Slashdot Mirror
The Neverending Sex.com Story
fwc writes "This has to be the story which will never end. Back in 1996, Steven Cohen "stole" sex.com from its original owner (Gary Kremen) by forging a letter to Network Solutions asking for the domain to be transferred to him. Subsequently Kremen sued to get the domain name returned. Through what seemed to be a neverending parade of lawsuits and judgements (Documented on slashdot here, here, here and here, and also in several other places), Kremen finally got his domain back and Cohen was ordered to pay $65 million in damages. In the latest twist, Cohen is asking the US Supreme Court to overturn the verdict of the lower courts by claiming that he owned the sex.com trademark prior to Kremen registering the domain. This should prove interesting since it looks like the filing at the USPTO occured two years after the domain was originally registered."
Saddam and OBL are still on the loose.
North Korea is doing a little nuclear dance, with Pakistan and India waiting in the wings and Iran putting on its dancing shoes.
Isreal and the Palestinians are murdering each other daily at the drop of a hat.
Children in parts of Central Africa are being sold into slavery to fight for a rebel army, who like to slaughter civilians.
Millions die of disease, malnutrition every hour of every day.
Bush and Blair get nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for starting a war.
Millions of American citizens have no Health Care coverage and can't afford even basic medications.
Thousands of American citizens have had their rights trampled by the Patriot Act.
With these kinds of injustices going on all over the world and in the US, the US justice system, courts and resources are being used up by two idiots who have been fighting for 8 years over the words "sex.com"? One guy has even been awarded $65 million USD for wasting the time, money and resources of the US Judicial System all the way up to the Supreme Court!
Am I the only one who thinks this is just plain wrong? Stupid? Couldn't any of that public money (incurred by the courts for providing courtrooms, reporters, etc) be better spent?
Let me tell you, as a non-American who has lived close enough to the US all my life (about 15 KM) to have observed this, this is the reason the US is disliked and even hated in many parts of the world. Not individual American citizens mind you, but American culture and especially various American governments, especially Republican administrations. Outside the US you are seen as a petty, greedy society that only cares about yourself and are willing to use all your military and economic might to back it up. Kinda like the school yard bully...
Fair or unfair, that is the perception beyond the land of the stars and stripes. And this entire story, in all it's sordid detail, only backs up that perception.
In the first world, we outside the US just shake our heads in disgust and wonder at such things. In the third world, they throw stones, pick up guns and drive trucks full of explosives when they hear about this (especially if they are living under a repressive regime and their children are starving). So when there is a "next time", don't act surprised...
I hate to be harsh, but as a friend and a cousin, just thought you'd like to know.....
Never by hatred has hatred been appeased, only by kindness - the Buddha
ah-ha, a rabid rfc-ignorant.org user, I presume?