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uhhhhh (General Discussion)
uhhhhh // General DiscussionshredSep 20, 2002, 4:32pm
You don't do so well in English, either. At least run your posts through a spell-check program if you're too lazy to proofread anything.
People who's native language is not English have a valid excuse for making so many mistakes (if I'm not incorrect, you are from an English speaking segment of the United Kingdom. I apologize if I am wrong.) :P [View Quote] bowenSep 20, 2002, 4:44pm
I think grasias is acceptable by most Spanish speaking countries (not including
Spain). --Bowen-- [View Quote] kitSep 20, 2002, 6:52pm
And I'm sure you would be wrong
Kit [View Quote] > I think grasias is acceptable by most Spanish speaking countries (not including > Spain). > > --Bowen-- > [View Quote] bowenSep 20, 2002, 7:21pm
[View Quote]
No I'm pretty sure it's acceptable. Notice *acceptable*, it doesn't necessarily mean
it's the correct/proper way. --Bowen-- brockSep 20, 2002, 10:46pm
sweSep 21, 2002, 12:53am
accully, strike got fired :P or as he likes to call it, hes now a freelance
council member? [View Quote] strike rapierSep 21, 2002, 7:43am
This is the e-mail conversation I have been having with this blithering idiot, as I initiated it for personal Im free to display it.
----------------------------------- Mark We know the law we do not need you to give it to us. As I said their are many cases and arbitration decisions already decided which have interpreted the rules you quote below. We feel that we are in full compliance especially since the domain aw news is pretty general and aw can stand for many thousands of words. There is a procedure in place if your guy feels that he has a legal right to the domain he can file a for an arbitration for the domain under the rules of ICANN and if the arbitration believes you guy is entitled to the domain they will give it to him, if not we get to keep it. We have never lost a hearing or had a domain taken by any court or arbitrator. I last told you last night if your client had a federal trademark we would give the name to the holder. We also told you that if your guy was a true non-profit registered by the IRS we would contribute the domain to your guy. It seems the previous owner did not pay its annual fee, did not protect its domain by prepaying the fees for a few years at a time (we are taking about small money in the less than $100 area), did not organize itself as a true tax exempt organization although its holds itself out as a non-profit group, and did not protect its name by filing for a federal trademark. Basically the previous owner of the domain did not in any way shape or fashion, protect its domain and caused it to be lost. It wants to blame us for registering a domain that was available to be registered. If you don't pay your mortgage your house will be taken and someone will buy it at a greatly reduced price at a foreclosure. Is it the buyers fault?? If you don't pay your real estate taxes your house will be taken by the tax lien holder at a greatly reduced price. Is it the fault of the guy who bought the tax certificate??? If you don't make the payments on your car the bank will repo it and sell it to someone else. Is that their fault??? If you feel you have a claim file for an arbitration and we will let them decide. If they award it to you then we were wrong and you get it. If they rule against you then we were right and we keep it. Its that simple Very truly yours, Michael H. Berkens President Worldwide Media, Inc. http://www.mostwanteddomains.com ----- Original Message ----- From: Mark Randall To: MICHAEL Sent: Friday, September 20, 2002 1:25 PM Subject: Re: Dear Mike Dear Michael, While I am investigating this situation I would like to direct your attension to the file attached. In particular the following piece of information. B. The "Bad Faith" Requirement New section 43(d)(1)(B)(i) provides a nonexclusive list of nine factors that courts may consider when determining whether a person has the requisite bad faith intent under section 43(d)(1)(A): In determining whether a person has a bad faith intent described under subparagraph (A), a court may consider factors such as, but not limited to- (I) the trademark or other intellectual property rights of the person, if any, in the domain name; (II) the extent to which the domain name consists of the legal name of the person or a name that is otherwise commonly used to identify that person; (III) the person's prior use, if any, of the domain name in connection with the bona fide offering of any goods or services; (IV) the person's bona fide noncommercial or fair use of the mark in a site accessible under the domain name; (V) the person's intent to divert consumers from the mark owner's online location to a site accessible under the domain name that could harm the goodwill represented by the mark, either for commercial gain or with the intent to tarnish or disparage the mark, by creating a likelihood of confusion as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of the site; (VI) the person's offer to transfer, sell, or otherwise assign the domain name to the mark owner or any third party for financial gain without having used, or having an intent to use the domain name in the bona fide offering of any goods or services, or the person's