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Does it matter? Even if he did it just the get some money, what difference does that make? None.

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The only reason I asked was because I was curious why he got it, no big deal. Chill out, it was nothing important.

We all feel the same way about the story, so your not alone. It was just something that I thought if ANYONE knew, it would be kinda cool to know what he was going to to use it for.

Thats all.

Hmmmmmm.......

And you mean, they didn't even offer him a coupon for a lousy half-dozen free iTunes? (Geeze.....) talk about cheeep. [Just joking]. I have not the slightest desire to 'own' a cancerous drm-stymied iTune anyway.

I won't be buying an Apple iPod (any flavor) today or next year or ever.

DELL has just come out with their own truly remarkable replacement (competitor) to the iPod. I saw a guy on the bus yesterday using it. It has a flat-out *terrific* screen display (not all squished), has softly-lit blue buttons, and looks about three times as sturdy as the iPod.

Have you ever noticed how cheesy (cheap and flimsy) the iPods look on the various websites? Well, this DELL version looked just the opposite. "Substancial" is how I would describe it.

I'd be scared to death to accidentally drop an iPod. *Poof*! $350 (Can.$) out the window.

Based on the iPod's (apparent) flimsiness and Apple's Ebeneser-Scrooge-type kissoff of the gentleman who owned the domain name, I now add my personal boycott of Apple's iPod to my already-running boycott of HP ink-jets.

No no venom, that last remark wasn't meant for you, it was meant for all these other idiots who think that justice has taken place in this news. NHF venom =)

Oh ok...I gotcha :)

NHF to you too Letukka

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I won't be buying an Apple iPod (any flavor) today or next year or ever.

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Same here...was going to, but not after reading this.

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I'd be scared to death to accidentally drop an iPod. *Poof*! $350 (Can.$) out the window.

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Yeah and you know the funny thing is....there are countless of other players out there, that are just as good. If not better.

Apple shmapple....just give they guy his money FFS!

Something fishy is going on, just a couple of examples from the last few weeks.

- A guy called Romeo Maggi was to keep his domain Maggi.com with WIPO but a local court hands it over to Nestle;

- A woman whose first name and her business name is Milka is ordered by a local french court to hand over Milka.fr to Kraft foods;

and now this.

EFF and WIPO should work together to ensure the proper legal environment for domain names:

legitimate interest +
not in bad faith

equals: you keep the domain.

Here big corporations are leaning on small town court judges to give them their way. Scr*w the little guy that has legitimate interest. Big Business = Big Bucks = Always comes out on top.

That is a slap in the face, it really is! I don't see how apple can just come and Debo a domain name that does not belong to them. Money or no money. Right is right and wrong is wrong.

Thought you might like to see this:

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The logic that will no doubt be strenuously put forward by intellectual property lawyers is that if someone with a similar domain to a (subsequent) well-known service then uses the knock-on effect to benefit financially, then they are guilty of using that registration abusively, and the domain should be handed over.

This is a dangerous logic however. If a company builds, say, a pedestrian shopping centre and subsequently causes the price of commercial properties in that area to rocket, that company is not entitled to take over those properties just because they have benefitted.

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http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/03/15/itunes_domain_case/

I don't understand the suing part. I think they should've attempted to at least buy out the domain. It would've been a lot cheaper...

Very true Quad...but this is what they probably did, lord knows why they did this...

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I bet that Apple paid well over the $50K for lawyer fees.

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I would absolutely agree about Apple's corporate greed, etc. But I also hate cyber-squatters, and that's what this guy was, plain and simple. I have no respect for cyber-squatters whatsoever, and it actually makes me happy when they aren't able to get a profit for hording domain names they had no intention of using.

Boo Boo Apple greed is a powerful thing and absolute greed is thy name. What has happened to people? People are no longer what is important

It's rediculous.. He ownes the domain name and they still take it ? So fucking what if he sits on the name.. Thats his buisness what he does with what he bought. He did nothing more than what everyone else in the free world does with houses,cars,computers.. You buy and sell to make money.. This is the same deal as the Mikerowesoft.com domain. Microsoft sued the kid.. Gave him a few free classes to there IT school and 500 bucks for the name.. It's really sad.. As far as I am concerned crapple is right up there with the RIAA. It's sad what this world has come to. Really sad when companys just sue and take what isn't theirs because they have more money. Thats not justice.. Thats just plain stealing. You can't justify what Crapple did to this man any way you look at it.. Its just wrong..

It is highly likely that this domain was registered with the intention of cybersquatting. This insidious practice was much debated a few years ago when people had been bulk registering company names (and individual names) prior to the company achieving an online presence. Then they would approach the company and offer the sale of the domain name. I would personally feel quite peeved if wishing to register my own name of www.Bartholomew-Blinkenthorpe.co.uk (name changed to protect the guilty) only to find some guy called Roger McDodge had preregistered it hoping that i would wish to pay him handsomely for it.
Does anyone know if he was ever using the domain name actively as a website? What is there now is certainly not an active use of www.itunes.co.uk.
Personally i wouldn't buy an ipod. They are quite expensive and i would be assured of dropping it down a loo or accidentally sitting on it requiring hospital assistance for removal! (long story, please don't ask ;) ). I'm quite happy with my 256MB MP3 player with crackly radio reception. At least that's made by a local company called HaiKai Electronics or something (well, local if you live in China or somewhere like it!).

bow down or be crushed by the corperate muscle

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NOTE TO MODS: PLEASE DELETE THOSE POSTS

It shouldn't matter what he does.. Sit on it.. play with it.. stick it up his ass.. He paid for it. It's his to do what he wants with it.. If the company wants it they are gonna have to pay his price. If they dont want to pay his price they dont have to.
I see lots of car dealers squating on cars.. I dont get to sue them because I think the price is to high? Although it would be nice.. To bad my last name isn't porshe or something.. I could possibly have a chance at winning if I got the same judge! F U crapple...

do you know who owned the apple trademark 1st & it wasn't the co-founders of apple computers but the beatles. the apple founders had to get the ok from the beatles to use the name but on the condition of not selling music. whether that agreement has changed or not i don't know but do remember both parties were in court back in the late 80's to 90's about something

I don't see the point in suing someone for cyber-squatting anyway. It's just something people like to cry about because they didn't get to it first.

Yeah! Someone needs to pass them a box of Kleenex!

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I think cybersquatting is a pain in the ass, but theres nothing you can do about it really.

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Cybersquatting isn't really an issue in this case:

- he registered it years before Apple ever had the iTunes music service;
- in fact, he registered the domain on 7th NOVEMBER 2000 whereas Apple were only had the trademark for "iTunes" published in the Trade Marks Journal on 6th DECEMBER 2000.

Something really fishy is going on lately, obvious cases where people use their own last name lose their domain. Same thing here, it wasn't a trademark at the time so he should sue Apple for using his name and for reverse domain hijacking. If I was him, I'd contact the EFF.

spam edited by ddp