Microsoft takes on 17 year old, Michael Rowe says his website 'mikerowesoft.com' illegal squatting

[sygyzy]

Originally posted by: WinkOsmosis
Wtf? it's not even microsoft.com. It's his name, and looks nothing like "microsoft".

Wow, are you for real?

 

[gsellis]

Sorry for all you out there who hate Microsoft. But... They must defend their registered trademark vigorously. Otherwise, they lose the right to defend it. They are already in a trademark dispute with Lindows and must challenge this one too. Whether it is some kid or another corporation, they have to treat them equally. If they did not, any other person maliciously could infringe on their trademark and they would not be able to defend against it.

 

[TheNinja]

He can say his name is Mike Rowe and he has erectile dysfunction. Case closed, he has a legitimate claim to it and there should be nothing Microsoft can do about it other than buy it out from him. It would be a drop in the bucket for Bill Gates and Co. to pay this kid $100k even. I don't understand why Microsoft does this type of thing, it hurts their image more than it would cost to just pay the kid off or just to ignore it.

 

[SONYFX]

Originally posted by: The_good_guy
FSCK MSFT..

 

[brxndxn]

Sorry for all you out there who hate Microsoft. But... They must defend their registered trademark vigorously. Otherwise, they lose the right to defend it. They are already in a trademark dispute with Lindows and must challenge this one too. Whether it is some kid or another corporation, they have to treat them equally. If they did not, any other person maliciously could infringe on their trademark and they would not be able to defend against it.

Windows is not a trademark. Why? Because it's a generic description in computing that's been around long before Microsoft Windows. Also, it's an English word. If I start a new company and name it Beer Co, I can't just go around getting mad at everyone using 'beer' as a term because it's already a common word.

 

[ndee]

wow, microsoft is really retarded. Offer the kid from beginning $1000-$10000 and be done with it. I'm sure the kid would have taken $10000.

 

[Cogman]

when microsoft offered him $10 for the domain, they must have been thinking he was some punk and could be bought of easily with threats and a little money. But the fact of the matter is, as it is legel to make a parody because you don't use the exact some tune/lyrics it is also legel to name your website something that SOUNDS like microsoft. He should sue Microsoft for harrasment.

Microsoft has no Trademark for the work soft, nor do they have a trade make for MikeRowe, And because he is MIMICING not Copying their name the COPYright does not apply.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: ndee
wow, microsoft is really retarded. Offer the kid from beginning $1000-$10000 and be done with it. I'm sure the kid would have taken $10000.

That was a legal move by them. If you counter with a new offer to sell, that proves you really don't need the domain and opens up a 'squatting' case.

The best move is to ignore the offer and/or say it's not for sale.

Å

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Cogman
when microsoft offered him $10 for the domain, they must have been thinking he was some punk and could be bought of easily with threats and a little money. But the fact of the matter is, as it is legel to make a parody because you don't use the exact some tune/lyrics it is also legel to name your website something that SOUNDS like microsoft. He should sue Microsoft for harrasment.

Microsoft has no Trademark for the work soft, nor do they have a trade make for MikeRowe, And because he is MIMICING not Copying their name the COPYright does not apply.

I think this qualifies as probably the most typo and error-filled post in this thread.......

Microsoft knew they weren't going to get the name for $10. They also knew it would cause a counter-offer. That's all it usually takes to prove someone is only looking to profit from that name.

Å

 

[Ranger X]

I don't think you can copyright anything that sounds like your company's name. I hope Microsoft loses.

 

[OrganizedChaos]

MS is just upset because his site runs on apache

 

[Babbles]

You would think that Microsoft would have something better to do.

 

[JCE10]

I'm going to name my kid Microsoft, haha.

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: ndee
wow, microsoft is really retarded. Offer the kid from beginning $1000-$10000 and be done with it. I'm sure the kid would have taken $10000.

That was a legal move by them. If you counter with a new offer to sell, that proves you really don't need the domain and opens up a 'squatting' case.

The best move is to ignore the offer and/or say it's not for sale.

Å

I'm not saying this is the case, but perhaps it could be possible that someone needs more than just $10 to relocate their online domain.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: JCE10
I'm going to name my kid Microsoft, haha.

I'm not saying this is the case, but perhaps it could be possible that someone needs more than just $10 to relocate their online domain.

Yes that is possible and if that is the case, then the seller can state that.

See the problem is you are not supposed to buy up names to broker. You can use as many names as you need, but taking more for the sole purpose of 'grabbing' someone else's name is not supposed to be done.

I don't know how I feel about that. I think that is sort of bs.

An analogy I get in my head is say as we settled America, however in this case say that the land you own identifies you.

In the beginning big business didn't want in on the web. Same way with America....some private citizens became very wealthy staking claims to lands, defending them, and clearing/improving them which were later sold to businesses for huge profits. These citizens knew the businesses would eventually come, as they knew soon America would thrive despite other's saying it was just a passing fad/impossible dream.

Sure enough business came. You may have had just a modest Farmer and his wife owning way more land than they could ever use, but it was their's. Now the businesses wanted some, so they sold it at a nice profit.

However, everyone is geared to 'fairness' now so if the wild west was the web it would go like this:

That same farmer and his wife spent hours and days and years finding the best pieces of land....it was easy sometimes, and other times it was hard....but they knew when businesses came to America they would need those exact pieces of land, yet since they got there first, they were able to take the risk and claim them.

At first businesses came and made offers that were sometimes accepted, other times figured any old piece of land would do, and other times just stole some land.

