Apple Finally Gets iTunes.co.uk
from the battle-over dept
It looks like the long saga of the iTunes.co.uk domain is now over, as the owner has stopped trying to contest the ruling which handed it over to Apple. Neither side comes out looking that pretty in this battle. Ben Cohen registered the domain long before Apple announced their own iTunes product -- so it's not as if he were a typical cybersquatter. However, once they were offering iTunes, he used the domain to try to sell iPods and credits to iTunes, before pointing it to Napster's site. Doing that could certainly cause plenty of confusion -- and left him open to trademark violations. However, it's still not clear why he then had the domain taken from him as he had registered it completely legally. He could have gotten in trouble for the trademark violation, but why does that mean he should lose the domain completely? The registrar Nominet says he deserved to lose the domain because he took "unfair advantage" of Apple by asking for $50,000 to turn over the domain when they offered him $5,000. Isn't that just called negotiating? It's hard to see how that's taking "unfair advantage." If he had registered the domain after Apple announced iTunes, that would be one thing, but since he got it before, he should have every right to negotiate what he thinks is a fair price. He should be stopped from posting confusing content (trademark violation), but that doesn't mean the domain deserves to be just taken from him.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Obviously
That's called, negotiating!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
No Subject Given
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: No Subject Given
Just because it was against one idiot does not make it evil.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: No Subject Given
Supply and demand. He has the supply and demand anything he wants for it's sale.
Real estate works the same way.
Pardon the economics lesson:
I buy a house that later someone else wants because it is one of a kind. I don't really want to sell it unless the offer is good. If the buyer really wants it, he should make the potential deal more interesting.
The RIAA pays pennys to produce digital content for Apple, yet they want Apple to charge more for that same content.
Need I suggest more?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: No Subject Given
Dumb fanboys like you are so boring. I can only hope that a retail giant comes to your neighbourhood and forces you to sell them your home for what they call a fair price (whether you think so or not) so they can build a car park.
Afterall if there is a supermarket near you and they want that space it's only fair you give it to them right?
[ link to this | view in thread ]