Mike Rowesoft

[Taylor Hewitt]

I just wanted to share a story that not everybody may be familiar with.

A few years back there was this guy named Michael Rowesoft and he owned the domain "MikeRowesoft.com". Microsoft eventually came after him for it. They took it from him (which I TOTALLY disagree with since ffs it's his own god damn name...).

Anyways they gave him a free xbox among a few other things... wait a sec...

Here's the full story:

CNN.com - Microsoft to take over MikeRoweSoft.com - Jan. 26, 2004

I can't believe they sent him a damn TWENTY FIVE page letter threatening legal action if he didn't give it up. Pretty lame if you ask me!

[Brandon]

www.mikerowesoft.com doesn't even load. That was kind of pointless. I would have fought them in court, and got them to pay $xx,xxx for it.

-Brandon

[Taylor Hewitt]

Damn straight brotha!

If a company named TailorHut.com came after me for TaylorHewitt.com I'd tell them to perform a certain something on a certain body part of mine. It's a family forum so I won't get into specifics but I'm sure you understand what I mean.

Seriously man that would piss me off. It's my own name. I'm a fighter so yeah I'd fight back like a madman.

[Dave Zan]

Wasn't there a saying that one must choose his battles wisely?

One question ought to be asked is why the kid registered the domain name back then. The link below supposedly gave the reason why:

Microsoft lawyers threaten Mike Rowe (17) | The Register

He registered the domain in August because he thought it would be cool to have a site that sounded like the famous company to show his Web designing skills.

Microsoft's lawyers believed the kid registered the domain name to get a free ride on their trademark, which is generally a no-no. US law requires a trademark holder to enforce their rights or risk losing it, although subsequently Microsoft admitted they may have been a bit harsh approaching this.

However, they eventually settled. In return for giving the domain name to Microsoft, Mr. Rowe had his expenses paid, a subscription to the Microsoft Developer Network, an Xbox, training for Microsoft certification, and an all-expenses-paid trip to the Microsoft Research Tech Fest for him and his parents.

If anything, the kid chose to play a man's game. But...all's well that end's well, and what rewards the kid got!

[Taylor Hewitt]

So then why did you say in the other thread that a company can't take a name from someone unless it's proving to be bad for their name?

Like if I registered MicrosoftStuff.com. Would they be able to take that from me even though it was like a useful site for microsoft users?

[Brandon]

Oh course they would, Taylor. That's what myspace was/is doing.

A domain like Microstuff.com would be more questionable, though.

[Taylor Hewitt]

HAH if they tried to take that from someone I'd be pissed. They don't own the word micro ffs...

[Dave Zan]

Originally Posted by Taylor Hewitt

So then why did you say in the other thread that a company can't take a name from someone unless it's proving to be bad for their name?

Like if I registered MicrosoftStuff.com. Would they be able to take that from me even though it was like a useful site for microsoft users?

Unless I'm having one of my periodic Forgetful Jones episodes, I don't recall exactly saying what you posted above. Kindly post a link or a quote of that.

For your other question, sure they'll be able to take that. I think what you're really asking is will they win and grab it, which is something only a court or dispute resolution provider will answer.

BTW, that domain name is registered and displaying ads to competing products, which is another no-no. Microsoft already filed suits in US court, and are looking to file some in the UK.

Arguably the most important question to ask yourself whether a domain name is possibly infringing a trademark is why you want to register it to begin with. If you're thinking of registering a domain name to possibly ride on someone's hard work (like you read or heard a company's press release for an upcoming product), then that's already a sign of a potential problem.

[Taylor Hewitt]

Oh well if you don't remember saying it you probably didn't. Someone else did then.