19th January 2004, 11:09 PM
I'm glad the kid is fighting the good fight. I would have been extremely angry had Microsoft tried to buy me off. And I'm sure anyone would have asked for $10,000 (if not more) if they were in the same situation.
Though this battle looks like it'll have a good outcome, this cannot be said for similar conflicts. There are many cases where people have the same last name as that of a popular corporate brand, and register a internet domain name. They often fall because corporations have lots of money to throw around and can easily afford to go to court. The owner of the domain is accussed of "cyber squatting", even if they are using the domain for a legitimate cause. And even if they could win a court case easily, most times this person can't afford to go to court and usually settles for a small sum of money.
There I go ranting again.
Though this battle looks like it'll have a good outcome, this cannot be said for similar conflicts. There are many cases where people have the same last name as that of a popular corporate brand, and register a internet domain name. They often fall because corporations have lots of money to throw around and can easily afford to go to court. The owner of the domain is accussed of "cyber squatting", even if they are using the domain for a legitimate cause. And even if they could win a court case easily, most times this person can't afford to go to court and usually settles for a small sum of money.
There I go ranting again.