Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Agrees Settlement Over MikeRoweSoft.com
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."
Kid sold out!
How exactly does one agree a settlement? Isn't that a bit like setting up someone the bomb?
You are not the customer.
"Microsoft pulls stick out of ass... finds it makes for better PR when carrot is tied to it"... I smell an innovation patent coming.
Cheap bastards could'nt give him a decent console like a PS2 or GC... now the poor canadian guy is stuck on Halo all day!!!!
MSCE training? Jesus, I didn't know they were going to be that hard on him
I am one of many. My idea is not unique, nor do I expect my voice alone to sway you. I speak in a chorus of opinion.
I hope he takes the free publicity & does something good with it. If he can handle this gracefully and turn it into something positive, he can end up being seen doing so by the right people, and turn it into a good opportunity for himself.
Or, he can stay in his room and play with the new Xbox, that's OK too I suppose.
Don't forget the, "I got sued by Microsoft and all I got was this stupid shirt" t-shirt :)
Sounds like Microsoft realized they were getting bad press, so bought him out with.. you guessed it, Microsoft freebie products. Now bad press turns into Microsoft product marketing. Those guys are brilliant in Redmond. Grrr...
Best Community for Gaming and Gadgets!
Should have asked them to donate to the Mozilla group or buy you a lifetime license to SUSE Enterprise server!
Hard to say what to do, they can exert some pressure.
Congrats on getting more then their original offer!
-m
http://www.invisik.com
'We wanted to do this in a way that's going to foster his interest in technology'
Then what the hell is he going to do with a Microsoft cert?
Wonder if it's got a mod chip?
...I'm sorry, that was just plain wrong.
666-607: 6th floor apartment of the beast
I would have thought the Microsoft would have wanted some change to the name of the company too? Surely the same problems will arise if he's still calling his business/site Mike Rowe Soft or whatever?
Well hell, if companies are going to do this I think I'll register the following names (not checked for existence)
.. I'll just start an entertainment center based on freebies from companies' domain "settlements"
sohnee.com
nintendough.com
mycrowsoft.com
They should have left this guy alone. They've just paved the way for more abuse.
[DISCLAIMER: This post is a work of satire and should not be misconstrued as a holy text upon which to base a religion.]
Now, that worked out well for him (I suppose)
Though, he should have know that the Red's were out of bullets. Then he could have traded away his pacifist medic! I hope he got bill gates to admit he likes ribbons in his hair and that he wants to kiss all the guys on the blue side.
Yes Francis, the world has gone crazy.
Is that all it takes to get a free XBox? Register a bunch of Microsoft rip off domains? I guess I have something to do this afternoon after all.
- Nicholas
www.hackerintel.com
I doubt his nice MCSE will help him get a job :)
This is a good way out for both parties, really. While I don't dig Microsoft going after anyone for a domain name, it's a known tactic to squat on "near miss" domains. Usually the speculators aren't bright eyed 17 year old kids, and that tactic would be suitable for the usual bottom feeders. In this case though, where they clearly want to quash that domain, but not cripple some poor teenager, I like this.
Luck favors the prepared, darling.
He's only 17.
Let him have his XBox fun, and some college life to go with it. If he should focus on being all business now at that age, he might grow to regret it later in his life.
But I agree: it's a chance to build some positive ties that he can use to network his way into a job after college.
-Cyc
/.'s 10 Millionth
He should have held out for way more. On the other hand, this kid didn't strike me as all that withit in the first place.
He who knows not and knows he knows not is a wise man. He who knows not and knows not he knows not is a fool.
I have never forgiven my parents for naming me Windows Crashes Too Much Jones.
Mike also is working feverishly to put together a new Web site, his father said.
He has seen the light! Onward to get a GameCube (www.ninetendo.com) and a PlayStation (www.soknee.com)?
He'll mod the X-box and run linux on it.
You like your new Mac more than you like me, don't you, Dave? Dave? I asked...She said Yes.
Call me devil's advocate, or whatever, but being as this kid obviously made a website of such a name as to bait and/or parody Microsoft, and then microsoft turns around and basicalyl rewards him for said baiting....is this really the message people ought to be getting?
If you can't see the value in jet powered ants you should turn in your nerd card. - Dunbal (464142)
Microsoft certification training, an Xbox, an invitation to a technology festival at Redmond...
Where you are on the Windows-Linux continuum will dictate how you see this. Also, the trolling possibilities are just endless - "MCSE pwnx0rs!!!11", etc...
Gotta love that quote from Mr. Desler, though! Means to an end, indeed!
GTRacer
- Wouldn't mind an Xbox and a broadband pipe to play it on
Defending IP by destroying access to it? That makes sense, RIAA/MPAA. Go to the corner until you can play nice!
such a shame... what the hell did M$ see in his URL that scared them? No one would ever type that in tto get to microsoft.com, not even illiterate monkeys.
'mmmmmmmmm.... forbidden donut'
I'm just wondering if this is really legal infringement only because it happens to sound like microsoft? I can't beleive the court even wasted its time with this case.
Can't this just open the door for others to sue based on remote similarities to copyrighted material or trademarks?
I'm going to register mizzlesizzle.com, and see if Microsoft, with help from Snoop Dogg, sues me for copyright infringement.
Ed R.Zahurak
You know, oblivion keeps looking better every day.
I love my crow because he's so cuddly and soft. I have registered this domain to show him off to the world.
I think Mike should have pumped Microsoft for a lot more. Like a free Harvard education. Lifetime supply of Mountain Dew. Jenna Jameson dream date. To hell with that MCSE non-sense. Give him something he could use.
<sig>no sig</sig>
'We wanted to do this in a way that's going to foster his interest in technology'.
...
Naaaaaah, too easy.
<grrr>
The kid is clever. I'm glad that MS relented, despite the fact MS knew they would win in court. Mike Rowe - Although we will forget all about you in like 3 months, good luck!
what? what I thought we were in the trust tree in the nest, were we not?
Shouldn't that be foster his interest in Microsoft?
I mean come on, an X-box? An MCSE course? And I bet the migration to another webserver has to be to IIS and all.
Obligatory Simpsons quote:
Bill Gates: I didn't get rich writing checks. <Says to thugs:> Now buy him out boys.
<Thugs break pencils, tip over desk.>
IMO, microsoft was offering too little and mike rowe was asking too much at first, but at least things got settled out of court and peacefully... mike rowe gets a ton of good stuff, and microsoft gains control over a potential parody domain name...
