“Touchy feely computer giant Apple is taking on former dotcom millionaire Benjamin Cohen over the ownership of the itunes.co.uk website, it emerged yesterday,” Rosie Murray-West writes for The Telegraph. “Mr. Cohen, who is now 22 but shot to fame as the 17-year-old founder of Jewish interest internet site “Sojewish,” said yesterday that he had received a call from Apple’s lawyers while he was in hospital for a “minor operation”. He said that the computer company, which declined to comment, offered him a ‘tiny’ amount of money for the website name itunes.co.uk, which he had registered for his own music business during the dotcom boom.”
Rosie Murray-West writes, “Apple launched the iTunes.com music downloading website in the UK in June after it had proved popular in the US. Mr Cohen said that he had registered the itunes.co.uk website ‘innocently’ as one of a series of generic domain names to forward to a network of websites for his internet company CyberBritain. He said that Apple has now issued Nominet proceedings. Nominet is the organisation which regulates internet domain names in the UK. He added that Apple had threatened to take CyberBritain to the High Court. ‘I don’t have to sell it to them,’ he said, adding that he would have probably done so if the company had approached him. ‘There is something to be said for a direct and friendly approach.'”
Full article here.
he’s a punk ass bitch
There is something to be said for a direct and friendly approach.
I’m willing to cut him some slack, and give him the benefit of doubt here, but c’mon the only reason his domain is worth the price of a turd is because of Apple’s hard work. I think he should sell it to them for a fair price, and if not I think Apple has the right to take it from under him.
I detest squatting and do not believe it should ever result in anyone pocketing an extra red cent.
If he had innocently registered the name before Apple announced the name iTunes then (morally at least) Apple does not have a case. If it was after then it is a simple case of domain name hijacking and Apple can feed him to the lyons.
power to him
He claims that he registered the name for his own music business. I just don’t buy the idea that he creatively under his own inspiration happened to choose the same name for his music venture as Apple did.
If you go to the webpage, you will see that is has nothing to do with music. It seems very likely that, as twilightmoon states, he is trying to make money off of Apple’s success. Fine. Make yourselfsome money by selling the name to Apple, just don’t try to act like an innocent victim.
i support squatting – i don’t understand why not? we live in a capitalist society – go ahead and make a few bucks. so what?
yo check it
January 9, 2001
Apple introduces iTunes for the Macintosh, a program that converts audio CDs into compressed digital audio files, organizes digital music collections, and plays Internet radio.
BUT it was leaked in fall of 2000!!!!!
now this dude says he was smart enough to pick up the name itunes.co.uk, well check this out:
he registered it in 2000 so he got word that apple was putting itunes out! so he’s just a leach finding off of apple’s success, he’s probably flat broke
FYI:
Domain Name:
itunes.co.uk
Registrant:
CyberBritain Group Ltd
Registrant’s Address:
Lower Ground Floor
155 Armhurst Road
London
London
E8 2AW
GB
Registrant’s Agent:
TUCOWS INC [Tag = TUCOWS-CA]
URL: http://www.opensrs.org
Relevant Dates:
Registered on: 07-Nov-2000
Renewal Date: 07-Nov-2006
Last updated: 21-Oct-2004
Registration Status:
Registered until renewal date.
Name servers listed in order:
ns0.register1.net 80.253.109.2
ns1.register1.net 80.253.108.3
WHOIS database last updated at 06:15:01 08-Dec-2004
—
(c) Nominet UK 1996 – 2004
I’ve changed my mind on this. I do think this guy should lose.
He registered between Apple applying for a trademark and the announcement of iTunes,
I think if he’d registered beforehand, I’d be more inclined to be on his side.
The other thing which I think is important is that the address is just being used to get you to a different site that doesn’t even mention iTunes. This guy has no iTunes product of his own. If he did, and there would be a detrimental effect on his business – or an inconvenience to him personally, then I’d say he was entitled to keep it.
The softly softly approach would have been more sensible too. I was accused of squatting by some American who ran a small local news/information site for a town in Florida. He demanded my domain name by going straight to Nominet without approaching me first. Unknown to him, I had the .co.uk address that matched the name of my company that had been registered in the UK in 1993. I didn’t have a web-page at the time, I was just using the domain for email.
I’d want to see what kind of business this guy has based exclusively on the iTunes name before making my mind up fully, but on the face of it he seems to have none and is simply squatting.
He should be squashed beetle-flat.
“former dot.com millionaire”
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/01/10/fishy_porn_search_engine_launched/
Just look at the link and come to an informed opinion on this character.
Of all things, I had to type “Bill” to enter my last post. Shudder!
No product, no association, no case. Yep. Feed him to the lions.
I love it – “touchy feely” Apple sends a squatter a letter – while the squatter happens to be in hospital – and he’s all upset. Very touchy feely. Methinks he dost protest too much. Come on, the squatter is a business man. He knows his way around, just sell your domain for a reasonable price and be done with it.
Dear lord — you’re all AWFULLY supportive of “the man.”
By which I don’t mean the man at all, but rather the company. You get the idea.
