If you read the version of the story on the register, you might get the impression that they guy made the domain for the intent of sounding like Microsoft. Another version on a Canadian site simply says that his name is Mike Rowe and thought it would be funny to add "soft" at the end. Read the article and you'll notice he plans to study computer science so he *might* end up writing software eventually. And the argument can be made that code written for a website is just a different form of software (depending on the function) then what you're used to. Microsoft says that since his domain name can be pronounced as Microsoft, that they must own it. That is silly. It's a domain. Will any company with Micro in their name now be able to stop him from using his name at all? That's whta will happen if Microsoft sets precident with this. The lawsuits will spread and eventually we'll all have to be identified by numbers for fear of violating someone's copyright by putting our names on business cards or our belongings.
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He's a cheeky 17 year old. He probably thought it was just funny.
If you read the version of the story on the register, you might get the impression that they guy made the domain for the intent of sounding like Microsoft. Another version on a Canadian site simply says that his name is Mike Rowe and thought it would be funny to add "soft" at the end. Read the article and you'll notice he plans to study computer science so he *might* end up writing software eventually. And the argument can be made that code written for a website is just a different form of software (depending on the function) then what you're used to. Microsoft says that since his domain name can be pronounced as Microsoft, that they must own it. That is silly. It's a domain. Will any company with Micro in their name now be able to stop him from using his name at all? That's whta will happen if Microsoft sets precident with this. The lawsuits will spread and eventually we'll all have to be identified by numbers for fear of violating someone's copyright by putting our names on business cards or our belongings.
You can turn off the dog :)