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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."
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!
'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?
...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?
Yes, but since he had fallen in the trap of offering to sell the domain for a good amount of money, he was pretty much done for. This is probably the best option he could go for, but I have to agree that it would have been interesting to see the developments of this story if Mike had chosen otherwise.
DrkBr
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
I have never forgiven my parents for naming me Windows Crashes Too Much Jones.
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.
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.
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.
One odd thing: I keep reading about copyright violations in these stories, but shouldn't Microsoft's claims be trademark-related? Copyright doesn't apply to a business name as far as I know.
Regarding the settlement: it mentions the MCSE, the XBox and so forth, but I'm guessing there's money in there somewhere, too. This was a very bad PR situation for Microsoft. Since Mike had the PR on his side, yet is giving up the domain, I'm guessing he got more than just some courses, plane tickets and a game console in return.
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
That doesn't mean it was in bad faith, like MS claimed. The kid had an actual business running. He simply decided to make a counteroffer when they came up to him. Had they not, he would've run the site all the same. He wasn't cybersquatting
---
Never criticize religion on Slashdot. You will be modded down for "Troll" no matter how factual it is.
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
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
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.
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."
Probably already been posted, but I wonder how these guys are managing to survive.
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.
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 $10k would I do it"
Legal: "Congratulations, you're a cybersquatter, cease and desist or die."
Mike Rowe: "Wow, these guys suck, I'm going to the press."
Press: "Clippy slices 17-year old's jugular"
Microsoft PR: "Holy shit!, get Bill's lackey, get Legal!"
Bill's Lackey: "Geeze man, Legal, back off. PR, give the kid what any reasonable 17 year old would want for the hard work he's put into his domain. And throw in some extra stuff... not so much to make it profitable though."
Marketing: "and get some brands into the press"
Micro$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
time to register www.SewKnee.com
My days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle...
We all know what a software festival at Redmond means. He'll spend 6 days and 7 nights in a re-education and brainwashing resort.
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.
At least they are going to give him and MCSE so he'll know how to re-image/re-boot his XBox when it BSODs on him.
The visit to Redmond is probably so Bill can kick his butt in person.
Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
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
The XBOX was a good idea.
Until he decides to throw a mod chip in it and open up Mike's house of XBOX hacking.
It all goes downhill from there...
See, it is only funny to those with asthma. Everyone else assumes that it is offensive. What a world we live in.
No, it's just another way of saying "Go to hell".