He got there first, YEARS before they had any kind of announcement to introduce the product in UK. It’s *such* a generic name (the “i” prefix, while now loudly associated with Apple, has been around almost as long as the “e” prefix for internetty things).
They’re going to get it. But they should absolutely be required to pay a fair price for it. Predicting trends and positioning so as to take advantage is a capitalist staple. Buy low, sell high comes to mind.
Surprised,
in the gold fields you lost your claim if you did not work it for a year. He does not use the domain (he’s had 4 years to do something with it) for “tunes”. It’s just a redirector site, to funnel traffic into other sites. And the domain name is misleading. No tunes. No i.
He was there first. So what? The same argument is used by people who, early in the morning, block lounge chair at the hotel pool with their towels, hours before they go to the pool. Really annoying. Throw away his stupid towel and take a seat, Apple!
He registered it fair and square before apple released iTunes. I Support them. Besides, the site isnt aimed at the market that the real iTunes is present in…Get over it Apple….I wouldnt be suprised if Apple sued the Eurasian tree just for growing “Apples”.
Its like the MikeRoweSoft.com domain…If they are so pissy about it why dont the do what MS did and get them a new domain, Help them program it, then give them tickets to see the cupertino campus? i Think Apple is too stingy to do that….
Despite all the fluff this is just about the money. Ben Cohen is a toughie, so is Apple, hence the friction. Yes Ben saw the cybersquatting opportunity early and took good advantage of it and yes he is pretty good at PR which is what this story is about, pressure on Apple so that Ben gets a higher price.
Apple has some justification for chasing this domain, rather more than Microsoft had when they hounded Mike Rowe for the domain mikerowesoft.com.
He is a squatter, and greemailer. He is an enemy of Apple. Find him, seek him out, then bop him on his bonehead and say ‘you brits are funny ducks’.
NoMacForYou
If they are so pissy about it why dont the do what MS did and get them a new domain, Help them program it, then give them tickets to see the cupertino campus? i Think Apple is too stingy to do that….
Domain name squatting is pernicious and evil. Whether it be done by an individual or by a large corporation. If you don’t plan to use your domain name for anything, then don’t hold up the rest of the world from using it. Claiming the name before Apple released iTunes in the UK means nothing.
He clearly registered it after it was leaked that Apple would release iTunes in 2000, and he’s never released a product under the name “iTunes.” So he should lose his domain for nothing beyond the cost of his domain name registration.
Just my 2c.
Gandalf
Yes Ben saw the cybersquatting opportunity early and took good advantage of it
“Cybersquatting” should be illegal. If Apple can prove he’s squatting he should lose his domain with no compensation whatsoever.
If he plans to do something with a domain he’s only using for redirection and has owned for more than 2 years without doing anything, he should have to prove it, the burden of proof should be on his own head.
BTW I don’t care if he’s squatting against Apple, MS, Intel, or the Easter Bunny. Cybersquatting is wrong no matter who is doing it.
Just to play Devil’s Advocate with myself, iTunes.com is just a redirection address. Also, most people know this isn’t a uk company. if they’re looking for the real iTunes, they’re only going to go to this site once and then realise they’ve made a mistake. There’s nothing worth looking at on that site, so they’ll just put .com in instead.
Most people in the UK put .com on things as a first attempt anyway. Or put iTunes into Google.
So although he is a squatter, and I believe he did this purely to get some money out of Apple at some point, what Apple should do now is just walk away and ignore him. Taht way he’s wasted the registration money. Maybe he won’t bother re-newing the registration and Apple will pick it up when it becomes free, or some Apple loon will pick it up and email Steve saying, “Here you go, a little gift from the UK”.
He owns it. Too bad Apple. Pony up the dollars. You snooze yu looze. Pay the man.
Late response:
The site that’s at itunes.co.uk right now certainly does relate to music.
According to the squatter’s explanation, he registered in Nov/2000, after Apple had applied for the trademark (Oct/2000), but before their application was published (Dec/2000). So unless he’s got a spy in the patent office (entirely possible), then it’s unlikely he was trying to pull the matt out from under Apple.
For that matter, if apple had ANY intention at the time of establishing an iTunes service in the UK, why didn’t they register the domain themselves in October/2000?
And regardless, as long as he’s got a legitimate use for the site, he shouldn’t be forced to surrender it.
–Rob
He’s not a squatter – he’s a smart investor – he paid money for a piece of property – if Apple wants to buy it they’ll have to pay the price and if the price is too high there are plenty of domain names left. Let’s not get all socialist about this.
Can’t believe this for three reasons.
1. itunes.uk IS FREELY AVAILABLE! Apple get your act together, and quit moaning about the com part. Everyone else in Europe doesn’t usually use the .co bit anyway so you’d have some consistency.
2. Based on how easy it is to find rumours about Mac stuff, his “claim” that he thought of it first is pure and simple BS.
3. this guy’s a publicised “business”person. He’s been trying to make himself out as Mr. Goody TwoShoes ever since he sold his porn-link website. Now everyone thinks he walks on water and he’s got no money? WTF? Sorry but if my daddy was a lawyer/solicitor I don’t think money would be too hard to come by…
Fry him. And as a Brit in the US, I still have NO sympathy for the moron.