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Microsoft Agrees Settlement Over MikeRoweSoft.com

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the all's-fair-in-love-and-war dept.

GillBates0 writes "CNN's reporting that Microsoft Corp has settled with Mike Rowe, persuading the teenager to give up his domain name in exchange for costs of changing the existing domain to a new Web site, Microsoft certification training, an Xbox, an invitation to a technology festival at Redmond and some other gifts. Includes a choice quote from Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler: 'We wanted to do this in a way that's going to foster his interest in technology'. Mike had received a 25-page letter from Microsoft informing him he was committing copyright infringement, and threatening legal action, as reported earlier on Slashdot."

9 of 689 comments (clear)

  1. Trademark, not Copyright by Ezubaric · · Score: 2, Informative


    If you make someone think that you are someone else by using their logo/name, that's trademark violation. If you copy the site itself, that's copyright violation.

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    I am an expert in electricity. My father held the chair of applied electricity at the state prision.
    1. Re:Trademark, not Copyright by 10101001+10101001 · · Score: 2, Informative

      You and others keep bugging with the idea that it was a trademark violation. Guess what? It was neither. Trademark corresponds to a very limited set of things, almost always a company name associated with a product if a field. That's why there can be two companies named Apple, one who makes pies and the other computers.

      Now, MikeRoweSoft is a company name, but not even a copy of the Microsoft name. Nor is it associated with any products. The fact is, at best MikeRoweSoft could be claimed to be a derivative work of the name Microsoft (same pronunciation, different spelling). Of course, it's ludicrous to believe one can copyright a single word. Why do you and others think it's any less ludicrious to trademark a single word? Or do we never see knock-off G-ello on the store shelves?

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      Eurohacker European paranoia, gun rights, and h
  2. Confusingly similar by BreadMan · · Score: 4, Informative

    Here are the rules for trademarking names and infringement. This is written for a non-laywer, so the english is fairly free of jargon.

    The commonly quoted case is that of LEXUS the law archival and search company and Toyota who wanted to use the same name of thier luxury division. LEXUS sued and lost.

  3. So when are they going after THIS guy? by samdu · · Score: 2, Informative

    BetterWhoIs Domain Search

    At least this Mike Rowe dude could make an argument that it was his fricking name.

  4. Re:He's got a great chance to make something of th by AndroidCat · · Score: 2, Informative
    If that's what he wanted, then good. Now he'll get the question "Are you that Mike Rowe?" for years to come. That's got to be worth something!

    Best of all, if he acts fast he might be able to swipe a better domain in a week or so:

    whois -h whois.godaddy.com mikerowe.com
    Registrant:
    Mike Rowe
    P.O. Box 1196
    Pasco, Washington 99301
    United States

    Registered through: GoDaddy.com
    Domain Name: MIKEROWE.COM
    Created on: 07-Feb-02
    Expires on: 07-Feb-04
    Last Updated on: 07-Feb-03
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    One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
  5. This is a NON-STORY--here's why by bonch · · Score: 5, Informative

    Once established, a trademark must be "policed" to maintain rights. If you allow your mark to become synonymous with others' goods or services, you run the risk that your trademark rights will be lost because the name may be deemed to have become "generic" and, thereby no longer identifies a source, but a good or service available from several sources.

    From http://www.mit.edu:8001/activities/e-club/8.html

  6. I smell a rat by dickiedoodles · · Score: 2, Informative

    Call me cynical if you must but this smells of a rat to me. I doubt that anyone who registered a domain so similar to a huge corporations trademark could claim utter surprise when Microsoft got involved in this however right or wrong that involvement was.

    I think there is a strong possibility that Mike Rowe planned this all along, what did he have to lose? If it came down to it he could surrender the domain and he's lost $10, once they have the domain Microsoft have no reason to push for anything else.

    On the other hand he could enrage Microsoft run to the media and make it look like the big bad guy is squashing the little tiny guy and seeing if Microsoft caved and gave him free stuff, he seems to of got lots of traffic to his site(along with a nice little money making banner advert) and according to the article Microsoft are going to pay to redirect his traffic so whatever he renames it to is likely to is likely to be more successful then it would have been had none of this ever happened. Also when you think about it mikerowesoft is a really lame name.

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    In Soviet Russia Slashdot cliches use you
  7. Copyright? by aonaran · · Score: 2, Informative

    Um, unless I missed something what the kid did was trademark infringement, not copyright infringement.
    He wasn't putting pirated MS software on his site, and I just missed that part, was he?

    "MicroSoft" is a trademark, not a piece of literature or other artistic work.

  8. Nissan Soft by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Nissan -The auto goys are suing Nissan.com -a Jewish computer company named after the owner's last name which is a Hebrew word.