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This, from The Register, made me chuckle

In what could easily be mistaken for an Onion story, Microsoft has unleashed the full fury of its lawyers on 17-year-old Canadian high-school student, Mike Rowe, demanding the handover of his Internet domain.

The domain? MikeRoweSoft.com. No, seriously.

Victoria-based Mike is currently studying maths and chemistry and plans to study computer science at Victoria University next year. 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.

The Beast of Redmond however reckons that the phonetic domain infringes its copyright and insists Mike hand it over or face the consequences.

Mike told us that when an email from Microsoft’s Canadian lawyers Smart & Biggar arrived on 19 November laying out its complaint, he was “amazed and appalled”. He replied saying he didn’t want to hand over the domain and didn’t feel there was any risk it would damage Microsoft’s name.

He then got another email. “They responded to this email by offering to give me all of my out-of-pocket expenses in return for the domain name. This came out to be $10; the amount I paid for the domain. This made me feel insulted. I had spent a lot of time building up my site and I had only been offered $10 for my work. I responded by asking for $10,000, which I regret doing now, for my work and domain name.”

As he now knows, Mike had unwittingly slipped into the classic trap set by companies in order to get hold of domain names - the creation of a “bad faith” use of the domain. By offering to sell the domain for profit (even if sparked by the offer of payment by the other party), according to the bent logic of domain dispute arbitrators, it shows the owner had no legitimate interest in the domain and so it should be handed over.

Microsoft, with its case bolstered, declined and Mike heard no more until 14 January when a 25-page letter and book were Fed-Ex’ed to his house explaining why he would have to hand over the domain, stating he had intended all along to sell the domain for profit and that his domain would confuse Microsoft customers.

“I decided to go to the press when I received the package from the lawyers’ office. I thought people would be interested in my story and I wanted to know what people had to say about the situation I am in. There is really nothing I can do to push or fight this except for telling people how things are going with the whole situation. The domain dispute is in the hands of the WIPO at the moment so I have no control over what happens to my domain name.”

Can Microsoft really be attempting to take a phonetic-sounding domain name? Well, Mike is reassuringly candid and although we have not seen Microsoft’s letter and the company has yet to confirm or deny its threats are real, it seems to hang together. Unless Mike is a first-rate hoaxer, it would appear that Microsoft really has lost the plot and is trying to extend the already flawed domain dispute rules into hitherto unexplored territory.

By making the situation public though, Mike tells us he has been bolstered. “After going to the press, I have realised that I should stick it out till the end. After the massive amount of support I have received from people across the globe I am motivated to stick with what I believe in.”

And so he should. It would seem Microsoft has no choice but to back down as, legally, it doesn’t have a hope in hell of winning and there are plenty of lawyers out there who would love to get a win against Microsoft under their belt.

Mike doesn’t quite know what to make of it all: “I can’t say I have ever been in a more surreal situation than this. It has all been quite overwhelming really. I don’t know what to say about it, I have just been going with the flow.” ®
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Posted: 2004-01-20 07:57:31
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Go Mike Go Mike!!
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Posted: 2004-01-20 08:07:46
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Although I do feel the same, I fear that unless Mike is actually creating any soft(ware), he might be in for some trouble... This message was posted from a T310
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Posted: 2004-01-20 08:16:23
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what if it's a description? perhaps he's saying that he is "soft", either physically, emotionally or mentally. maybe he likes pillows and cushions, or has pictures of them on the site. maybe he's a "soft touch" for cash.

the posibilities are endless
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Posted: 2004-01-20 08:19:12
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Indeed they are but then the MS lawyers may challenge the legitimacy of his adding 'soft' to his domain. I know I would... And since he admitted he has done so specifically to sound like MS... Hopefully MS will bend because of public pressure - even they can't risk the bad publicity, although they might want to send a message to all the others who might get ideas. This message was posted from a T310
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Posted: 2004-01-20 08:28:05
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Well,I dont think it is against the law if your companys name may SOUND like Microsoft,is it? This message was posted from a T68i
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Posted: 2004-01-20 10:07:36
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Good on you Mike! Microsoft need to get a sence of humour :-) This message was posted from a P800
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Posted: 2004-01-20 10:35:21
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@yaesu: yeah, bu what they have is a cents of humour