I could do with that. :)
I mean, a free (right?) MSCE certification course, an Xbox.
Not that I fully agree with Microsoft even making this much of a problem out of this whole case, but I think this settlement is quite good for both parties. 8)
-raz
"I shoot troubles with a jackhammer"
Just shows how hard bad PR can hit ya. Like everyone said amazing that it is all free MS stuff. I like the free training, while they are there how about pitching in to pay for the test you guys. Would it not be cool to see this kid turn in to a white hat linux hacker after all the free stuff. oh well I'm glad he won his lottery, and I hope he doesn't get blacklisted from any future jobs that deal with MS.
This SIG pulled due to lack of funding. (This damn war is costing too much!)
I'm pretty sure you'd see it on ebay soon...
The kid didn't sell out, he was already a Microsoft droid, his whole defensive strategy was MS based. He's got a future at MS!
I guess its news that a kid got some free-isht out of Microsoft... (including his legal fees), so that makes Microsoft better than the RIAA, but... this boils down to "individual transfers URL to company for some money." Is this really that newsworthy?
In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
If you want to foster someone's interest in technology, don't you show them Linux?
How far does this extend? Sure, you can sue phonetic copies, but what if someone makes a macrohard.com? Is that infringement as well? Or maybe micrsoft.com, or some other creative misspelling... What are the boundaries for this type of suit?
------- "A true friend stabs you in the front." -Eliot
Master Rowe gets a nice toy or two, and has a career track ahead of him.
In the end, everyone smiles but the lawyers. Good.
This is my post. There are many others like it. If you don't like what you read here, go try one of the others.
There's just no other forum to ask a question like this
Then make such a forum for yourself. Write your question in your journal, open it for comments, and then link it in your Slashdot sig.
at least Microsoft values good publicity more than the perverse pleasure of beating the crap out of a student. Actually, the whole thing is kinda funny. An Xbox? Why not just give him a bag of heroin and some junkie certification training.
M
I've posted about this before. I totally agree. I'd love to see a story about what is/has been going on with goatse.cx. I think it's totally suitable for a yro story. Much more important than this kid.
Support the First Amendment. Read at -1
I wouldn't have given the domain name up. If I put my name into a domain name or any other name, it's my name, and I can choose to use it how I want to. Mike Rowe Soft is a great name for a company, and anyone could have validly created a company with that name.
It seems the kid was only interested in money, not the principle. In theory if my last name is 'Book' and my wife's last name is 'Rizzoli', and she hyhenates her name, she would be 'Rizzoli Book'. Just like the actual Rizzoli Books company.
Should someone give up a domain name in those circumstances? No way.
http://github.com/gbook/nidb
He should have taken the first offer of $10. Atleast, that would have been worth something rather than the crap he got.
If you make someone think that you are someone else by using their logo/name, that's trademark violation. If you copy the site itself, that's copyright violation.
----------
I am an expert in electricity. My father held the chair of applied electricity at the state prision.
More like "keep him from fostering an interest in law" am I rite?
This is a good point, considering how much of an impact goatse.cx has on /. postings, you'd think this would be more important to the readers. Of course if they're not reporting on it {insert conspiracy theory here}.
Of course I started a chain of emails to try to get them to start using a Gentoo topic icon (since they have em for all of the other distros, including Caladra) to no avail. I sometimes wonder who's running the show around here.
CB
free ipod and free gmail!
Hmm so does this mean I can get a free xbox for any of these?
mikerowsohft.com
miycrohsoft.com
miicroesouft.com
miekroezopht.com
had he not gone for the 10000$ bounty first, he could have kept his domain AFAIK. from what i remember, in canada you can have a company named after yourself (ie your name is Doug McDonald, you could have a company including McDonald in its name)
unless they can prove you are acting in bad faith (a fast food chain named McDonald and Sons)
What I don't understand is why Microsoft didn't do this from the beginning. They send a legal threat and find out they're dealing with some kid. Instead of turning around to sue the hell out of the kid if they had just offered this from the beginning there would never have been any story and this would be a complete non-issue.
Serious question: The original Slashdot story said copyright too, but I followed all the links and couldn't find anything copyright related at any of them. It looks like the area of law involved here is trademarks, not copyright.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
i'm suprised the collective didn't demand he legally change his name as part of the "settlement"... LOL
"why don't you just slip into something more comfortable...like a coma!"
I mean, this kid could have it all, and he got a penny compared to all the money that microsoft is worth. He should of atleast asked for something more expensive. Who needs MCSE when you can have your own private spaceship.
Will these Gifts count as income and would he be requried to pay taxes on them and effectively pay Micorsoft, who will write off the gifts on their taxes, to lose his domain name?
I make my face look like this and concerned words come out.
I am changing my name to Winifred Dowes (the fact I am male is not relevant!). All my friends will now call me Win, please.
My new Domain is gonna be WinDowesHome.com
Will I get any games with my x-box?
Going on means going far
Going far means returning
Why can Microsoft do this when the White House can't sue Whitehouse.com?
He did not commit copyright infringement, his parents did!
What copyright infringement? Was he illegally copying Microsoft software? Trademark != copyright.
Yes, he had a nifty "parody" domain registered. And yes, he'd probably have been whupped in court over it. A lot of folks so far are griping that he got Micro$oft stuff -- cert course, XBox, etc. -- but what do we expect Micro$oft to be giving away? SCO licenses? Some folks are even speculating that he will be doomed to an IIS hosting service, even though we don't know if MikeRoweSoft.com was a horrific FrontPage mess to begin with... I think somebody at MS finally saw that the heavy-handed approach was not the best route to take with a 17 year old. They turned it into a PR win. And I think Mike Rowe would say it was a win-win.
"Obviously, I'm not an IBM computer any more than I'm an ashtray" (Bob Dylan)
Hmmm, perhaps satiric speech is protected speech?
So how far would they be allowed to go if his full name was Mike Rowesoft? What limit do we put on the price of preventing so-called consumer confusion?
Is that all it takes to get a free XBox? Register a bunch of Microsoft rip off domains?
