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Domain-Name Wars, Rise of the Cybersquatters
CWmike writes "When FreeLegoPorn.com began publishing pornographic images created with Lego toys, Lego acted quickly. "The content available on the site consisted of animated mini-figures doing very explicit things. We were not amused," says Peter Kjaer, an attorney for Denmark-based Lego. Lego didn't go to court. Instead it filed a complaint with the World Intellectual Property Organization, which ruled in its favor. The domain registrar for FreeLegoPorn.com, GoDaddy.com, eventually shut down the site and transferred the domain name to Lego under ICANN rules. But it's not just Lego and Verizon that are suffering. Green energy is a hot topic, so cybersquatters have been targeting wind and solar energy start-ups. And malicious sites can create havoc with a brand's reputation. Cybersquatting activity rose by 18% last year, with a documented 440,584 cybersquatting sites in the fourth quarter of last year alone, according to MarkMonitor's annual Brandjacking Index report. And WIPO cited an 8% jump in dispute filings in 2008, to 2,329 complaints — a new record. Now, ICANN is preparing to open a potentially unlimited number of new top-level domains as early as the first quarter of 2010."
penismightier.com? Who will think of the pen companies?
analbumcover.com? Who will think of the RIAA?
therapists.com? Who will think if the US Therapy association?
I'm just sick of how cybersquatters have stolen my name! I, a famous and dead Ukrainian novelist, wanted to set up my own blog using my own domain! I'm heartsick that my name is being squatted because of its passing similarity to some search engine! The injustice!
Signed,
Nikolai Gogol
Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
2) Shell companies.
Fail -- even at those prices big oil could afford it.
To live till you die is to live long enough. -Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
If you read the first one as a five letter word + eight letter word, it has nothing to do with pens.
A bit like the Italian division of a company called Powergen.
-1 Coming-out-of-the-hole-you've-been-living-in
Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
Wow, on-topic spam!
What's next, on-topic goatse links?
Convert FLACs to a portable format with FlacSquisher
Wow your math sucks. But don't worry, I will teach you math.. and it will only cost you a penny today, and then we will just double the cost every day after that for a month or so.