Apple Tries to Take Out iTunes.co.uk
Author: Jeremy C. Wright, Staff Writer
Wednesday, 08 December 2004, 20:55 GMT
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Apple Computers is attempting to nab the domain www.itunes.co.uk from a British entrepreneur in a true David vs. Goliath battle.
Benjamin Cohen registered his domain in 2000 for a music search engine called “CyberBritain”. There is no indication that there was any way for him to know in 2000 that Apple was interested in the name, that it was trademarked – Apple asked for secrecy from the UK’s trademark bureau – or that he was doing anything illegal. He, like many internet entrepreneurs, was simply trying to get a good domain name and since tunes.co.uk was taken, he registered itunes.co.uk.
More background from Benjamin’s perspective is available from the temporary site which is in place pending a decision from Britian’s courts.
Mr Cohen, from Hackney, north London, said lawyers for Apple contacted him last month threatening to issue a High Court writ unless he ceased using the itunes.co.uk internet domain name.
The address now forwards visitors to Mr Cohen’s new online shopping venture, called QuickQuid.com.
Mr Cohen said: “Apple have accused us of being cyber-squatters, something that we obviously could not be, as our registration of the itunes.co.uk domain name pre-dates the time any information about the iTunes service would have been in the public domain.
“They are using their status to unfairly claim an asset of an entirely innocent, British small business.”
The response in the mainstream press, by bloggers and even by Apple enthusiasts has likely caught Apple – a company used to being a darling of consumers, in spite of many similar heavy handed tactics in the past – completely off guard.
Although ownership of a trademark is not essential to being granted ownership of a web site, the fact that Cohen has been using the site since long before Apple's plans became clear means he is likely to win an appeal.
Reader Comments:
» Cohen *is* cyber-squatting. It is surely quite obvious
» This is no david vs goliath. Apple makes real products
» I think that Cohen should win. Apple are shooting thems
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