Ziip Games Attempt to Pre-emptively Blackmail Infinity Ward
In what can only be described as a move of ‘œgenius’ proportions, the 60ish denizens of Ziip Games are joining the cyber-squatting bandwagon and attempting to hold Modernwarfare4.com prisoner. Not to worry though as they do seem willing to part with the domain, for a price.
Hello!
If you are reading this, you may well be the web administrator for Infinity Ward.
If you are, there is a chance that you may well require this domain. Don’t worry, you can have it – in exchange for a little ‘good will gesture’ for the little gaming community that owns this domain and has been playing your games for years.
What we’d like is a copy of the game that this domain would be used for, – one copy for each and every member of our gaming community.
If you wish to discuss this further, drop me an email – welovecod@ziip.co.uk or goto www.ziip.co.uk and leave a message to Jester.
Many Regards :)
James
The practice of cyber-squatting has always rubbed me the wrong way, and I tell myself that it’s because it is immoral and wrong and not just the fact that someone else thought of profited from it first. After I first thought about this beautiful little scam I just brushed it aside thinking ‘œoh how silly, this will never work. Infinity Ward will just use a different domain name’.
However, after really thinking about it, and after spending some time playing CoD4 once again I decided that fans of the Modern Warfare franchise simply would not be able to cope with a change of domain naming structure. Anyone who speaks exclusively in expletives surely would not know what to do when confronted with a site completely unrelated to ‘œteh bestest game series evar’. 60ish copies of the game doesn’t sound too high a price too keep the slavering fans happy, right?
It’s a shame that none of this maters as cyber-squatting for the express purpose of making a profit from a trademark holder is illegal in the USA thanks to the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act passed in 1999. So it looks like both Ziip Games and the guys squatting at modernwarfare3.com are out of luck.
I think I’m going to file this under ‘œR’ (for retarded obviously). The only upside to this entire debacle is that the owner of the site is actually in possession of a sense of humour, stating:
As I have recieved emails calling me a blackmailer, we have decided to wear balaclavas and make some real demands..
Via: Destructoid
I think what people don’t realize when they pull a stunt like this is that they’re not sticking it to some faceless corporation. They’re just making a bunch of Infinity Ward employees shake their heads in dismay.
That being said, from an outside perspective it IS kind of funny, in a playground kind of way.
I think they’re probably going to have to give out many more than 60-ish copies of the game. Now that these news are out a lot of people are going to sign up on Ziip.
A day in which Activision/Blizzard has been screwed, is a day well spent.
A simple
“Dear Jester,
Fuck you. modernwarfarefour.com
IW”
would work wouldn’t it?
You seem to forget in your article that the domain was registered in the UK and is owned by UK Gaming Community. Thus rendering US laws completely useless.
And also to be pedantic “Blackmail” is by no means anywhere near the correct term. More “Holding Hostage”.
Journalism is so much better when its thought through.
@Jimmy Page: pretty sure the UK/US thing makes no difference and that there are laws that cover it. I’ve known international site squatters be taken down before, so even if not under this specific law, I assume it’s very possible.
International laws are applicable. I was merely pulling apart the journalistic performance of this article. If you are writing a news article you should do your research first, and claiming that a US law will take down a UK site is quite frankly very bad journalism.
:)
Im being petty but thats me :)
@Jimmy Page: alas we’re not journalists (some day maybe, but we are just lowly bloggers atm, likely the cause of our lack of attention to detail), and you’re right to rip on Gandy, we all do :P
I assume Gandy just looked up an example of the law that’ll protect the trade name (assuming the site was US based). I assume there are similar laws in the UK if the US ones don’t cover it (which they actually may, if some part of the hosting company is in the US, for example). If not, I know ICANN have ways to sort all this out, and they’re international.
In other words, someone just spent 100 dollars to buy a domain name that will be repossessed due to laws and given to its rightful owner. How does this help your cause again?
Hawkeyed where do you buy your domains????
3.99 for a year thanks very much. Muppet!