Posted on 12/04/2002 11:16:05 AM PST by ServesURight
Author Wins Control of Internet Name
GENEVA (AP) - Best-selling author Michael Crichton (news), who wrote "Jurassic Park" and created the television series "ER," has won control of the Internet name www.michaelcrichton.com in a ruling by a United Nations
The panel ordered the transfer of the domain name to Crichton after he complained to the World Intellectual Property Organization that it was being used illegally.
The ruling Tuesday said the registered owner of the name — Alberta Hot Rods of Alberta, Canada — had no rights or interests in the name.
Crichton's lawyers told the panel the domain linked to another Web site, which contained advertising but made no reference to Crichton or his work. The site's owner did not file a defense.
Anyone can register a domain name for a few dollars, which has led so-called "cybersquatters" to file for famous names to make a fast buck from those who want the names. Some names are worth millions of dollars.
The U.N. arbitration system, which started in 1999, allows those who think they have the right to a domain to get it back without having to fight a costly legal battle or paying large sums of money.
Since his 1971 novel, "The Andromeda Strain," was made into a movie, Crichton has enjoyed a string of literary and Hollywood successes. Among his novels and original screenplays that have been turned into feature films are "Twister," "Disclosure" and "Rising Sun."
And how exactly does the U.N. have jurisdiction over a company in Alberta, Canada?
The worst one I heard is that a U.S. court made the owner of www.britney.com, which was a site dedicated to a guys daughter named "Britney", give the name to Britney Spears(he got compensation, but none the less). Nope, BS couldn't simply call hers www.britneyspears.com, she had to have his.
That's the funny thing about all this ICANN stuff. It only affects the DNS system that happens to be en vogue.
It's simple to switch to another system entirely, which is wholly unaffected by the decisions of ICANN, the U.N., or anyone else.
I guess my point is that you can never truly "own" a domain name. If I want to edit my /etc/hosts file, and point michaelcrichton.com at an IP address for a webserver that is actually serving up the weather for Timbuktu, there ain't nobody that can stop me.
Granted, it would only affect users on my network. :-)
Well no worries there, darling, all my domains are linked to relevant sites. Even George Lucas can't complain. ;)
Love, Ivan
From what I hear, if he could he would :-)
WIPO - All your domain are belong to us.
WIPO - All your domain are belong to us.
That much is certain. ;)
Love, Ivan
precedent.. No!!
This type of thing has happened many times before, although this may be the first time the UN has had it's commie hand in the cookie jar!!
This is why I always thought that plans to tax or charge for email were pretty funny. Just recompile your sendmail to run on ports other than 25 and you could easily set up an alternate email network that would evade any basic tracking.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.