DomainTools Blog

Keith Malley thought that he would predict the future by registering The Simpsons Movie.com, which Fox would natural want. His hope was to cash in on how smart he was. He offered to sell the website to Fox for $50,000. His rational was pretty logical, if the movies makes a few million then what is $50,000 for the best domain name. What Keith did not realize is that this is an illegal practice. People are not allowed to register domain names which target a company or individual. Fox refused to pay the ransom demand and took the case to WIPO (The World Intellectual Property Organization). WIPO then ruled against Keith and ordered that the domain name be transferred to Fox.

The lesson to learn here is that while you might be able to predict the future and register the domain name of something that will happen, don’t expect to profit from it. Register generic domain names. For example, Summer Movies.com or Best Movies.com (I have not visited these sites yet). The rule in the domain industry is that if the domain is registered in “Bad Faith” then the owner can lose the domain. Keith Malley is now labeled a cybersquatter and that will actually hurt his case on any other domains that he is challenged on. Keith got off easy, there is a law on the books that allows Fox to sue for damages of up to $100,000. Keith would have looked pretty stupid had Fox sued. Fox has a great case and can actually still sue if they want. They did the quick thing and went through an ICANN UDRP procedure to get the domain name quickly. They have lost a lot of visitors that went to that domain name. I am sure they were confused to see Keith’s web page instead of information about the movie.

On a personal note, I can’t wait for the movie to open this Friday. Every industry in the world is affected by domain names, The Simpsons Movie.com is just another example of how everything will have a domain name in the future.