prior conduct indicating a pattern of such conduct; (VII) the person's provision of material and misleading false contact information when applying for the registration of the domain name, the person's intentional failure to maintain accurate contact information, or the person's prior conduct indicating a pattern of such conduct; 15 The mark need only be distinctive at the time the domain name is registered. The mark itself need not be federally registered. Although section 43(d)(1) (section 3002 (a) of the Act) covers individuals' names that are distinctive marks, section 3002(b) goes further by protecting non-distinctive names. Section B part VI "(VI) the person's offer to transfer, sell, or otherwise assign the domain name to the mark owner or any third party for financial gain without having used, or having an intent to use the domain name in the bona fide offering of any goods or services, or the person's prior conduct indicating a pattern of such conduct;" Clearly identifies that the Bad Faith includes the use of existing domains for financial gain without having used the domain to provide good or services. Upon evaluation of your site and several others identified the domain 'awnews.com' is being used as a standard website mirror page hence use of the site for offering goods or services does not apply to this site, only the site of which you are containing the main information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I would also like to direct your attension towards the current action within the European Union and the USA to massivly increase tracking and punishment for cybersquatting laws where the domain is being used for profit against the owner, I direct your attension once again to your e-mail to Goober King since after it you put the price up many thousands of percent. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I look forward to your responce. - Mark Randall ----- Original Message ----- From: MICHAEL To: Mark Randall Sent: Friday, September 20, 2002 12:50 AM Subject: Re: Dear Mike Mark Actually we have received only a few e-mails on this, less than 10. The law in this area is very clear. Cyber squatting applies to people who register the trademarks and service marks of companies. If the owners of awnews had a federal trademark or service mark that predated our registration we would simply give the domain back as we have done on several occasions. However, in absence of such a federal trademark or service mark anyone is able to register any name they want. There are over 1,000,000 domains deleted every month for non-payment. We have no desire to sell the domain back to the previous owner. We sell less than 1% of the domains we ever acquire using the domains for traffic. Now if when you say the organization who used to own the domain is non-profit, if it has been properly granted non-profit status by the IRS then we might consider contributing the domain to the organization. If its just an organization which makes no money then that will not work Let me know if they are a 501-c-3 tax exempt organization and if so I will need their name, address, phone number and their tax exempt ID and maybe we can work something out Very truly yours, Michael H. Berkens President Worldwide Media, Inc. http://www.mostwanteddomains.com ----- Original Message ----- From: Mark Randall To: mike at mostwanteddomains.biz Sent: Thursday, September 19, 2002 2:28 PM Subject: Dear Mike Dear Mike, I would like to have a conversation with you regarding the AWNews.com of which you will most probably have been hearing allot about recently, and, to my knowledge will continue to receive allot of news about as you do not seem to understand the complexity of the situation. To my knowledge you are what is called an internet Squatter, which are becoming illegal as we speak, it is becoming against US and EU trade laws to hold a site or directly with the intension of bribery to get it back. As you know this has not gone down very well with the largest community in cyberspace which just happens to be the leader in internet 3D communication technology and encompasses some of the worlds finest programmers, developers, graphics artists etc etc. AWNews has long been established as the Active Worlds independent news site under the control of a Active Worlds citizen who is well respected by many hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. Now please understand that by doing this you are not making any friends. I believe that you have sent an e-mail to one AlphaBit Phalpha regarding promoting the spamming of your company. Just a little bit about Alphabit, for the last several years she has been the creator of the largest ever community award anywhere on the internet, for any game, chat or event, is known by many hundreds of thousands of people as 1 of the greatest internet personalities there is, and a generally great person, that is of course, until you start threatening what she has worked so very hard to create. The Active Worlds Community. I do seriously believe that you have no idea about the negative impact this is having on your business, as this little escapade has now reached world wide status and is rapidly becoming highlighted as 1 of the worst cases of internet abuse by corporations against individuals / none profit organisations. So I kindly ask you, Please give up now before this reaches fever pitch. Ive got enough work on at the moment dealing with thousands of people without having to stop a war against yourselves. - Mark Randall goober kingSep 21, 2002, 12:19pm
