Back in June, Jeff Jarvis wrote on Buzz Machine about German publishers banding together to go after Google for linking to their content. As Jarvis pointed out Google News does not show ads so the desire to get 11 % of something, would be 11% of nothing. From the article: German publishers are not just fighting Google. They are fighting the link and thus the essence of the internet. Half … [Read more...]
IronDome.com is out to intercept Patent Disputes
To say that the term Iron Dome is in the news everyday would be an understatement, more like in the news every hour. Iron Dome of course is the the Israeli built defense system that knocks out incoming missiles out of they sky before they hit their target. As a domain name, IronDome.com was registered back in 2004 by McLeod Capital Corp. of Calgary, Canada. The defense system was … [Read more...]
Victoria’s Secret Loses Trademark Battle for Pink in the U.K.
The Pink brand of Victoria's Secret is everywhere in the U.S., the local mall I go to has a Victoria's Secret and even when traffic was down and stores closing up, the Victoria's Secret store was always packed. During the 2008 financial crisis the gourmet popcorn store closed, the bookstore closed but there was a brisk business for underwear. The Pink brand was launched in 2004 and has been a … [Read more...]
Spain Passes The “Google” Tax – How it will work no one is really sure
Spain Passes The Google Tax Spain passed a law that will give Spanish newspaper publishers the right to get paid from any site that links to them with what they deem a " meaningful " description of the content. It is important to note that this law does not apply to all publishers in Spain, only daily newspapers. From QZ.com On July 22 Spain passed a law (link in Spanish) called the canon … [Read more...]
Tech Radar: “The new domain name system is causing problems for brands”
Tech Radar published an article todayon new gtlds and the problems brands are already having with protecting their brand. The article references a study from Brad Newberg at Reed Smith, the sample study took a look at 20 brands in the bicycle industry and how fast some of their names were taken by those not affiliated with the company. Canyon.bike is referenced as to being regged, "seven … [Read more...]
You Want To illegally download content in the UK ? You will get some letters but no penalty
The MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) and RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) must be wondering what the heck is going on across the pond in the UK. After years of trying to find the right solution to dealing with piracy, they are going to send citizens letters that are the equivalent to telling your dog who just pooped on the carpet, Bad Dog ! If someone is a consistent … [Read more...]
An Example of Why People Still CyberSquat
Why do people still cybersquat ? That was a question posed a couple of weeks back on Namepros, and while I am not advocating it any way, I am going to give an example of how it still pays off in 2014. PluralSight.in sold on Wednesday for $16,000. The domain was registered in July of 2013, by a gentleman in China who just listed himself as Jeff. No last name, just Jeff. Well just Jeff regged … [Read more...]