Joystiq

Microsoft files to claim Xboxone.com, .net from UK resident

Jordan Mallory — Sat, 25 May 2013 21:00:00 EST

It's difficult to register a domain without it quickly becoming a matter of public record, which may be why Microsoft has waited until now to try and secure ownership of Xboxone.com and Xboxone.net, according to Fusible.

The megalithic company has filed a dispute (case #1501205) with the National Arbitration Forum - the company that resolves reports of domain squatting and trademark infringement in URLs, in order to gain control of the two address that have, until now, been controlled by an unnamed resident of the United Kingdom.

In order for Microsoft to win its dispute, it'll need to prove to the NAF that the domains are identical and/or confusingly similar to a trademark that Microsoft owns, that this random person in the UK has no rights to the Xbox One trademark and that the domains in question were registered in bad faith.

Microsoft files to claim Xboxone.com, .net from UK resident originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 25 May 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA registers 'Plants Vs Zombies Adventures' domains

Mike Suszek — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 16:30:00 EST

EA recently registered domain names related to its undead botanical tower defense series with the name "Plants Vs. Zombies Adventures." Domain squatters lost out on registering PlantsVsZombiesAdventures.com, PlantsVsZombiesAdventure.com and pvZadVentures.com before EA got to it, as each URL was registered on March 6.

As usual, domain names mean nothing without an actual game announcement to accompany them. Plants Vs. Zombies 2 was announced back in August 2012, with a late Spring 2013 release window. Whether the "2" is replaced with "Adventures" in the game's title remains to be seen.

EA registers 'Plants Vs Zombies Adventures' domains originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 10 Mar 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubisoft registers 'Just Dance Floor' domains

Jordan Mallory — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 21:00:00 EST

Ubisoft's big pre-E3 press conference is roughly 48 hours away, and while common sense dictates that the announcement of a new Just Dance game is as likely as tomorrow's rising sun, nothing official has happened quite yet. There are intriguing clues, however, such as JustDanceFloor.com and Just-DanceFloor.com, two new Ubisoft-owned domains uncovered by the intrepid detectives at Fusible.

The trouble with URLs is that they generally divulge very little in the way of context, especially when it comes to titles. Are these addresses for Just Dance: Floor, or Just DanceFloor? Just Dance: Floor would be a really terrible play on words, since the next Just Dance game in the series would be the fourth one. But, if it's Just DanceFloor, why is "Floor" capitalized?

Okay, now the word "floor" just looks weird.

Ubisoft registers 'Just Dance Floor' domains originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 02 Jun 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Smattering of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Vita domains registered by Sony

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 29 May 2012 15:00:00 EST

Hey, in case you didn't know, that Smash Bros.-esque PlayStation 3 game, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, is very likely also heading to PlayStation Vita. How likely? Pretty freakin' likely, especially considering the recently discovered group of domain registrations from Sony Computer Entertainment of America tied to URLs like "PlaystationAllStarsVita.com," "PS-AllStarsVita.com," and "PSAllStarsBattleRoyaleVita.com."

As with so many of these discoveries, Superannuation spotted the URLs - URLs that pretty clearly identify a Vita-based version of the brawler. We'll be saying this a lot this week, so get used to it: we've reached out to Sony for more info, but only got "we don't comment on rumor or speculation" in return. We expect more info next week during E3.

Smattering of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Vita domains registered by Sony originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 29 May 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Square Enix registers domains for 'Just Cause 4' despite lack of Just Cause 3

Ben Gilbert — Mon, 21 May 2012 10:50:00 EST

Just in case the Just Cause series is successful enough to get a fourth entry, Square Enix wants to make sure it can employ any necessary URLs. As such, the company registered URLs in a variety of countries for "JustCause4" via URL proxy registrant Corporation Service Company, as discovered by Fusible.

Neither Square Enix nor Avalance Studios have said much about the Just Cause series as of late, though Avalance studio head Christofer Sundberg told Develop in early 2010 that a third entry in the series is very likely. It's also rumored that Avalanche has been working on a Mad Max-based game; we haven't heard about that project since September 2010. Beyond Avalanche's Stockholm-based studio, the privately owned Swedish company opened a New York City office in 2011 to work on an unannounced game only known as "Project Mamba."

Regardless, with just a few weeks left until E3, it's likely we'll hear more about whatever Avalanche is working on sooner, rather than later.