Then businesses cried to the government saying they want nice land too, it's not their fault they didn't believe...government starts just granting other's lands to the businesses no questions asked.

Now sitting on a name is slightly different, and grabbing a directly indentifiable name that has no relation to the owner is another...but he should be able to register hobbies and interests so it becomes a gray area.

I don't have an amicable solution as it's a complex problem I don't think I will be in.

Å

 

[kt]

Originally posted by: AnyMal

Originally posted by: kt
Instead of sticking a team of lawyers on this kid, Microsoft should just use that same amount of money and buy his domain. I would gladly give up a domain name for a couple of thousands $.

That would be called cybersquatting and he would lose the domain without being compensated for it.

Not if the domain name is a combination of his name and the word "soft".

 

[Tetsuo]

Kinda weird, this is so close to home lol (like 5 miles away)

 

[WinkOsmosis]

Originally posted by: sygyzy

Originally posted by: WinkOsmosis
Wtf? it's not even microsoft.com. It's his name, and looks nothing like "microsoft".

Wow, are you for real?

I'm saying it's not domain squatting. No one would accidentally go to his site instead of microsoft.com.

 

[Sunner]

Originally posted by: WinkOsmosis

Originally posted by: sygyzy

Originally posted by: WinkOsmosis
Wtf? it's not even microsoft.com. It's his name, and looks nothing like "microsoft".

Wow, are you for real?

I'm saying it's not domain squatting. No one would accidentally go to his site instead of microsoft.com.

I agree.
While the names sounds pretty much like each other, the spelling is far apart enough to make the idea of someone going to mikerowesoft.com instead of microsoft.com absolutely ridiculous.
That, and he does have a real site there, with the obvious purpose of showing off hir previous deisgn work, among other things.

I have sunner.com, and while my site is...less than meaningful, I do have a forum that me and my friends use, as well as a bunch of mail accounts, so just cause someone starts Sunner Computers Inc, should they have the right to the domain?

 

[CTho9305]

This thread links to a funny post on his forums. Calling it a repost is like calling a link to a specific ATOT thread a repost after someone links to www.anandtech.com

 

[silverpig]

Maybe HE should sue MS for using a domain similar to his name?

😀

 

[DragonMasterAlex]

Microsoft makes good with the kid!

Microsoft has reached an agreement with Mike Rowe, the Canadian teenager who was using the Web site mikerowesoft.com in alleged violation of the Microsoft tradmark. Here are the details, as relayed to us by Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler. In exchange for Mike turning over the mikerowesoft.com domain to Microsoft, the company has:



Agreed to help direct any traffic from mikerowesoft.com to Rowe's new Web site (which he's currently working on) to make sure he doesn?t lose any business. The company will pay any out-of-pocket expenses related to this change, including cost associated with changing over to the new url and any other expenses. (The Rowe family is now calculating those expenses.)


Invited Mike and his family on to the Microsoft campus for the company's Microsoft Research Tech Fest in March. The company will pay for the travel and accommodations. No promises, but it's possible he could meet Bill Gates, depending on the Microsoft chairman's schedule, Desler said.


Agreed to pay for Mike to get Microsoft Certification training. Depending on which courses he chooses, this could lead him to become a certified support technician, or system administrator, or something along those lines.


Agreed to give Mike a subscription to MSDN, the Microsoft Developer Network Web site, with various tools for developing software around Microsoft products.


Agreed to give Mike an Xbox game system, complete with a number of games of his choosing.


Said Desler: "It is a story of a young, bright kid starting a business, came up with a creative domain, and I think our initial step was maybe perhaps a bit too impersonal. Once we understood the circumstances around it, we wanted to work things out in a way that would be fair to him." He said the company also wanted "to do things in a way that would foster his interest in technology."

Said Kim Rowe, Mike's father: "It's nice that this is over, so that he can go back to being Michael. He still has school and if he fails, that's six months of his life gone. He's also setting up his new Web site so that things can get zipped over there quickly and it will be ready and stuff, because he's going to get a whole whack of hits."

Mike, in a brief phone interview this afternoon, said he feels "good" about the way things turned out. "I'm just looking forward to all the media going away," he said. "I'm pleased that everything is over and we settled."

Full Story

So much for the "Microsoft is evil" crowd.

Lamers.

Jason

 

[Sid59]

wow .. MS did it.

 

[Siddhartha]

Originally posted by: yellowfiero
Mike Rowe thinks it's funny that his catchy name for a Web site design company sounds a lot like Microsoft.

The software giant, however, is not amused.

"Since my name is Mike Rowe, I thought it would be funny to add 'soft' to the end of it," said Rowe, a 17-year-old student in Victoria, British Columbia.

Microsoft Corp and its attorneys have demanded that he give up his domain name, Mikerowesoft.com, the Vancouver Province newspaper reported on Sunday

news

http://www.mikerowesoft.com/

Be like Mike:

You can contact me in the following ways:

E-mail: mike@mikerowesoft.com

Post your opinion on his website: here

Should Microsoft be able to protect their name?

 

[Desturel]

Sweat! Free Xbox and MCSE training! That will just make his life peachy keen in the future.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: DragonMasterAlex
Microsoft makes good with the kid!

[snip: new quote]

So much for the "Microsoft is evil" crowd.

Lamers.

Jason

Impressive. Especially when you consider the name MikeRoweSoft will really do nothing for MS. They must have really had a belief that that domain name could hurt them....

The guy really profitted from this whole ordeal more than anything (although that was not his intention and if you read his website some geeks are accusing him of that).

Of course it could be safe to say MS needed to do something 'nice' since this made national news.

Å