back to article The millionaire former playboy, Hugh Hefner, and a crucial fight over playboy.london

When Michael Ross registered the domain playboy.london in August, it was supposed to be a bit of a laugh. The Brit once dated a Playboy Bunny, visited the mansion in Beverly Hills, and has a "colorful past" as they say on Fleet Street. Ross, today a settled-down 50-year-old property developer, was featured in the Daily Mail a …

  1. Paul Dx
    Thumb Up

    Stick to your guns

    I hope he doesn't settle out of court and that it establishes case law in a "proper" legal system.

    1. Tom 13

      Re: Stick to your guns

      Me too. I don't care one way or the other for either party in this dispute, but that process is so corrupt it needs to go.

  2. Lars Silver badge
    Thumb Down

    I can't help it

    Seeing the name Hugh Hefner it's Ricky Gervais that comes to my mind these days. Not quite the right icon but with some imagination it has to do.

  3. depicus

    I wonder what would have happened if he'd just used it for the email address ? Why does the non use of a website show anything - who's to say he wasn't working on a site.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    This is why extra TLDs were stupid

    They only created them so they could extract a bunch more money out of businesses for defensive registrations. Apple worried someone might register apple.london or apple.mobile or apple.someotheruselesstld? Better register those defensively! Basically creating new revenue streams for domains as tens of thousands of companies register millions of domains to prevent potential confusion.

    It'll be even worse if companies actually USE these domains, because if Google and Facebook started using google.london and facebook.london for some stuff, people are likely to believe that microsoft.london or ebay.london are real domains associated with those companies, so even those who decide not to play the silly defensive registration game will be forced to become involved to avoid scammers taking advantage of people in their name.

    1. Richard 12 Silver badge

      Re: This is why extra TLDs were stupid

      As absolutely everybody predicted, and ICANN chose to ignore because money.

    2. Ken Hagan Gold badge
      Joke

      Re: This is why extra TLDs were stupid

      "It'll be even worse if companies actually USE these domains"

      Ah, no, because if merely registering the name is evidence of malicious intent, then making it possible to register the domain must be even worse. Expect to see ICANN in court soon for conspiracy to bring down all intellectual property rights everywhere.

      1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Re: This is why extra TLDs were stupid

        Or maybe this guy is a secret ICANN agent......

        If playboy win this then there is no need for apple to run around paying to register apple.crapgadget or apple.bumfuckidaho because if anyone else ever does register it then the court will hand it to Apple.

        But if he wins then Apple etc have to run out and pre-register everything they can think of now.

    3. Gazareth

      Re: This is why extra TLDs were stupid

      apple.newyork or apple.ny could be an interesting case!

  5. unitron

    I'm beginning to think...

    ...that top level domains at all were a bad idea.

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