Almost. You have to register a bunch of potentially Microsoft rip-off domains to which you have a legitimate claim. Being named Mike Rowe and having "soft" (as in "software") be a generic term for computer programs apparently counts for a lot to defeat a trademark claim in court, or Microsoft would not have offered such a generous settlement. This case sets a (non-binding) precedent: If the concatenation of your real name plus a product or service you plan to provide sounds like the name of a Fortune 500 company or one of its products, and you register that concatenation in the .com or .net space, you're likely to earn a big settlement.
I didn't know Microsoft is sooooooooo powerful that it can change the rules of federal statutes to accomodate it's interests WITHOUT going to court. This is not copyright infringement.
Jax
You'd be surprised at the number of businesses that get set up with the primary goal of trying to goad a larger company into buying them.
Most of the dot coms, for that matter, were set up to gain market share, then to sell the company.
Often research initiatives are done by setting up a company. They do the research, then selling the company, patents etc., if the results are good. Building a company who's only product is the company is often the best way to jump start an idea.
I hope Microsoft learned this lesson: Abusive behavior often fails. Responsible, friendly negotiating often succeeds.
Someone at Microsoft, who was intent on doing things the abusive way, bought Microsoft perhaps $10,000,000 worth of bad publicity. Will he reimburse the company from his paycheck?
Used to be BSD...
http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph/?host=www.m
If he should focus on being all business now at that age, he might grow to regret it later in his life.
Yeah, look at Michael Jackson
Three weeks ago he was a web developer with a few sample sites and a small little posting about his troubles with Microsoft. Now at his site its plastered with advertisements, and he's no longer developing web sites. Its a place for gamers and geeks, but not slashdot style. Weird what success will do to you. Luckily though he seems like a nice guy and is giving his donations for the lawyer to a charity. Its still amazing to see how something like this can change your life. Right now he has something like 5000 people playing games, on his forums, and just browsing his sight. That's impressive.
Regards,
Steve
Some PR guy at Microsoft probably said, "Choose your battles, why take a 17 year old to court? Give him an Xbox and become the good guys"
Smart move on Microsoft's part
_________ Help me get a PSP!
Hmm...there've been a lot of comments about Rowe selling out to Microsoft and caving into corporate bribery and pressure, but what would he truly have gained by keeping his website?
:-P
Don't get me wrong, lord knows I'm no fan of Microsoft, but...really the only value of that domain in particular was the humor of the name. He could very easily migrate his files to another site, keep everything he had from the previous site, and maybe host it on his Xbox after he installed Linux and Apache on it
And while an MCSE isn't my first certification of choice, are not all opportunities for gaining knowledge opportunities to be taken advantage of? At the very least, having an MCSE would help him to "know the enemy."
Just this geek's $0.02 worth of food for thought.
Help protect civil rights from abuse by the TSA - visit TSA News Blog.
http://www.tsanewsblog.com
Give up the domain. Great. So Microsoft still gives the poor kid the shaft. There's no violation here. Personally, I'd tell Microsoft to shove it up its ass.
MCSE training? Did he really commit such a heinous act to warrant this kind of attrition? Seriously, how about training AND testing?
Buncha bullshit IMHO. I guess he should start taking rides from strangers who offer him candy, too.
Sorry. Shove it, Microsoft. This poor kid is no harm to you, and neither is his domain. And this "settlement" might be a great way to turn him against you forever.
I know he's 17. I know he has his who life in front of him. I know he can't afford the costs of doing battle with Microsoft (few can, individuals and corporations alike). I know I'm not in his shoes and I might see thing differently if I was. I know all of this, and much more that points to this being the right decision for him, indeed, being the ONLY decision he really could have made.
But I just can't shake the feeling that this amounts to selling out and nothing more.
I mean, let me ask this question... is there any one out there that thinks this truly is legitimate copyright infringement? The only point in favor of that I can think of is that he said he wanted people to think he was associated in some way with Microsoft (I forget his exact words, but that's the gist of it). But that one point aside, is similar pronunciation copyright infringement?
Look, IANAL, naturally, and maybe there's precedent that says it in fact is. If so, end of story I suppose, and I'm wrong. But if there's not, if certainly seems like a worth-wild battle to fight in my opinion. I mean, you've got to draw a line against the darkness somewhere, to paraphrase a beloved captain, and although this isn't the world against terrorism or anything, it's still something worse fighting for I think.
If for no other reason than to not like Microsoft bully everyone they want without any thought of being wrong, that's enough of a reason!
I know, I know... 17... whole life in front of him... etc.. etc.. etc...
Still, I can't shake the feeling that the word sellout applies all too well.
If a pion (n-) collides with a proton in the woods & noone is there to hear it, does lamdba decay into the source pa
Off topic, but I noticed that the Slashdot ad servers are slow today. Before the ad appears it says, "Ads are broken." Is that the official OSDN corporate position?
Way to go, dude. You had your five minutes of net.fame, people on the net heard about your phlight, backed you up and sent thousands of dollars your way in order to help you fight the litigious Beast's gorilla attorneys wanting to steal your rightful property. You should have held on! Instead, you just roll over on your back like a sheep and let them bribe you with trinkets. An X-box and a couple of coupons. Ya big loser! You're nothing but a sellout, and Microsoft's henchmen will now ramp up their efforts instead of backing off from such lawsuits and legal threats. No respect. Dipshit.
This was in 1996, I was 14, and I registered gamespotlight.com. I then e-mailed gamespot.com and asked them if they had a problem with it, and they said in fact they did (I was surprised for some reason). They offered to pay me to transfer the domain name, and rather than taking the money, I just did it for free: back then internic let you transfer domains because of trademark disputes for free.
The good deed was graciously recieved. After meeting up with some of the guys at E3, GameSpot then offered me a paid summer internship in San Francisco when I was 16.
Bam! Those were the good ol' days.
- Philosopistry
Philosophistry
Never before has the Borg icon for M$ stories been so appropriate.
--
make install -not war
Comment removed based on user account deletion
The conspiracy theorist side of my brain says this was the plan the entire time:
1. Register a domain name that sounds just like the largest software company
2. Get mentioned on slashot
3. Profit!!!
Please. This kid is receiving donations from all over in his paypal account, now he's getting bought out by Microsoft, getting some free training and other shit. Nice plan. Paid off nicely for him, I think.
"If there's hope, it lies in the proles..."
The question should be, is it modded? Damn, everyone I know owns one modded it. The emulators are the thing that make the XBox worth something...
"There is no teacher but the enemy."-Mazer Rackham
i hope his mom checks him for a freshly-shaved spot behind his ear when he gets back.
pr0n - keeping monitor glass spotless since 1981.