Square Enix registers domains for 'Just Cause 4' despite lack of Just Cause 3 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 21 May 2012 10:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubisoft registers domains for 'Rayman Legends'

Jordan Mallory — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:00:00 EST

There's nothing we like more than a good, mysterious domain registration. This latest batch of URLs with undisclosed purposes comes courtesy of Ubisoft, which has registered both RaymanLegends.com and Rayman-Legends.com.

This maneuver - spotted by Fusible - follows rumors that Ubisoft has already been pitching a sequel to last year's 2D platformer, Rayman Origins, in an online marketing survey. According to leaked concepts, the game might see Rayman tussling with legendary creatures like ghosts and dragons. Ubisoft, of course, is opting not to comment on "rumors or speculation."

Ubisoft registers domains for 'Rayman Legends' originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Activision registers ActivisionNews.com, trying to put us out of work

Ben Gilbert — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 14:30:00 EST

With begrudging loyalty to our duty, we have to inform you that Activision registered the domain name "ActivisionNews.com." While we'd point out that you could always get your Activision news from, say, this handy tag, it looks like Activision may be interested in serving up said news to you directly - that is, beyond social media manager Dan Amrich's current outreach.

As Fusible points out, the URL doesn't resolve a site just yet, and it may never (the URL grab could be little more than a "just in case" action). We've reached out to Activision for clarification, but we're a bit worried that the answer could pop up on ActivisionNews.com first.

Activision registers ActivisionNews.com, trying to put us out of work originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 21 Mar 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MLG moves more than 100 domains in opposition of SOPA

Jordan Mallory — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 16:30:00 EST

SOPA's presence continues to loom, darkening e-skies across the nation and weighing heavy on the minds and hearts of tech-savvy Americans everywhere. The average citizen, in an attempt to effect what little change they can, has taken to moving their business away from companies that support SOPA; companies such as domain registrar GoDaddy.

This movement, spearheaded by Reddit's Move Your Domain Day initiative, has influenced the business operations of at least one major player in the gaming world; Major League Gaming has announced the transfer of over 100 domains from GoDaddy to rival registrar Namecheap, saying that the gaming organization is "firmly against both the specifics of SOPA and the philosophy behind the bill." They go on to urge everyone curious about the subject to read up and draw their own conclusions, which sounds like a good idea to us.

MLG moves more than 100 domains in opposition of SOPA originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 07 Jan 2012 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA unable to gain rights to SSX.com

Jordan Mallory — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:15:00 EST

EA, in an attempt to gain ownership of SSX.com ahead of the series' February relaunch, challenged Abstract Holdings International LTD's claim on the address, saying that the URL was registered in "bad faith." A panel at The National Arbitration Forum, however, has determined that EA's argument was insufficient.

"The EA allegations of bad faith in part are based upon the lack of due diligence conducted by retailers of domain names like Respondent," the Forum determined. "EA would seem to require that entities like Respondent conduct an international search for relatively obscure trademarks in order to determine whether a name is a registered mark. The Panel is not willing to go so far."

In this case, EA's claim of "bad faith" hinged on the fact that SSX.com briefly contained video game-related advertisements. Since these advertisements are now gone, there's nothing inherently malicious or misleading about the site, negating EA's ability to claim any misuse. For now, SSX.com remains the property of Abstract Holdings, although we imagine several zeroes and a few commas written on EA letterhead would change their minds.

EA unable to gain rights to SSX.com originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ModernWarfare3.com owner outed by GoDaddy

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 09:50:00 EST

Miami, Florida resident Anthony Abraham has been sitting on a very valuable URL for approximately two and a half years at this point. And though he'd hidden his identity through his URL registrant, GoDaddy.com, via its "Domains By Proxy" hiding service, a domain dispute from Modern Warfare 3 publisher Activision dissolved that shield this past weekend. Abraham is the owner of ModernWarfare3.com who has been seemingly trolling Activision for days now.

The publisher filed a domain-name dispute with the National Arbitration Forum, claiming that the site owner violates Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy. Rather than stand by Abraham, GoDaddy instead lifted the electronic shroud hiding the URL registrant's name, opening him up to direct contact with Activision (and by extension, we imagine, Activision's legal team).

Currently, the ModernWarfare3.com URL brings up nothing more than an error, though over the weekend it redirected to both Battlefield 3's main site as well as a spoof site lampooning Modern Warfare 3 (featuring the video seen above) Activision has yet to publicly comment on Mr. Abraham's actions, instead choosing to let its UDRP complaint act as representation. The publisher believes Abraham "has no right or legitimate interest in the Domain Name," and argues that it's entitled to control given its history with the Modern Warfare IP.

ModernWarfare3.com owner outed by GoDaddy originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 19 Jul 2011 09:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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