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How many domains are tied up by Hollywood?

B

Beau

Lifer
Was just watching L&O:SVU and the mentioned a website called catchingthetrain.com. i was a little curious so i checked to see if the site existed, but it doesn't. So I did a whois on it and it turns out that Universal Studios owns it and it got me thinking: How many perfectly good and usable domain names are tied up and not being used for a website by Hollywood? Should the be allowed to do this? It's not as though they're using it for commercial benefit -- they only registered it to cover their asses so someone couldn't make a parody site.

Thoughts?
 
Originally posted by: JustAnAverageGuy
Originally posted by: Beau
Should the be allowed to do this?
Thoughts?
Click to expand...

They're paying for it, aren't they?
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Yeah they are, but for no other reason but to keep others from using it. Say I wanted to start a website to sell train tickets, and I wanted to call it catchingthetrain.com, I couldn't do that because Universal registered it because the mentioned it a show of theirs... seems like it's taking away oppurtinity. Other than them mentioning it on their show, what right do they have to use it?
 
Originally posted by: simms
Unless you have it TM, or copyrighted, you're SOL.

In that case, I want www.microsoft.com. Give it to me, NOW!
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That's different because microsoft.com is being used by a company for a commercial web pressence.

I'm talking about domains that are simply registered and never developed into sites because they were bought soley to tie up the domain.
 
Unless you are a company with the license to use catchingthetrain or have it for a commerical web presence, you are SOL. That won't hold up any court unless you have the rights to it.

So, if you manage to trademark the company and take universal studios to court to force them to hand it over...
 
chances are if you want to sell train tickets, and you offer to buy catchinthetrain from Universal, they'd sell it since they know it wouldn't become a parody site...
 
Originally posted by: jagec
chances are if you want to sell train tickets, and you offer to buy catchinthetrain from Universal, they'd sell it since they know it wouldn't become a parody site...
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I'm not sure they would sell it to you, because to them, there is no upside to selling it. They don't need the amount of money you are going to give them and it could turn into something they don't want (a L&O sucks site or something. Just because you say you are using it for a business doesn't mean you will)

Also - you would have no legal standing in court to use that domain name UNLESS you had registered the name of the corp before the episode aired/they bought the name.
 
I have no problem with this. It occasionally spawns entertaining stuff (See: Every website mentioned in Doom3, whatbadgerseat, etc.)

Also, with Vice City, Rockstar actually bought all the 1-800 numbers mentioned on the radio and on billboards and such and set up automated answering for them. Blurring the line between fantasy and reality = good, so long as you can still tell.
 
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