@emipov: actually not true. in australia there was a melbourne based swimwear company called torpedo trying to sue ian thorpe when he started a line of "thorpedo" swimwear. don't know the result though, but i think it was settled out of court.
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Posted: 2004-01-21 00:06:55
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Episode 2 - in whch we see "Billcorp" make a rapid backpeddle.

taken from ZDNet Australia

this is also an interesting opinion piece A Tale of Two Michaels

Microsoft: We took MikeRoweSoft too seriously

By Munir Kotadia, ZDNet UK
21 January 2004

Microsoft says it may have been overaggressive in threatening Web entrepreneur Mike Rowe over the name of his Web site, Mikerowesoft.com.

Rowe, a 17-year-old student from Vancouver, British Columbia, registered Mikerowesoft.com to front his part-time Web site design business in August 2003. Three months later, he received an e-mail from Microsoft's lawyers, asking him to transfer the domain name to Microsoft. They offered to pay him a "settlement" of US$10, which is the cost of his original registration fee.

However, after the case received widespread coverage on the Internet, Microsoft acknowledged that it may have taken things too far and promised to treat Rowe fairly. A representative of the software company told ZDNet UK: "We appreciate that Mike Rowe is a young entrepreneur who came up with a creative domain name. We take our trademark seriously, but maybe a little too seriously in this case."

Under the law, Microsoft is required to take action to protect its trademark against widespread infringement. Struan Robertson, editor of Out-Law.com, a Web site that covers legal issues affecting information technology, explained that if a holder does not take action to protect its trademark whenever it is aware of a potential infringement, it risks losing that protection.

Robertson gives Hoover as an example of a trademark that has become a generic word for vacuum cleaning: "If you or I talk about hoovering our house, that is not an issue, but if Electrolux talks about hoovering, that is an issue," he said.

According to Robertson, Rowe may have a good argument for keeping the domain name, because it is his real name, and he isn't pretending to be affiliated with Microsoft. But he said Microsoft probably regrets getting involved with the case because of all the bad publicity it has generated.

"It is probably a very trivial issue for Microsoft, and I wouldn't be surprised if they regret getting involved with it. Microsoft may be prepared to pay him some money to make this go away, because this is not the kind of publicity that Microsoft wants to attract," added Robertson.

Microsoft hopes to resolve the problem in a way that is agreeable to both parties: "We are currently in the process of resolving this matter in a way that will be fair to him and satisfy our obligations under trademark law," the representative said.

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Gee, does that beat me? I only got two pair - two aces, and another two.

[ This Message was edited by: gelfen on 2004-01-21 02:16 ]

[ This Message was edited by: gelfen on 2004-01-21 02:17 ]
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Posted: 2004-01-21 03:07:16
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Episode 3 - Settlement, taken from this BBC article


Boy swaps MikeRoweSoft for Xbox

Mike Rowe: The 'ordinary teenager' battled with the 'big guys'
A Canadian teenager whose website annoyed Bill Gates' lawyers is giving it up in exchange for Microsoft goodies, including an Xbox console.

Mike Rowe, 17, thought it would be fun to add "soft" to the end of his name to set up the site, mikerowesoft.com.

The computer giant thought it was too close to its name, and offered him $10 to take it down which Mr Rowe refused.

The new deal includes Microsoft paying for a new site, expenses and a subscription to its developer forum.

'Busy with exams'

"All along I just wanted to prove a point that the small guy can win against the giant corporations," Mr Rowe said on his website last week.

He had originally demanded Microsoft pay him $10,000 to take down the site, which he set up as a forum for designers and programmers.

The out-of court settlement was reached amicably on Friday.

"We believe he's a bright young man with great potential," said Jim Desler, Microsoft spokesman.

"Mike will soon decide on his new name and website and we have agreed to help redirect any traffic to his new website to ensure he does not lose any business."

As a sign of goodwill, Microsoft said it would also give the teenager training for certification on its products, and he and his parents have been invited to the technology giants' headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

Mr Rowe was not able to comment on the settlement. His father said he was too busy with his exams.

But on Sunday he wrote on his website, "Sorry there hasn't been a lot of news posted by me lately, I have been very busy with school, exams, the media, new website and settling with Microsoft."
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Posted: 2004-01-26 14:19:19
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