OT: Partypoker owns me

[woodguy]

Nice. [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

Next grainy pictures of you will appear on the cover of the "World Weekly News" with the headline :
"JASON STRASSER - THE TRUE STORY: I REALLY DON'T PLAY POKER, MY DEAD GREAT=GRANDFATHER'S GHOST TELLS ME WHAT TO DO"

Welcome to fame.

Regards,
Woodguy

[Chief911]

If someone is using a domain name that is your name, and you can prove they are attempting to capitalize on your "fame" you have a good case to take to icann to have the squatter have to give you the domain.

What he has done is a common practice. Domains are so cheap, that only one in 15 or 20 has to remotely pay off for this to be worth it.

Nick

I would also advise that you review the Party Poker affilliate guidelines. I'm fairly certain that this goes against Party's affiliate rules and may invalidate any claims this person has to benefits that derived from questionable practices. At the very least, I would file a complaint with Party's affiliate program based on this information and see where that leads.

People shouldn't be able to capitalize on your fame for their own financial benefits.

[davehwm]

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People shouldn't be able to capitalize on your fame for their own financial benefits.

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But they're smart to at least give it a shot.

[Lloyd]

Yikes. Like others have said, you (and the others) certainly have a strong (I would say even easy) case against this outfit and should prevail in regaining your identity. There's no question that the domain was registered in an attempt to profit off of your visibility. But I would recommend doing something about this quickly. Waiting too long could perhaps be considered acquiescing and work against you.

You can read a brief article about your options here. There are a couple of legal remedies available including a process through the domain registration people (ICANN) or through federal court where you could receive damages. And certainly whatever profits they have made off of your name could be up for grabs. The easiest option is just through ICANN but you'll have to pay about $1,000 and will receive nothing but the name in return. The first step, of course, would be to hire a lawyer to write them a letter claiming your right under the law, demanding that they transfer the name to you immediately or face whatever remedies are available. The few of you affected could just share the costs and probably take care of this quickly.

Good luck.

[Lloyd]

[ QUOTE ]
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People shouldn't be able to capitalize on your fame for their own financial benefits.

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But they're smart to at least give it a shot.

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No, not so much. At least when it's a clear violation of the law and subject to penalities of $100,000 and up.

[EverettKings]

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[ QUOTE ]
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People shouldn't be able to capitalize on your fame for their own financial benefits.

[/ QUOTE ]

But they're smart to at least give it a shot.

[/ QUOTE ]
No, not so much. At least when it's a clear violation of the law and subject to penalities of $100,000 and up.

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So if someone wanted to buy your domain name and make a site about how much you suck, why cant they again?

Correct me if I'm wrong but this seems to only apply to TRADEMARKED names.

Everett

[IHateKeithSmart]

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Correct me if I'm wrong but this seems to only apply to TRADEMARKED names.


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The 1999 anticybersquatting act actually applies to identical/similar use of a distinctive mark whether or not its registered. This includes names. Sting and Madonna have had issues with domains related to their names.

[KneeCo]

Steve Dannenmann
Tex Barch
and all the other FTists I tried take me to party poker.
Even www.JoeHachem.com goes there (Lee is going to be pissed!)

[Lloyd]

Personal names are obviously trickier to deal with then unique corporate names. But in this case, given the somewhat public recognition of the names involved and their obvious connection to poker, this company has clearly infringed upon their rights. Interestingly, I believe if there was no redirect to Party at all it would be tough (and perhaps impossible) to get the name back. With that said if I were any of these people I would try to capture some type of information that proves these names link to the affiliate at Party.