Microsoft vs. MikeRoweSoft

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_vs._MikeRoweSoft

by Hrundi • 13 years ago

52 24 13 years ago

en.wikipedia.org

codeka• 13 years ago

Slow news day? How did this make it to the front page?

conroy• 13 years ago

My guess is that it has to do with the Nissan.com story also on the front page.

rfnslyr• 13 years ago

I don't mind reading up on something I didn't know. It's an interesting case.

taspeotis• 13 years ago

I agree. It's only remarkable from a public relations point of view.

Following the case it was suggested by Struan Robertson – editor of Out-Law.com – that Microsoft had little choice but to pursue the issue once it had come to light or they would have risked weakening their trademark. This view was also espoused by ZDNet, who noted that had Microsoft knowingly ignored Rowe's site, the company would have risked losing the right to fight future trademark infringements.

biot• 13 years ago

Doesn't everyone love decade old news? http://slashdot.org/story/04/01/26/1816210/microsoft-agrees-...

jnord• 13 years ago

When checking out the site that was mentioned in the article, I mispelled the URL slightly and ended up at mikerowsoft.com which the AVG virus scanner reported as an "attack" page. Now there is something for the Microsoft legal team to sink there teeth in.

bdon• 13 years ago

For those interested in a breadth of interesting domain squatting litigation:

Panavision Int'l, L.P. v. Toeppen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Toeppen - company Panavision vs. a domain squatter ostensibly showing pictures of Pana, Illinois

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals v. Doughney http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_for_the_Ethical_Treatmen... - PETA vs a guy who registered peta.org as 'People Eating Tasty Animals'

Lamaparello v. Falwell http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamparello_v._Falwell - fallwell.com mistyped domain used to criticize preacher Jerry Falwell

manifest234• 13 years ago

Well this is kind of weird to see here. Especially since it happened almost 10 years ago. I am Mike Rowe. I can answer any questions if people want. I did an AMA on reddit in 2009 as well http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/ajsih/i_am_the_guy_who....

onedev3• 13 years ago

I just wanted to say, you are my hero.

SeckinJohn• 13 years ago

Why is he your hero?

manifest234• 13 years ago

I think you need to re-evaluate your criteria in choosing a hero.

tagabek• 13 years ago

For the first paragraph of the article, I believed that you were the host of Dirty Jobs...

manifest234• 13 years ago

I'm pretty much the opposite of that Mike Rowe. I've never worked a day of hard labour in my life. I've considered starting a YouTube channel with me doing clean jobs, but there's only so many times in life you can copy the success of other people/companies.

antimora• 13 years ago

Since you've gone through the trouble of being sued, was it worth at the end?

I am considering buying a domain name that has a similar spelling to an existing domain name but it only existed briefly, I wonder if it's worth buying knowing I could be sued.

manifest234• 13 years ago

I never got sued. They just sent me a cease and desist letter telling me to stop using the domain. I went to the media with that and it all blew out of proportion from there. The only thing I was ever at risk of losing was my domain name. I ended up selling out for a bunch of goodies and a couple trips to Redmond.

betaclass• 13 years ago

Did the fact that MikeRoweSoft.com sounds like Microsoft.com have any bearing on your decision to register the former?

gabemart2• 13 years ago

Am I missing something? The wikipedia article claims he intentionally bought the domain because it sounded like Microsoft. The domain very clearly infringed on Microsoft's trademark. Microsoft offered to repay him the cost of buying the domain name (which they are under no legal obligation to do). I don't really get why Microsoft is the bad guy here (and I'm no particular fan of the company).

charonn0• 13 years ago

When a multi-billion dollar corporation thumps a 12th grader over the head with its legal department, people are going to call foul.

gabemart2• 13 years ago

From my reading of the article (which may well not represent the whole story, I admit) they only "thumped him over the head" with a C&D when he asked for $10,000 for his infringing domain. I'm not sure being a 12th grader gets you off the hook for that.

ceol• 13 years ago

According to the article, all they did was send him a cease an desist order (albeit a rather long one.) That's pretty standard.

Just sounds like the public got riled up for no good reason.

Zak• 13 years ago

What does trademark law say about using one's given, legal name that was not intentionally selected to resemble an existing trademark in trade when it does, in fact resemble such a trademark? I don't think it's as clear-cut as you suggest, though admitting to choosing the domain name because it resembles Microsoft is a bad move from a legal perspective.

Microsoft vs. MikeRoweSoft

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