Erm, that's not what I was referring to. He comes from AWTeen, therefore
he is an AWTeener. Doesn't have anything to do with whether he's a council member or not. [View Quote] -- Goober King Once a Teener, always a Teener... robrod at prism.net goober kingSep 21, 2002, 12:26pm
*sigh* This is why I didn't want to make a big deal out of all this,
because I know we don't have a case. It's Cybor's fault for not renewing the domain, and it's my fault for not watching the domain name closely enough. That's all there is to it. All I can hope for is that ol' Mikey'll drop the domain when he realizes that there are no other buyers for it. The more you people fight over this, the more he'll believe the domain is worth $10,000. [View Quote] -- Goober King When does the hurting stop? robrod at prism.net alphabit phalphaSep 21, 2002, 12:48pm
Goobs...if he thinks anyone will come forward and pay the asking price then
he's a little empty in the cellar:) The issue now is the way he and other squatters take advantage of consumers. And it has to stop:) I am not giving up myself. Even if we don't get awnews.com back, I am going to make sure that my complaints go to the right places so that people in the future will hopefully be forewarned of companies like this practices. The fact that he accused me of being a spammer and also him retaliating by raising the prices leaves one to wonder what exactly is going on. He either retaliated in out right meanness....or boosted the price for a tax write off...which IRS and the Federal Trade Commission would definitely frown at. If I end up in a one on one with this guy...so be it...like I have mentioned...I have alot of time on my hands and enjoy sleuthing....LOL I've been collecting pages of all the high prices that have been donated to send to IRS. Too much repetition going on for it not to be obvious to the authorities. strike rapierSep 21, 2002, 1:26pm
Actually according to tha bad faith agreement (as I informed him) due to you contacting him then immidiatly putting thr price up to $10,000 he desires to sell the domain back to the origional owner for extortionate profit. Hence breaking the bad faith agreement
- Mark [View Quote] strike rapierSep 21, 2002, 1:50pm
And apparently its completly irreleveant ive spent more than half my time in aw in awgate :P
- Mark [View Quote] bowenSep 21, 2002, 1:53pm
> And apparently its completly irreleveant ive spent more than half my time in aw in
awgate :P Well that's two worlds compared to one. Weighted averages jeeves. See it's probably more like this; AWTeen- 45% of time, AWGate - 20% of time, AW - 35% of time. Not to mention you care a hell of a lot more for it than the other two. --Bowen-- strike rapierSep 21, 2002, 2:17pm
I hardly spend any time in AW, infact the only time ive been is to load my cache. And yes, i do care for awteen allot more because it has bigger prospects than any others.
[View Quote] sw chrisSep 21, 2002, 10:23pm
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
------=_NextPart_000_00B4_01C2613C.74466E20 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable You guys are both right. Unless you guys can claim a service mark on = the domain, then this will probably not make it to court. However it is = a good idea to register complaints with the BBB and FTC, and to call = your local congressmen and senators and tell them that you want them to = support an anti-cybersquatting law. This is Alphabit's role in all = this, I believe. Goobie's role here is to let it lay. Obviously Mikey has been getting = facts and figures of the amount of traffic a website registered with = register.com receives, and is offered first dibs at picking up the = domain name before it goes public. The traffic to awnews.com warranted = Mikey to purchase the domain name to try to sell it back to us. =20 Putting up a stink about it will only cause him to delay the realization = that we can't pay his $10,000 or $1,000 or whatever fee to buy it back = and that we won't. After contacting the FTC, the BBB, Congress, and the = Senate and/or any other represenatives from various countries, it would = be wise to let it lie. Consorting with cybersquatters or more aptly a = domain-for-ransom organization will only give Mikey the upper hand in = any negotiations that take place. =20 Therefore I call for an immediate cease and desist of any communication = with Mikey and his company. Reasoning will not work. The courts are = very much on his side, and almost rightly so. Time, and lack of income = will work. Money talks, especially when it isn't there. SW Chris Oh, and please remember to switch back to Plain Text when responding. = ;) [View Quote] ------=_NextPart_000_00B4_01C2613C.74466E20 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; = charset=3Diso-8859-1"> <META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2719.2200" name=3DGENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>You guys are both right. Unless = you guys can=20 claim a service mark on the domain, then this will probably not make it = to=20 court. However it is a good idea to register complaints with the = BBB and=20 FTC, and to call your local congressmen and senators and tell them that = you want=20 them to support an anti-cybersquatting law. This is Alphabit's = role in all=20 this, I believe.