We bought him, just not for cash.
I'm sorry but that's just such a sad payment for a kids namesake and business identity. The kid should have stuck to his guns.
T Money
World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
You can buy xboxes with mod chip preinstalled for ~CA$400. Install XBOX Media Player and you have a good quality divx/xvid/vcd/svcd/dvd player that can read from the local DVD drive, hard disk or network. It can play DVD-R|RW copies of downloaded games too.
Trolling is a art,
Anyways, now that they're giving him a free X-Box... He's going to spend $50 a game. How much does that suck? I'm not a MS hater, but he had no reason to settle. He could have played this out in the media, but hey, he got free stuff in the end.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
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.
BetterWhoIs Domain Search
At least this Mike Rowe dude could make an argument that it was his fricking name.
His website didn't say anything defammatory against MS, he didn't make any claims that he was sponsored by, related to, etc. MS, and he's not trying to sell anything that takes away from MS's precious monopoly. Most importantly, there is no way that anyone looking for microsoft.com would accidentally type in mikerowesoft.com, nor would they ever get his web site from a search for "microsoft".
They originally offered him $10 for his domain. That is a slap in the face and must have given a few assholes at MS a good chuckle.
But what we should really worry about is how subjective these cases can be. If I open an animal hospital in southern Florida, can I call it Gator Aid? The sports drink manufacturer should really not give a damn about my hospital, but they most likely would. My last name sounds like Bose, the stereo makers. If I start a company or market a product or service, does that mean I can't use my name since it sounds like theirs? What are the rules on this stuff?
Gotta say, nice about face you little weasel.
His accepting this basically proves that MS was actually correct in accusing him of domain-squatting when he turned down their $10.
And here everyone was patting him on the back for standing up to these pressure tactics, but the second he accepts an XBox, well it's all ok now isn't it.
Can you smell the hypocrisy?...kinda tastes like chicken.
No Comment.
MS had no case, they had to yield or risk getting taken to the cleaners if he did go to court...
I mean honestly, can anyone explain why they care? Is it because they are afraid blind people using text to speech are not going to be able to tell the difference? I mean really....
McDonald's reports that its new "Honeymooner" happy meal will be cancelled due to legal threats from SCO.
"Look Lois, the two symbols of the Republican Party: an elephant, and a fat white guy who is threatened by change."
I myself being a highly trained at Microsoft products was what made me realixe just how plain stupid they are sometimes. Having knowledge in linux before i started training Windows 2000 server made me understand that linux does many things easier for an admin. Account management is a breeze in linux as opposed to the nightmare of managing domains, AD and security principles (barf!).
The more he reads about MS stuff the more the kid is going to understand that there are much better and faster ways of doing things.
Pople who tend to stay at the MS camp is often people who dont quite understand what happens behind the bells and whistles.
Typing this away at my 25th reboot installing a frigging client machine Running W2k after having installed a fully fledged Linux Terminal Server with 1 (one) reboot.
Aww, these moments make me appriciate the awkwardness of VI.
HTTP/1.1 400
Anyone who types MikeRoweSoft when they mean Microsoft is too dumb to be using a computer and the Internet anyway.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
"...an invitation to a technology festival at Redmond"
:-)
So he messed with the sacred IP os MS, dilluted it's brand name, passed as victim due a legal scam that the laweyrs take on him and now, due bad press, he got some gifts and all will be fine?
There is a lake or river near Redmond? I think that the guy will visit Jimmy Hoffa
Hell, when I lived in Nigeria, I had to pay more than that for 12 prositutes.
You would not get my domain name out of me without prying it out of my cold dead hands.
The kids these days, they have no balls.
So, in exchange for a domain name, poor Mike Rowe gets to be assimilated?
Probably already been posted, but I wonder how these guys are managing to survive.
The real reason Microsoft sued is because when you say "Microsoft" into their speech-to-text converter you get...
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
But be honest! if this had been Gentoo, SUSE or any other Linux oriented company, giving this kid crap lying around in the marketing department would have been applauded.
What the hell did you expect MS to give him?
Redhat certified engineering courses? A free G5 Powermac with Steve Jobs' Autograph?Get real! Finally MS is doing the right thing (TM) and you STILLwhine!
Now lets talk about XML patents!
Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
Mike Roe Soft is indeed a soundalike to mic-ro-soft, on this point you can not debate. It took me a second after reading it to make the sound connection, what the hell does Mike Roe have to do with Microsoft, who is this Mike Roe person, what the hell does Micro.. oh yea....
Hotmale.com is a much closer soundalike, and a hell of alot more likely to be a miss then mikeroesoft.com. Haven't you been in an office and had people yell "I was just checking my mail and I'm getting gay porn popups from hell".
Why doesn't Microsoft go after sites that offer gay porn rather then products for the microcomputer? After all... some people might be offended by gay porn popups from hell, and might learn to associate Microsoft's mail service with gay nakid men.
There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
Reminds me of the way MS pays their billion dollar judgements, by 'paying out' with virtual copies of Office and XP at retail prices. Or by 'paying out' with MS software to educational institutions, as a way to settle their monopoly on the education market. Costs nothing, extends and embraces.
Yeah, it's really a good deal for him and just the kind of motivation the next m1k3r05ft.com needs. It does pay to be a 17 year old kid getting beaten up on by a soon to be KBE.
Or, he can stay in his room and play with the new Xbox, that's OK too I suppose.
That's for after all the training, while he's waiting for someone to hire him.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
How about moving his website over to MyCrowSoft.com,or MikeRowsOft.com. How about MaiKuroSofutto.co.jp? Wonder if he still has dibs on .org, .net, .ca....?
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.
Twenty five pages? They'd get a one page response from me. It would read something like this: Dear Microsoft, Piss Off. Font size 72, of course.
I'd rather be a conservative nutjob than a liberal with no nuts and no job.
The lawyers still all got their paychecks at the end of the day too.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
Hmmm... seems to me that Microsoft got off cheap-a few trinkets for his name! Now just watch - they'll send him a refurbished Xbox!
Shmuck: "Hey look, this guy's got a clever domain"
Schmuck's manager: "This guy's ripping us off"
Schmuck's manager's manager: "This could ruin us, rake him over the coals, call legal"
Legal: "Hmmm... let's ask him to stop and see if he demands money"
Mike Rowe: "$10? Are you nuts? That's not worth the hassle, not for something like $10k would I do it"
Legal: "Congratulations, you're a cybersquatter, cease and desist or die."
