Microsoft continues its fight for all Xbox One domain names

By Michael Archambault
published

Launching a new product and not being in control of the domain names surrounding it can definitively be troublesome for some companies. Luckily, with the help of the Richard Law Group, Microsoft is now in control of both XboxOne.com and XboxOne.net; a quick WHOIS record query shows the latest information for the two domains.

Back in May of this year, Microsoft filed a complaint to gain control over the two domain names with the National Arbitration Forum. There was never an official ruling on the issue and the case itself has been withdrawn. This signifies that through the Richard Law Group, Microsoft has most likely come to an agreement with the previous owners.

Microsoft isn’t done yet though; the domain name Xbox1.com is owned by a Japanese company known as Value-Domain Com and it is yet to be under the company’s control.

The Redmond company was able to secure XboxSmartGlass.com, XboxPhone.com, and XboxFitness.com through a National Arbitration Forum Order, so we will have to wait and see for the decision on Xbox1.com.

What do you think about the situation – should companies make sure they own domains before settling on a name scheme for a product?

Source: Ars Technica

Michael Archambault
Michael Archambault
48 Comments
  • Names shouldn't be planned by domain availability.
  • Okay?
  • What's in a name? Can't you easily just settle and buy out the names anyways.
  • Except they will want to charge a crazy amount for a $8 domain
  • Not everyone wants to sell at a reasonable price, if at all.
  • Xbox phone?
  • Was thinking the same...
  • +1
  • +1
  • Might be a little outlandish but WP does have "Xbox" on their phones. So I think that might be for people who associate Xbox with their phone. Not everybody has an Xbox, but they have Xbox on their WP.
  • Yea we have Xbox Video, Music and Live on our phones, so these are Xbox Phones :)
  • I wouldn't say we have Xbox Video on our phones.
  • Xbox music will be coming with the latest update. I hope xbox video will come eventually
  • Meanwhile, Richard Law Group is celebrating the millions it has made just by getting these two domains... It is a great way to make some easy money though. Buy a domain close enough to a blockbuster product and see the corporation pay you millions for the right.
  • Not exactly. They can just sue you for ownership until you hand over the domain.
  • Really? That's ridiculous! If someone buys a domain, then it's theirs! A company shouldn't have the right to sue you for something that's yours that they want
  • If your domain name is specifically designed to infringe a copywrite, then of course they can sue it from you. Try making twentiethsenturyfox.com and then arguing that you didn't do it to just make money.
  • But who cares what the owner is going to do with the domain? It's no one else's business! If a company wants a domain, no matter what it is, they should either get it before someone else does, pay someone who has it, or swallow their pride and get a different domain or add a sub domain to their current one. Hell, they could just add a new directory for example: Xbox.com/one. Domains are first come, first serve for a reason
  • Domains are not immune from copyright infringement laws. You act like people who register domains like PlayStationX360.com are not intentionally infringing on a copyright. They are. I understand we all hate corporate thuggery, but that is not the case here.
  • How is it infringing on copyright laws though? If anything it'd be trademark laws, correct? I could be wrong though. I'm no copyright/trademark expert
  • For example. A few years ago a fellow who's name was Mike Rowe, who was a web designer, had the domain MikeRoweSoft.com. He got sued.
  • I'm going to find a rare collection of fox statues that were used to guard an entrance and destroy all but the 20th one raising its value and making it more rare. I will dedicate a page to it called twentiethsentryfox.com
  • Lol...
  • If the company can prove that the owner has no legitimate reason for having the domain (e.g., if it's 'parked') then they can argue that they bought the domain 'out of spite' just so they could sell it later for profit.
  • Just make a crappy RSS-feed blog.
  • Go to Nissan.com and read about that guys plight.
  • Yes, actually because it all depends on when this domain was filed. For example, say person X hears a rumor about a new product from Apple coming out and bets on this and buys a domain. In that case, I doubt you'd just be able to sue the owner since there is no real way to prove that this was created just to infringe upon a trademark/copyright. This is very much a real business actually. People buying domains by the dozen and selling it off to businesses that desperately need them. Quite frustrating really.
  • +1 this is how it works.
  • NEW XBLA game today ???
  • I've been waiting to hear this or at least the next red stripe deals. With Steam's summer sale, I'm antsy! I already have too many games on my phone, XBox, and PC that are hardly touched and yet I'm interested in maybe one or two more games for some reason... seriously, I don't know why. I just played another level on Portal 2 on my PC and noticed it hadn't been played since 2011!!!
  • Use this as an exuse to change the name to something cooler? :P Nah I don't mind the name, just took some getting use to.
  • I wish I would have thought of getting at least one domain name for them to buy it from me lmao!
  • This is actually famous a screw up that Microsoft did, anyone ever heard of Expedia? Well everyone has to pay for domain names and they can be cheap, well Microsoft forgot to pay their bill, and they realized it on the day it was due. They sent thus dude running down the street with like 40$ at the time, but if they hadn't anybody could have bought it and there have occasions like above where people I'll hold a domain name hostage and instead of 40$ how bout a million to buy it back.
  • Microsoft owns Expedia? I'm only asking because I wasn't aware of that.
  • Ok, so is it me or is there NO Halo Spartan yet. I'm starting to cry, boo hoo, boo hoo. See
  • Yea it's a NO :(((
  • xPhone??
  • Xwhocares.com
  • Microsoft ruined the Xbox name. Who cares about the domain.
  • Yea because the "original" Xbox before Microsoft was..... *crickets*
  • Yeah but this is it - the opportunity of buying new games cheap is much more interesting than actually playing them!
  • They should have taken care of this months before launch. Or picked a different name. It'd kind of embarrassing that at launch they didn't own it.
  • Apple didn't own the iPhone or iPad domains when they announced them. They didn't even own the rights to the names as there were already products with those names. This isn't new.
  • Legal battles can take forever
  • Ask the guy who owns Nissan.com
  • I'm taking Computer Science as my University Major, my first class was CS120 Web Development... the first thing the Professor told us was to never, ever make a domain with a name of anything that has a trademark or copyright or whatever because you can and will get sued...
  • I hope the person who owned those domain names got paid very well for them. It could of been a long battle in court but, knowing Microsoft to avoid bad press, they just settle for a undisclosed amount.
     
    I hope he got paid real well..
  • Airtel and Vodafone are among leading phone carriers in India. There was a time in the past when you would be greeted by a Vodafone logo when you visit airtel.com. That's what happens when you don't own the domain. BTW, looks like airtel got hold of the domain now.