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Goobie's role here is to let it=20 <STRONG>lay</STRONG>. Obviously Mikey has been getting facts and = figures=20 of the amount of traffic a website registered with register.com = receives, and is=20 offered first dibs at picking up the domain name before it goes = public. =20 The traffic to awnews.com warranted Mikey to purchase the domain name to = try to=20 sell it back to us. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Putting up a stink about it will only = cause him to=20 delay the realization that we can't pay his $10,000 or $1,000 or = whatever fee to=20 buy it back and that we won't. After contacting the FTC, the BBB,=20 Congress, and the Senate and/or any other represenatives from various = countries,=20 it would be wise to let it lie. Consorting with cybersquatters or = more=20 aptly a <STRONG>domain-for-ransom organization</STRONG> will only give = Mikey the=20 upper hand in any negotiations that take place. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Therefore I call for an = <STRONG>immediate</STRONG>=20 <STRONG>cease and desist</STRONG> of any communication with Mikey = and his=20 company. Reasoning will not work. The courts are very much = on his=20 side, and almost rightly so. Time, and lack of income will = work. =20 Money talks, especially when it isn't there.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>SW Chris</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Oh, and please remember to switch back = to Plain=20 Text when responding. ;)</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>"alphabit phalpha" <</FONT><A=20 href=3D"mailto:alphabit at swbell.net"><FONT face=3DArial=20 size=3D2>alphabit at swbell.net</FONT></A><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>> = wrote in=20 message </FONT><A href=3D"news:3d8c86a6 at server1.Activeworlds.com"><FONT = face=3DArial=20 size=3D2>news:3d8c86a6 at server1.Activeworlds.com</FONT></A><FONT = face=3DArial=20 size=3D2>...</FONT></DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>> Goobs...if he = thinks anyone=20 will come forward and pay the asking price then<BR>> he's a little = empty in=20 the cellar:)<BR>> The issue now is the way he and other squatters = take=20 advantage of consumers.<BR>> And it has to stop:)<BR>> I am not = giving up=20 myself.<BR>> Even if we don't get awnews.com back, I am going to make = sure=20 that my<BR>> complaints go to the right places so that people in the = future=20 will<BR>> hopefully be forewarned of companies like this = practices.<BR>>=20 The fact that he accused me of being a spammer and also him retaliating=20 by<BR>> raising the prices leaves one to wonder what exactly is going = on.<BR>> He either retaliated in out right meanness....or boosted the = price=20 for a tax<BR>> write off...which IRS and the Federal Trade Commission = would=20 definitely<BR>> frown at.<BR>> If I end up in a one on one with = this=20 guy...so be it...like I have<BR>> mentioned...I have alot of time on = my hands=20 and enjoy sleuthing....LOL<BR>> I've been collecting pages of all the = high=20 prices that have been donated to<BR>> send to IRS.<BR>> Too much=20 repetition going on for it not to be obvious to the authorities.<BR>> = <BR>> </FONT></BODY></HTML> ------=_NextPart_000_00B4_01C2613C.74466E20-- alphabit phalphaSep 21, 2002, 10:33pm
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
------=_NextPart_000_032A_01C261A2.2A335A80 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I agree Chris...time to let the authorities decide the fate on this one. I will be posting in here any emails I receive back from the different = agencies. And anything else I hear...but for now...I think I've shared enough = links with folks so they can send emails also to the agencies or let it = lay...their choice really:) ------=_NextPart_000_032A_01C261A2.2A335A80 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; = charset=3Diso-8859-1"> <META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2716.2200" name=3DGENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff> <DIV><FONT size=3D2>I agree Chris...time to let the authorities decide = the fate on=20 this one.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2>I will be posting in here any emails I receive back = from the=20 different agencies.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2>And anything else I hear...but for now...I think = I've shared=20 enough links with folks so they can send emails also to the agencies or = let it=20 lay...their choice really:)</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV></BODY></HTML> ------=_NextPart_000_032A_01C261A2.2A335A80-- goober kingSep 21, 2002, 11:40pm
Glad to see *someone's* finally catching on around here :P
[View Quote] -- Goober King Who needs HTML when you have *asterisks*?! :) robrod at prism.net alphabit phalphaSep 22, 2002, 12:05am
Goobs...are you calling me daft?:)
*thwack* LOL Looking forward to awnews.org's grand opening:) [View Quote] sw chrisSep 22, 2002, 8:46pm
You shouldn't negotiate with terrorists... why negotiate with the next level
underneath them? :) SW Chris [View Quote] |