Mike Rowe: "Wow, these guys suck, I'm going to the press."
Press: "Clippy slices 17-year old's jugular"
Microsoft PR: "Holy shit!, get Bill's lackey, get Legal!"
Bill's Lackey: "Geeze man, Legal, back off. PR, give the kid what any reasonable 17 year old would want for the hard work he's put into his domain. And throw in some extra stuff... not so much to make it profitable though."
Marketing: "and get some brands into the press"
And how they're putting kids they've settled with on TV and paying them for it (during the superbowl no less). They actually said it'll help the kids settle their legal fees. Glad microsoft is being so generous. I just hope the kid takes advantage of it while he can.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
I'm shanging my name to Slas H. Dot.
Ceci n'est pas une signature.
I wish my name was phonetically similar to Microsoft.
-Vendal Thornheart
Micro$oft never changes their mind, never yields to public outcry, no matter how outrageously far they might have overstepped any particular line. In fact, as a company they've always sort of delighted in the fact that they didn't have to make decisions based on practicality and expediency: they've always wanted to world (read, competitors) to understand that they will do what they want, when they want and to whom they wish to do it.
So, I think it's a pretty big thing when the Redmonster backs down, even over something this silly (and arguably, that they had no claim to in the first place). No, this is not like them apologizing to Apple for stealing-and-ruining their OS (or, to be fair, like Apple doing the same to Xerox-PARC) or changing their mind on just how hard it actually would be to de-couple the browser from the OS, but I think it's an indication of a subtle cultural shift. Maybe it was Ballmer's off-day?
In addition, I commend young Mr. Rowe for taking as much out of them as they'd give, even if their motives were PR-driven rather than a sincere wish to right a wrong. Besides, the more experience he gains with ASP/.NET, the more he'll realize he was smart to be heading in the direction of PHP to begin with. *snicker*
"Don't matter how New Age you get, old age is gonna kick your ass." - Utah Phillips
Yes, once again Gates shows why his icon is a cross between Davros and a Borg. That which he can't exterminate, he assimilates. Well, the kid had his 15 minutes and opted to make a deal with a demon rather then stick to his guns. Well, now that he is getting his- the least he can do is continue his move toward the darkside, migrating his pages to a microsoft server and swapping his php to asp. I can't blame Gates on this one, he does what he does and we know what he does. As for Mike Rowe, he received plenty of support and now we know what he does with it! A college education I could forgive, MSCE certification I can not!
This reminds me of a local resturaunt being sued by the "Friendly's" chain over name infringment. I wonder what protection people like Mike Rowe have from companies that can copyright the *sounds* of a name? Is there any way for a private citizen to use his or her name without fear of repurcussions?
If I could get a firm grip on reality, I'd choke it...
"Magnae clunes mihi placent, nec possum de hac re mentiri." LOL! Did you come up with that yourself ? (I just finished reading "Winnie Ille Pu")...
Troll. Even if you did register MikeRoweSoftOffice.com, that would be prima-facie evidence of intent to deceive, since your other domain is registered under a different name.
And the next three I checked weren't registered by anybody.
The Web is like Usenet, but
the elephants are untrained.
Let him have his XBox fun, and some college life to go with it. If he should focus on being all business now at that age, he might grow to regret it later in his life.
What, like Bill Gates, or Michael Dell? I doubt they regret their early moves into business ... let him decide for himself what gives him kicks .. one's only regret should be not pursuing what one wanted in life.
I bet he got his $10,000 bucks -- in addition to
the nicknacks.
The agreement says he isn't allowed to talk
so we'll never know.
I would not have changed it. Since the guy is using his own name I think he could have beaten MS. I am surprised MS did not make the guy change his name as well.
The guy is entitled to use his own name for his company. Bribery worked for MS..otherwise they would not have a legal leg to stand on.
time to register www.SewKnee.com
My days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle...
In closing: fuck you M$ and the horse you road in on.
/.
"You keep using that word -- I do not think it means what you think it means."
In closing, try to do spelling/grammatical checks if you're going to bold enough to drop an F-bomb on
"Don't matter how New Age you get, old age is gonna kick your ass." - Utah Phillips
He should have told them to take the original offer and shove it.
I know I would have. If it was my given name, id not give it up willingly to some corporation.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
I wonder how Time Warner (www.timewarner.com) is planning on buying out Tim Warner's website (www.timwarner.com).
...an invitation to a technology festival at Redmond...
sounds like an ambush to me...
At least the site still resolves. Mike can host it overseas if he wants, even with me. There is no aparent copyright violation in using this domain. How can anybody copyright a common name? He just added "soft" because is taken and it probably sounded 'cute' at the time.
Microsoft has been dying for some time and this was even reported here. It's a desperate company that is going to fight anything to its own demise. If there is any doubts M$ is dying, read about the speech Gates delivered to the World Ecconomic Forum: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3426367.stm
They probably got him on a dodgy copy of Windows or something - the settlement was to either make an example of him with a fine or make everything go away and give him some freebies.
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
GO to MyCrowsOft.com the site for frquent crow fanciers.
-------- In Soviet Russia, "Soviet Russia" sigs hate Slashdot.
.. he sold out to the evil empire for a shiny new xbox and a pocket full of candy. typical canadian really
I would have fought to keep my name. Now I just see him as a sellout. No respect. The love is gone baby.
Bad Panda! No Bamboo for you! In matters of importance ACs will not be responded to. Want to say something critical,OK
The CNN article doesn't say that Microsoft wooed him over with this set of cash and prizes. and judging by what the prizes are, I'd wager that Mike set these terms, and Microsoft said "okay".
A win-win situation for both parties involved.
What is MESC ? Mescaline ? Aaaah, you meant Minesweeper Consultant and Solitary Expert. If Illiad was dead, he'd be turning around in his tomb.
I have a pet Crow. Its not that tough, so I was thinking of getting it a domain name. Say, MyCrowSoft. Just send me the xbox now and I wont even bother.
<fnord>OBEY</fnord>
Shouldn't Microsoft be changing their name to Macrohugemegasoft around now?
