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Apple Threatens iTunes.co.uk Owner

Posted by timothy on from the all-wide-eyed-innocence dept.

derxob writes "According to The Register, Apple has accused Benjamin Cohen, the 'dotcom millionare' of being a 'cybersquatter.' He registered ITunes.co.uk on Nov. 7 2000, and Apple trademarked ITunes on Dec. 8, 2000. They have taken him to the UK registry Nominet and are demanding that he give up the domain."

4 of 354 comments (clear)

  1. He should try to get their trademark signed over!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It's clear that he's been using Itunes for his online binary download product before Apple ripped him off and registered a copycat trademark. This means that the registration was made without due dilligence etc. etc. etc. Just because it isn't registered, doesn't mean a trademark isn't valid.

    He should try to get the itunes trademark signed over.

  2. Re:So which is worse? by miu · · Score: 4, Interesting
    You have to remember that this was early 2000 also, everything was still e-this and i-that, it is very possible that this guy came up with the name independent of any knowledge of Apple's music service.

    I'd think Apple would want to stay far far away from Trademark and name disputes wrt the music biz - doesn't Apple Records still have lawsuits going because Apple Computers violated their agreement to stay out of the music biz with that name?

    --

    [Set Cain on fire and steal his lute.]
  3. Re:He should try to get their trademark signed ove by GauteL · · Score: 4, Interesting

    iTunes was released by Apple in January 2001 and filed as a trademark in October 2000, before he registered his domain. iTunes.co.uk was registred in 1998, a long time before itunes.co.uk. It is however not clear whether it was owned by Apple before october 2000.

    Given the huge Apple rumour mill, it is not impossible that the product name was even known a few months before the launch.

    This is not clear and should be something for the lawyers. You seem to have just as much bias as Apple fans.

  4. Blatant British Slant by Kombat · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This is one of the most unabashadly biased and slanted articles I've ever read from the Register. Between the misplaced blind support of the self-described snot-nosed teen "Dotcom Millionaire" and the blatant ad hominem and non sequitur attacks on Apple ("Apple has so far refused to comment on the case. Although it is currently being investigated by the authorities for price fixing with its iTunes service, so it probably has its hands full."), I don't know how anyone can take this article seriously.

    If one can successfully pull away all the spin and red herrings, here are the facts:

    - Cohen registered "itunes.co.uk" on Nov. 7, 2000.
    - Apple published the "iTunes" trademark in the Trade Marks Journal on Dec. 6, 2000, about a month later.

    So Cohen had the site slightly before Apple trademarked the name. Seems like pretty coincidental timing. What did Cohen do with this site? He forwarded it to another online music site that he ran, with a totally different name. Why would he register a domain as obscure and nonsensical as "iTunes", but not go after the trademark itself, or market any products or services using the name? And how come the timing was so close?

    It seems clear to me that Cohen knew what Apple was doing, and saw an opportunity to profit from Apple's marketing (by deceiving web surfers into accidentally stumbling onto his own service), or extorting money from Apple.

    I hope this punk loses, and I wish the Register would grow a little backbone and show some objectivity.

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