! Honestly...who knows how much it will go for or if it's even sellable? And, for that matter, who cares? Maybe the Open Group...maybe Union Metals Company...maybe Industria del Vestido...maybe Unix Systems Laboratories...maybe AT&T...maybe Rodenstock USA, Inc...but how in the world could it make a difference to anybody here?
And so what if somebody is making a buck or two off the domain name? VA Linux Systems paid a bunch of money for linux.com. I guess that it was OK, though, because they guy who sold it took care to make sure that it went to the "right people".
Everybody wants to make buck. But I swear, you'd think that Slashdot was a breeding ground for socialism if you gave many of the comments you read much credence. Maybe the real deal is that everybody should be allowed to make a buck after I make a buck.
Sheesh. This has turned into a rant. Don't take my word for it, take a look at the comments you see on the site. And, for that matter, take a look at that last 10 or 15 "Ask Slashdot" questions. Maybe the default answer ought to be, "Talk to your lawyer, 'cause if you take the advice you find here, you'll be in BIG trouble!"
OK, rant mode off.
=h=
Unix is a registered trademark of the Open Group. That organization could pretty much demand that it be turned over, thanks to the new cybersquatting law: someone is clearly attempting to profit by selling someone else's trademark.
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem& item=312362434
But the cybersquatting law makes them broader. unix.com can be seized by the Open Group as soon as they ask for it. It's not even a close thing.
Trademarks are very iffy in my book andthey really piss me off . especially when people trademark other peoples work or word then cash in on their invention. I think I am going to trademark every word in the dictionary then make a fortune by suing publishing companys for trademark infridgement ($5 dollars for every time they use the work "the"). I know it doesn't work that way but still trademarking anything that you didn't do first just really pisses me off.. anyway I think I am, probibly missing a few legal aspects of it but please tell me what is stopping me from doing the fore amentioned plan.
Is it OK to call GNU/Linux and *BSD "UNIX-like" systems? It seems that NetBSD is ripping off the GNU tagline.
Will I retire or break 10K?
Well, the UNIX trademark has been `owned' by various people since UNIX really started. AT&T, Novell, now it's X/Open that owns the trademark. It's not like they acquired it illegally or unfairly. Any trademark-related issues arisen from someone other than X/Open owning it should be expected.
There was no reason to put quotes around the word owned in that last post. They really do own it.
Fortunately, I don't think anyone who seriously looked at my situation would consider me a cyber squatter. I got the name in 1994, before anyone had even heard of cybersquatting. amazing.com also doesn't map to any specific company or type of business; since it's an ordinary English word there are no trademark issues.
I normally wouldn't want to sell the name, but at the same time when the values of these things are getting close to otherwise hopelesslly unaffordable Malibu real estate, it looks like a tempting proposition.
You can see the content that currently resides under amazing.com at http://207.8.214.218 .
D
----
12 federal injunctions
11 threatening emails
10 lawyers following me
9 appeals denied
8 subponeas daily
7 counts of theft
6 orders to surrender
5 in-dict-ments!
4 phone calls per minute.
3 wifes-a-leaving
2 bankruptcies filed
and a frog suited federal marshall at the door!
While I'm not on the up-and-up with this new cybersquatting law, wouldn't this just not make sense AT ALL? The Open Group asks for unix.com and then someone else who has a rightful trademark to it asks for unix.com and then it would just swap back and forth or what? The government does a ton of stupid things, especially relating to technology, but this just seems absurd...shed some light?
Chris Hagar
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." - Thomas Jefferson
But then, isn't there a mexican company (or european?) diaper company that has a trademark on "UNIX" for diapers?
Who wins the suit then?
My dad has had www.screaming.com since early '94. It's mainly used for e-mail. But, an ISP opened in England at www.screaming.net. Bad part is most people forget the difference between .net and .com so thank god for email filters. As if spam was bad enough, imagine getting span meant for 1000 different people. Anyways, some day screaming.net will won't our screaming.com so hopefully when that day comes they will make us rich. So someday someone will want amazing.com and they will contact you. I've gotten inquires for screaming, but nothing serious yet. But time will tell. Plus as time goes on domains are worth more. Well, maybe not www.news97.com
Hollow words will burn and hollow men will burn.
This is just an off-topic thought..
..What if someone were to rig up a script that checked a list of 'desireable' domain names and alerted the desiree when they became availiable.. You could rig it to page you on your wireless palm when one popped up.. does something like this exist?
What about all those names that become availiable when someone doesn't renew?
Funky hack for all those potential squatters..
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air and light and time and space
The reason you see all that in the Trademark Guide is that they want to keep Unix their trademeark. more to the point, if everyone uses the word "unix" as a generic term for all types of similiar os's (like BSD, Linux, etc) then it becames unenforcable as a trademark. Just like making a xerox copy :)
:)
Or asking for a kleenex
Since "Unix" is a registered trademark of The Open Group, couldn't X/Open then sue the domain holder for domain squatting? It seems like a pretty straightfoward case, since the TM preceeds the registration of the name.
--JRZ
Rob, quit benefitting the cybersquatters.
I'd pay exactly $100 for amazing.com
You can't handle the truth.
Or were you thinking of the Elton John version?
Weird how someone with an obvious domain name like that still hasn't gotten a site up and running...
Episode 1.
....they'll be selling unix.com on ebay... ..hmm..brrR.klanc.I've got an idea about this..
intercepted phonecall 2 days ago somethere in Redmond
Transmission start.
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Episode 2.
new unix.com
The actual owner of the UNIX trademark is The Open Group (a UK based consortium of UNIX vendors). I suspect that they will indeed be interested.
Okay ... I have looked ... maybe I am a little dense or something ... but unix.com is NOT listed on ebay ...
... http://search-desc.ebay.com/search/search.dll?MfcI SAPICommand=GetResult&query=unix&categor yid=&ht=1&st=0&category2=3767&srchdesc=y&maxRecord sPerPage=100&SortProperty=MetaEndSort
In NONE of the posts or the original story post has there been a link to where on ebay that the domain is being auctioned. Nor does ebay have a listing of it
I'm probably going to be marked down as a troll for this, but really, should the story have been submitted without even including a link to the ebay auction?
My $0.02
Rob
I need more sleep or caffiene ... :(
Oh, there are plenty of them.
I just wanted guidance as to which one was best.
Best
D
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