Take-Two Loses Battle for Bioshock.com Domain
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
- Start date
They registered the domain name first. There's no direct evidence they gained the trademark due to the game, although there is plenty of speculation and heresay. They bought the domain name, why the hell should they have to give it up? I can't understand the hate here, yes they may be gaining money by advertising while using a URL that people would probably think was related to the game, but they registered the name before the game came out. You may not like it, but they got to it first. Why the hell would Irrational have a right to take over a domain name that was registered before they even officially announced the name of the game? If they want to come to an agreement and buy the domain, fine, but there's no legal precedent that they have more of a right to it than anyone else. Why isn't Gearbox suing the Borderland Sciences Research Foundation over borderlands.com?
Andy did quite phrase the verse not for the worse there.Grey_Focks said:
Domain squatting is aptly named, as it isn't the first time that 'squatting' has been used in such a context. Back during the gold rush days someone might find a good vein or one they hope is good, but don't have the tools or legal documents to claim the gold. So one or more are left behind to squat on the find while others go buy equipment and do the legalese to lay claim. Meantime someone else can come along and make their own claim, which can sometimes lead to bloodshed.
In this analogy, Take Two had the equipment to get the gold, but they didn't have the legal documents to make the claim formal. Name Administration had the legal document but not the tools. Name Administration is never going to realize the money that should be made from that domain name, and yet they stupidly fight for it(as opposed to just offering a price on it and making a decent wad without the chance of just losing the domain outright). Yet since they did their homework while Take Two sat on their hands, they get to hang onto the land(er, domain).
Let this be a lesson to you: when developing a game, as soon as someone brainstorms an idea for a name...register it. Don't matter if you don't stick with that name, cuz you can always sell it to someone else. Or use it for your next game.
Domains are $10 a year (less in bulk). You have a multi million dollar budget. Spend the first $2-3k registering every possible domain name for your game. Chances are you will make it back selling them on the market after your development cycle.
Makes me wonder about the kind of people being paid for this stuff.