1. Get Japanese gamers to hate teh XBOCKS
2. Get M$ haters to hate teh XBOCKS
3. Teh XBOCKS is made from cheap PC hardwarez (?????)
4. Profit!!!1!!
Reality doesn't look as good as at gamespot.com
I understand the kid is getting a pretty good deal out of the whole thing, but principle... He was never, EVER committing copyright infringement, or Microsoft could sue anyone who's name is Mike and last name begin's with an S... If it were me, I would've told them to stick it, and to take me to court - there's not a judge in the planet that would've accepted their arguments.
And if you listen really carefully, you can even hear the sound of ten thousand athsma puffers being used simultaneously, which should give you about 5-10 minutes to run like hell before the nerd army arrives.
I am registering ecksbocks.com tonight!
A few years ago, I published a web site called www.Micropoly.com, about an open source Microsoft Monopoly game I created as a joke.
Of course I was worried about being sued by Microsoft and Hasbro at the same time! I even talked to some people from EFF and hired a good lawyer specializing in artists rights, to give me advice on how not to get sued.
Fortunately the name Micropoly skirts around both vigorously enforced trademarks, and the satirical speech is clearly protected by the First Amendment. However, I learned I was still taking a risk, because the draconian trademark disparagement laws are commonly abused by big corporations like Microsoft and Hasbro, to nullify constitutionally protected freedom of speech.
But they wouldn't take the bait. The only company I ever heard from was the manufacturer of the proprietary Micropoly Industrial Lubricant, the Solid Idea for Lubrication for food and beverage processing. Their customers were getting confused when they found my Microsoft Monopoly site.
-Don
Take a look and feel free: http://www.PieMenu.com
a visit to bill gates' neverland ranch.
My problem? I was perfectly gruntled, until some numbnuts came by and dissed me.
How is this no different than Lindows? Very similiar names, and they probably chose the name because of the closeness to a popular product of M$. Sure, you can argue that point, but can M$ patent/copywrite words that sound similar to their name or products?
Darn. I was hoping the kid would counter sue. Although, I can't blame him. I would probably sell out too -- but since I already have an XBox -- I would hold out for the $1M instead.
SPAM solution made easy: 1 spammer, 5 cords of rope, 5 hourses, and fireworks. Be creative.
He could have a literary web site and call it MikeRoweProse.com. Or if he becomes a mechanic, MikeRoweMachines.com. If he takes up Taoism, MikeRoweWay.com. And if his kid sells machinery, his domain could be SonofMikeRoweSystems.com
A dyslexic man walks into a bra.
Best of all, if he acts fast he might be able to swipe a better domain in a week or so:
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
If I understand you correctly, you are comparing adminstration of a single Linux box, against administration of a multi-domain Active Directory forest.
Of course this easier.
However, I doubt setting up a large Kerberos/LDAP based authentication infrastructure is any easier on Linux than on Windows 2000/2003.
Slashdot loves to flame Microsoft for selling products.
:)
Now they also flame them for giving them away.
On the other hand, I don't think Microsoft was completely justified in going after the kid. They have nothing to gain except bad publicity - nobody would really confuse the two. Now, they're a few grand poorer and one more useless domain name richer.
webpage
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'.
At first glance I thought it said fester
I'm not a journalist, but I play one on slashdot
It's available, maybe he can get a copy of OS9 and a blade server out of it.
Schmuck: Some kid named their group "Mike Rowe Soft."
Schmuck's Manager: He's riding the coattails of our trademark. Legally, we have to get him to stop.
Legal: Please stop using this or we will be forced to puruse this legally.
Mike Rowe: $10? This is worth $10k.
Legal: You're setting a price? We owe it to our shareholders to pursue this.
Mike Rowe: Oh, crap! I didn't realize trademark law existed! Could we settle?
Legal: Sure. Here's some cool stuff if you change your domain name like we requested in the beginning.
Mike Rowe: Cool, thanks!
Slashdot: M$ IS RAKING A 17-YEAR OLD OVER THE COALS!!!11
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
does this mean that mikerowesoft.com will now redirect to microsoft.com? i guess we'll see.
and if they happen to let the domain registration slip in a couple years, would i still be liable to registering it at that point? i mean, that would be them not protecting their trademark, right? which puts it up for grabs.
hmmm.
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 $10, once they have the domain Microsoft have no reason to push for anything else.
On the other hand he could enrage Microsoft run to the media and make it look like the big bad guy is squashing the little tiny guy and seeing if Microsoft caved and gave him free stuff, he seems to of got lots of traffic to his site(along with a nice little money making banner advert) and according to the article Microsoft are going to pay to redirect his traffic so whatever he renames it to is likely to is likely to be more successful then it would have been had none of this ever happened. Also when you think about it mikerowesoft is a really lame name.
In Soviet Russia Slashdot cliches use you
Ok, so the domains mikeroesoft.org, .info, .biz, and .us are open. If I have been reading things correctly and I register these, then I get a free Xbox and certification?
SIGFAULT
I just finished Virent Ova! Viret Perna! I never took Latin in school, I'm getting better though. I mean, what better way to learn than with the books I learned English on, right?
i don't know about samba support, but livid does network streaming video. play the video on the server, and watch it on clients connecting to the server. kinda like mp3 streaming for video. they have a video lan client and a video lan server. microsoft and linux software is available at no cost. google for livid for more info
Did anyone see what "Documents" M$ sent to that oppr kid? The freakin "document" has more pages in it than the bible, and all that for one domain name? I wouldnt be surprised to find a give us your firstborn clause as well....
2 6/mike rowesoft.settle.ap/story.rowe.rowe.jpg
for those wo want to see the pic:
http://i.cnn.net/cnn/2004/TECH/internet/01/
Live for the present, learn from the past, and dream of the future!
This kid is going to make Slashdot again: When his new website is served of off his modded XBox
I'd ask microsoft to buy me a g5, a powerbook, and an iPod if I were in his shoes, it would be what I would want, and ironic at the same time ;)
Sig: I stole this sig.
Just out of interest, I remember reading 'Atari User' magazines when I was a kid. There was at least one program, possibly more, written by a guy called 'Mike Rowe'.
I remember thinking, "Is this the guy's real name? Really?"... bearing in mind that "micro" was a common abbreviation for "microcomputer" (which most were at the time).
'Fascinating' fact: This would have been around the same time that the 'famous' Mike Rowe was born.
Yeah, okay, I'll shut up now. (And, yep, this post *did* go in the Iraqi LUG thread before, by mistake. It's not my day.)
