MikeRoweSoft garners funds to fight back
Published: 20 Jan 2004 12:04 GMT
Teenage Web developer Mike Rowe, who was threatened with legal action by Microsoft, has been overwhelmed with support from Internet users and has set up a defence fund to allow him to fight back.
Rowe, a student from Vancouver, registered the domain mikerowesoft.com to front his part-time Web site design business in August 2003. Three months later, he received an email from Microsoft's lawyers asking him to transfer the domain name to Microsoft. They offered to pay him a "settlement" of $10 (£5.55), which is the cost of his original registration fee. Microsoft's lawyers told Rowe that his site infringes on its trademark rights.
When Rowe's plight was reported on the Internet on Monday, his Web site became a victim of its own popularity and had to be taken offline for several hours. According to Rowe's site -- which is now being hosted by a different company -- on Tuesday, about 250,000 people visited his site, many offering financial help: "I have put up a defence fund so that I can hire a lawyer to guide me through the process of talking to Microsoft. I have already received a lot of pledges and I thank each and every one of you for that," he said.
Microsoft's legal department may be busier than they anticipated during the next few months, because in the past four days all the top level domain extensions for mikerowesoft (.co.uk, .net, .org and .tv) have been snapped up. Mikerowesoft.tv has been put up for sale on eBay.
ZDNet UK readers are overwhelmingly in support of Rowe. His story generated hundreds of TalkBacks, with many readers feeling insulted by Microsoft's argument that its customers will get confused between mikerowesoft.com and Microsoft.com. D Colonna, a software engineer from Wisconsin said: "If Microsoft believes their customers will be confused by the existence of mikerowesoft.com, then they hold an extremely dim view of their customers' intelligence."
However, as one reader correctly points out that, under US law, Microsoft has no choice but to pursue a trademark case against Rowe because if it ignores his site, the company will lose its right to fight against trademark infringements that may occur in the future.
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41 comments
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Dear Mike,
Just to let u know u have more than en... Anonymous -
Micro's Soft Thinking!
Think of the legal fees... PennyFrazier
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I just read that one reader 'correctly' feels Micr... Anonymous
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I hope Billy Boy Gates is happy now that the blund... Anonymous
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Microsoft are forever throwing their weight around... Anonymous
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Microsoft ought to just buy Mike's site for the $1... mark ginzo
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I don't care about Microsoft or Mikerowesoft, I am... Anonymous
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Think about visually impaired people. If some tex... Anonymous
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I think its great that so many people are offering... Anonymous
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Good On U Mike!!! There should be no problem! Aft... Michael Miller
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Its all about principle. Mike Rowe cannot deny th... Anonymous
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Well you also cannot deny that his name is Mike Ro... Anonymous
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Make your new domain name public before Microsoft... John Normanton
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Amazing - we should all start registering similar... Maurice Clarke
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Sorry but how is his site an infringement? u might... Anonymous
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I don't care about Microsoft or Mikerowesoft, I am... Anonymous
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Just goes to show how sad and desperate Microsoft... Anonymous
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MS is on solid legal ground, but $10? That's the... Anonymous
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Go for it Mike ...... you didn't start out with th... Hugh Janue
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Mike, you fight for your site. After all its your... Anonymous
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Good on you Mike!
Lets face it, if its such a prob... Mike N
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Haha! Pure jokers, keep up the good work mike Seren
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Hey Mike
I wish you all the luck in the world, if... James Barnwell
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Go Mike!!! IS that U Garner?? Well see u on L4Y!!... Dan Goodyear (Dan Killer on L4Y)
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Microsoft Suck.
Just how low are these people goin... James HIll
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I'm still with you Mike, let's realy piss Billy Bo... james barnwell
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gets the facts straight guys.. Mike Rowe lives in... glenn letham
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Hope microsoft sees there dumb (microsoft that is)... Anonymous
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I think that Microsoft is making too much of a dea... Brian Li
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Anti-MS.. how fresh and interesting !
If Microsoft... Anonymous
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Ha ha. I think all of this is absolutely hilariou... Anonymous
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Poor Mike. Can see why Microsoft have to take acti... Rykan
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David v Goliath
I have been computing since the ea... Anonymous
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this story can spin bigger and badder?Yes. It may... John Lo
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When does MS sue Viagra? They cure the micro-soft... angered canadian
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MS doesn't have anything better to do, do they? P... Adam
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I think that is totally stupid - Who does microsof... Greg
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Should not have messed with Bill Gates, that basta... mAcrosoft
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Voicing my support of Mike Rowe. Let the little g... linux user
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interesting story...
...however, i think that addi... boron lester
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First they make bad software, then they try t... Joe Bloggs
