WARGAMES.COM
- By: The Founder [privmsg - website] On 18th Dec 2006 In
The Fact that MGM Sues Owner of WarGames.Com because of a upcoming movie is total bullocks.
Quote:
I registered the domain to sell military wargames like Axis & Allies and Battle of Britain and was able to realize these plans earlier this year. I've never run my own business, so figuring out sales taxes and licensing, finding suppliers, running a secure web server and setting up ecommerce software took around two years.
- Y! MyWeb
They'll need to sue the Feds
as well if they intend to protect their mark. The phrase "war games" has been used for years by various federal entities.
A good lawyer can beat this one. Hope he has the bankroll needed.
As well
as wel as every other english speaking milatery body for a very long time
From the whois
Creation date: 16 Apr 1998 00:00:00
Expiration date: 15 Apr 2007 00:00:00
Given that the domain name is over 8 years old, I'd say they should be laughed out of court.
did not stop bill
did not stop bill registering windows. He didn't have to sue every double glazing company to protect his trademark.
The law is really dumb sometimes. No make that most of the time.
As the web matures the
As the web matures the lawyers and companies are starting to pick at the low fruit of the tree.
At first I was like WTF because I thought he had registered the domain and just because MGM was planning a movie they wanted the domain.
It would be like MGM planning to make a movie about the seedy side of quilting called threadwatch and then they want to sue for this domain.
But after I read the link I think MGM has a case here. No doubt it's all about money. If MGM was not planning a remake/sequel this guy would be left alone.
It looks like redoctober.com is safe for the moment.
But after I read the link I think MGM has a case here.
Exactly what case would they have? The site doesn't have anything in relation to the movie. There is no way to confuse D&D with that movie..
Actually, if MGM does indeed
Actually, if MGM does indeed own a trademark on teh name, they should have been taking this to court back in 1998 when teh guy first bought the name.
If you have a trademark, you HAVE to defend it. They haven't defended it for 9 years when they could have. I think the owner of WarGames.com might have a shot at keeping it.
WarGames is not 'Trademarkable'
The Trademark is vaild for that movie.. but no way as a generic term.
http://news.google.com/news?&q=war%20games
Google News is FULL of news stories that have the word 'War Games' in it that have nothing to do with the Movie.
Iran currently is having 'War Games'
India is currently having 'War Games'
It goes on forever... the movie used a common term... not vice versa.
I know there are a few
I know there are a few lawyers on here. Could one of you comment ?
It wouldn't be the first
It wouldn't be the first time we've seen a domain name lost for a trademark name which can apply to a generic term, though. Was it a Real Estate site that came up with similar a while back?
WARGAMES
WARGAMES
I'm not a lawyer. But, I've seen enough of these cases to be able to make an accurate assessment of what may happen. In this case, MGM may win. First use was 1983/06/03 by MGM.
They just haven't needed the domain until now. ;)
The merits
of the case are secondary to the economics. MGM has more money.
First in Use 10,000 BC
I also dug up articles citing the word 'war games' to represent the Egyptian millitary training ... the Egyptian Civilization.. IE: 6,000 to 10,000 BC... pyramid builders.... I didn't know Matthew Broderick was 10,000 years old..
The only thing that makes sense in this is:
That is the only thing MGM has going for it.. they can put up 500 lawyers to bankrupt the guy that owns it in legal fees...
This should be fairly cut and dry
This should be a pretty easy decision for most people - the domain has been around for 8 years, the site is presumably legit (I haven't checked it out), they are in different markets, etc.
But...
The National Arbitration Forum is heavily slanted to the complaining party. There aren't any arbitrators who have ruled for the plaintiff 100% of the time, but there are some who have numbers upwards of 90%.
ICANN forces you into arbitration, but they give you no power in choosing the arbitrator.
If this is all true...
...then MGM are a bunch of pricks. They should offer to buy the domain instead of sue.
The problem is that they have little to lose. Except maybe "respect", due to a well-aimed g00glebomb or whathaveyou. I dunno if that will really affect them tho. Judging by these comments, they can't really tell a webmaster from a splogger, so....
Maybe they'll investigate some more and do the right thing in the end?
This Crap has to stop
Look.. it's not just happening to 'Wargames.Com' this guy is getting his family name taken from him
http://www.nissan.com/Digest/The_Story.php
He's certainly got problems with that name.
If he uses his last name he gets sued by a car manufacturer and if he uses his first name he gets sued by a gun manufacturer.
Let's just hope he doesn't decide to get into making Armoured scout cars for the miltary.
this guy is getting his
Huh, why trot out this old war horse? As far as I know the guy won that (or at least is in the sulky's seat).
I've got an idea...
So, if you mainly think that MGM will get the domain because of first use, what does it take to obtain 'first use'?
I've read some where about speculators that register drug names but what about movie names? What is a movie? How long does it have to be? I could create lots of 2 minute movies as 'first use', register them if it doesn't take too much, then watch as the studios beg for rights to the names of the movies seeing as how I simply... "didn't have a use" for a domain until some point?
On a related tangent... I actually, really respect movie studios that create URLs like www.studio.com/movies/movie_name.htm or movie_name.studio.com and have mini sites related to their movies but hosted in this folder or sub-domain manner. There is almost a case to be made for domain name pollution by the studios and music artists, etc. every time they put out a new CD, DVD, movie, etc. They really only need to support the domain for a few years... usually a site with a good name goes live but eventually the site goes to crap after a bit as it is no longer updated, maintained, etc. Sure it's their URL to do with as they please but it just seems wrong some how for them to just snatch a domain because it suits them today, use it for a few years, then let it go to pot.
scare tactics
Never underestimate the power of a threat... mgm probably figured that if they sent some goons over they'd get the domain for free.