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
Here's where Microsoft's "Technology Festival" will be held...
You could get laughed out of the office and into the courtroom for such foolishness, my friend.
...a brand new distribution from the original creator of MikeRoweSoft.com to be available for installation on the Xbox soon.
-- I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous
Wish I had so many options for a clever domain name, not to mention all the cool stuff MS is giving him (and yes I would like the certs, and no I am not a Windoze user most of the time, but a Linux user).
then again, they also watch MTV religiously and the rap is turned up pretty loud right now, do I dont know if they really know what they think.......
What is the difference between a Democrat and a Socialist??? And why do people on slashdot not seem to have a problem
And by just using it twice, have I just made this post a derivative work?
- What's your opinion on music downloads?
- I do download music over the Internet, I can't lie about that.
5 bucks says RIAA is next. Oh, wait...he's from Canada....go figure.
Ronald said nothing. He flung himself from the room, flung himself upon his horse, and rode madly off in all directions.
Of course Microsoft is going to give him an Xbox... its a loss leader. It gets the Xbox name in the press, and Mike Rowe will buy games, ultimately paying Microsoft for the domain! Oh the irony.
Microsoft recently sponsored a United Way campaign here at my Fortune 500 employer. As an incentive for people to donate, they gave away Xboxen. What a nice gesture considering it ultimately makes them money.
...but which MCSE will they credit him for? For all we know, they sly devils could have given him free exams for the MCSE for NT! It would serve him right.
Troll?
I have minor asthma and it doesn't offend me. It's f*cking hilarious!
There's no place like
How about we all get together and hard code each of our DNS servers to point to Mikes MikeRoweSoft.com IP address. Who says we have to be held hostage by big money companies? The Internet is OURS not theirs!
While we're at it, how about a votable markup list of addresses like these. Add a web-site administerable list of which DNS entries you want corrected for your server, then point your DNS to the corrected DNS.
They ARE out to get you simply because They are in it for themselves and they don't care about you.
Isn't there SOMEONE in the higher ups at Microsoft that's realized, "Hey.. maybe what we're doing is fucking stupid and overkill. Perhaps we should let off."???
Surely their PR department doesn't feel that this is GOOD media coverage for a company... or do they?! No one's stupid enough to think, "People across america will completely understand and agree with our decision against this future threat to our company!!"
I would really just LOVE to sit in a meeting where they came up with the plan to sue Mike Row, a 17 year old kid, because he made "MikeRoweSoft.com" and because they HONESTLY felt threatened by what he put on the site...
I swear half the time the higher ups are on vacation spending their millions while their 11 and 12 year old children are making the decisions, because what they're doing is pretty fuckin ridiculous and childish (as you all know).
We have secretly replaced these Slashdot mods' sense of humor with a rusty nail. Let's see if they notice!!
Well this whole fiasco proves one point... In a court case, the one party with the most money and most lawyers wins!
You can find more info on why they took it down here as well as a petition to get the site back here.
Are you saying Bill O'Reilly is the 'real' news? And that Bush is helping capitalism?
I love this country, and I love capitalism. That's why I find your comment so naive and funny...
Microsoft also had agreed to help the teen get Microsoft certification training and other gifts
The victim has been assimilated.
I'm not sure if you guys had been visiting the kid's site at all, but I can tell you this... It's vastly different than it was Friday (last time I bothered to look). I'm not sure if he's using some kind of existing forum template, but he's got a forum program set up, and according to the site, he's got ~2300 online users checking it out now. One of his notes thanks all the people who PayPal'ed him money to help fight the $ystem. He's got a vote posted whether he should donate it to charity, or what. Makes me wonder how much he actually received, heh heh.
This page was generated by a Flock of Attack Rabbits for you.
This would be more amusing if the poster was an apple user...
Oooo... such stylish colors... isn't my new iMac fab?
Greetings, fellow /.'ers....
I read Mike's website, and saw that he posted a poll on what he should do with the donations that people made to him to pay for his legal fees.
Here is a copy of the post that I made on his site.
Hi, Mike Rowe:
I think you should take the donations that you received and turn them around as a donation to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) or the Free Software Foundation (FSF).
That'd slap Microsoft right back in the puss for all they've done.
This whole copyright infringement stuff needs to go away. Obviously you can prove your name is "Mike Rowe" and if you have your own software, or are a software developer, or like playing games, (or perhaps you cannot attain an erection) you should be able to put "soft" after your name. Screw MICROSOFT!
I commend you for settling, however. I probably would have told the bastards to go take a long walk off a short pier, after replaying the scene from The Matrix. "How about I give you the finger, and you give me my phone call?"
Actually, a search on Network Solutions' Web site shows that www.SewKnee.com is unavailable, so you're thwarted. :->
e e-joint.come nus.netj oint.netg i z
sewkneejoint.bize wknees.infoo j oint.usc
sew-knee.bzi nt.bz
sewknees.tv
However, you might like these domain names:
sewknee.net is available. sewknee.org is available. sewknee.biz is available. sewknee.info is available. sewknee.us is available. sewknee.cc is available. sewknee.bz is available. sewknee.tv is available.
or these:
sew-knee.com
sewgenus.com
sewknees.com
sewkn
sewkneejoint.com
sew-knee.net
sewg
sewknees.net
sewknee-joint.net
sewknee
sew-knee.org
sewgenus.org
sewknees.or
sewknee-joint.org
sewkneejoint.org
sew-knee.b
sewgenus.biz
sewknees.biz
sewknee-joint.biz
sew-knee.info
sewgenus.info
s
sewknee-joint.info
sewkneejoint.inf
sew-knee.us
sewgenus.us
sewknees.us
sewknee-
sewkneejoint.us
sew-knee.cc
sewgenus.c
sewknees.cc
sewknee-joint.cc
sewkneejoint.cc
sewgenus.bz
sewknees.bz
sewknee-jo
sewkneejoint.bz
sew-knee.tv
sewgenus.tv
sewknee-joint.tv
sewkneejoint.tv
I hope Sony doesn't "sew" (sue) you!
See, it is only funny to those with asthma. Everyone else assumes that it is offensive. What a world we live in.
Anyone there could send him some open source manuals , half the lumpen linuxariat demonizing Microsoft again for suing this boy and now he's going to be a Microsoft expert.
DON'T PANIC
The next time the RIAA tries to sue me for downloading MP3s can i get sent free CDs and a drum set?
