Microsoft wins web domain battle, but also loses
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2004-01-27 •
The Internet is a rather fascinating world especially when it comes to branding or trademark issues. Unlike the offline world, here, sometimes even big guns are forced to bow before tiny upstarts. In an interesting recent incident, a 17-year-old Canadian teenager Mike Rowe caught attention when he registered a site by the domain name www.mikerowesoft.com. This has been a constant worry for IT giant Microsoft, as it resembled its name.
After a long discussion, the Canadian teenager was offered some handsome perks for giving up his website, which he has agreed to accept. Talking about this deal, Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler said, “Mike will soon decide on his new name and web site and we have agreed to help redirect any traffic to his new web site to ensure he does not lose any business.”
To give up his website, the budding web designer would be paid the expenses and the cost of switching over to a new site. In addition, Microsoft would also provide him with training for certification on Microsoft's products, a subscription to Microsoft's developer programme web site, and an Xbox video game console with games. Apart from all these, he, along with his parents, has been invited to visit Microsoft's Redmond, Washington, headquarters for an annual technology fair.
Microsoft initially took a hard line against the Canadian teenager, offering to pay him only $10 for the incidental cost of giving up his site, instead of the $10,000 that he had he demanded. Rowe wrote on his web site that all along he just wanted to prove a point that even a small guy can win against a giant corporation.
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