IANAL, but he was clearly in violation with his domain name, especially by admitting that he was doing it to get attention for his contracting skills (which would make him money). Any way you cut it, his domain name did not pass the nomitive test for fair use, and MS was well within their legal rights to go after him. Glad it turned out okay for Mike, but he was wrong.
S.
"The agreement is very reasonable; after all we are only giving to SCO what is rightfully theirs," said Bartholomew (formerly Linus) Torvalds.
SCO spokesman said, "We believe it's important to take steps to prevent widespread infringement of our copyrights." But he conceded SCO's original approach was "admittedly maybe impersonal."
In other news, Britain recognizes Darl McBride's fight against injustice worldwide by knighting him.
" and some other gifts. "
It is not a gift you you give it in return for something, its a settlement. or a Bribe. or Capatilistic transaction. you get the picture.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
well I wasn't all business at that age and I have grown up to regret that!
I say, be all bussiness until your 35, then retire and screw off. Believe me, the toys are far better then a game console.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
IANAL, but he was clearly in violation with his domain name, especially by admitting that he was doing it to get attention for his contracting skills (which would make him money). Any way you cut it, his domain name did not pass the nomitive test for fair use, and MS was well within their legal rights to go after him. Glad it turned out okay for Mike, but he was wrong.
IANAL either, but I call bullshit. His fucking NAME is Mike Rowe, for crying out loud. And if this was technically illegal under existing law, then the law is broken and needs to be changed.
// TODO: Insert Cool Sig
Why does Microsoft want to own MikeRoweSoft.com? Why didn't they just ask Mike to change MikeRoweSoft.com to a page saying "MikeRoweSoft.com has been renamed/moved to _MikeRoweForums.com_ to avoid confusion with the _Microsoft Corporation_."?
The shareholder is always right.
im thinking of selling the "ex-box", its a crushed cardboard box. it used 2 be a box, but now its an ex-box can i get my free stuff now?
http://brandonbloom.name
This reminds me of a proM$ website some guy had back in 1995ish. It was url'd Deon95.com (or something like that). It's layout was pure Windoze 95 and all the goodness that came with it (hold my hair while I gag!). The guy eventually took it down (perhaps M$ bullied him?)
Actually in our country that is just a good way to make money. You either copyright an idea or reserve a domain and then you sell the rights for a ton of money to someone who can actually do something with it. It's not bad faith its simply good business. Acquire something that you think will be sellable someday, then hold out till you get an offer you like.
Microsoft was claiming Trademark infringement.. Trademarks and Copyright are two significantly different things.. And trademark only applies to the same market.. Mike Rowe was doing web development.. not software development.. so he should have been able to keep the thing.. Back in my home town there wer two McDonalds.. one the restaurant. the other a clothings store.
Yeah, Microsoft's lawyers made a bit of change writing the first letter, documenting the site, and sending the ominous demand notice. They probably let MS know the case didn't need to go to court, too, since what Master Rowe was doing isn't considered trademark violation under the law. But there was no case, and no big money. Yay.
This is my post. There are many others like it. If you don't like what you read here, go try one of the others.
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.
the only reason they gave him an xbox at all is because it cost them less to give it away than to sell it, after the tax write off.
~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
Nissan -The auto goys are suing Nissan.com -a Jewish computer company named after the owner's last name which is a Hebrew word.
Just another example of greed trumping even the pretense of virtue much less the actual existance of it.
Venal little bastard.
Has anybody thought of how funny it is that Microsoft is suing a guy named mike, considering that in their commercials they talk about how they encourage "Michael and all his potential". Could a satirical counter commercial like moveon.org did of bush be far behind?
I can't believe he just buckled down to the giant. The worst that could happen was he would lose his domain. It might have been something fair to accept if they offered this kindly in the first place but not after their rude behavior. Oh the humiliation he will suffer in the years to come when he tells his story to friends about how he sold his dignity for a few classes and an xbox.
What I don't understand is, why is it so obvious that it was Mike who should hand over his domain to MS and not the other way around?
I realize this will probably be modded Funny, but I really want to know. Anybody?
Installed the Bubblemon yet?
Have you checked eBay lately?
Copyrights, Patents, Trademarks: temporary loans from the Public Domain, not real property ("intellectual" or otherwise)
Secondly, Microsoft HAS to protect their trademark... However, if MSFT's trademark was dilted in any way, or it is even perceivable that their trademark is being tested, MSFT is responsible (to their shareholders) to fight tooth and nail to preserve that trademark.
Sorry, you are an idiot, just like a few other hundreds idiots here on Slashdot and elsewhere who prefer to perpetrate misinformation instead of actually reading the relevant laws.
The trademark can only be diluted if the name Microsoft becomes generic for something, like elevator, walkman or kleenex. If you have at least an ounce of brain matter, you would realise this is impossible, since Microsoft doesn't really mean anything other then the company. Other MS brands, like Windows or DOS could be diluted, though, but MS-Windows and MS-DOS can't.
Having other companies use similar looking/sounding names for their products cannot dilute your trademark. It is impossible, the law is very clear and nowhere it says anything else. The only way to lose the trademark was described it in the above paragraph.
The only case when Microsoft (and its shareholders) migh lose anything is when a similar brand is used to promote competing products, like in Lindows case. But even if Mike starts selling his text editor at mikerowesoft.com, the only thing in danger will be Microsoft profits (not really), not Microsoft trademark.
Hope you feel smarter and more informed after reading this post.
Future Wiki -- If you don't think about the future, you cannot have one.
Just for the record and humor-impaired, I am aware that those guys are huge exceptions and fully believe in the value of a college education (I have one myself).
Today's Sesame Street was brought to you by the number e.
Whoops, I stopped writing there. There just wasnt anything else to say. I guess it has something to do with you being a complete fucking moron, but I really can't go into it.
-- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
Nope, that ain't the way it works. His name is Mike Rowe, so "mikerowe.com" would be fine. However, he said outright he was spoofing Microsoft's name in order to attract attention to his skill, for monetary gain. That fails the nomitive test, hence he broke the law.
The fact that it was willful actually makes him more liable, usually by an order of magnitude.
Sorry gang, I don't like being on MS's side in anything, but the kid was wrong, and MS was well within their rights to call bullshit on him.
S.
See for yourself.
Subject says it all.
... Guess the hummor wasn't there for you
- MOSKIE