Britney, KFed Miss Out on JaydenFederline.com

Are we shocked that Britney Spears and her rocket scientist hubby Kevin Federline are not as adept at registering baby domain names as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt? Despite buying a month of secrecy by leaking a fake name after the Sept. 12 birth, Britney and KFed still couldn't manage to secure the tot's domain name.

Instead, Leonard Lee of Union City, Calif. is the proud owner of JaydenFederline.com. Lee purchased the name on Oct. 18, shortly after the first news items mentioning the name. The birth certificate didn't become public until today, and JaydenFederline.org was registered in short order. The poor .net top-level domain doesn't cut it anymore, as jaydenfederline.net was still available as of 3:30 pm Eastern time.

So who's the sucker who registered SuttonPierceFederline.com? It was a private registration, so we can't know for sure. But we suspect KFed, who isn't getting any smarter getting dropped on his head by those WWE wrestlers.

  Posted by RichM October 24, 2006 | Permalink | Newsletter

June 2, 2006

Cat Loses Domain Name Dispute

The huge brokerage Morgan Stanley has prevailed in a domain name dispute with a cat. Yes, a defendant in a cybersquatting case claimed that the registrant of record for the domain mymorganstanleyplatinum.com was actually "Meow ("Respondent"), Baroness Penelope Cat of Nash DCB, Ashbed Barn, Boraston Track, Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire WR15 8LQ, GB." It was a novel strategy, but the domain panel wasn't buying, and responded in the spirit of the defense:

Respondent maintains that it is a cat, that is, a well-known carnivorous quadruped which has long been domesticated. However, it is equally well-known that the common cat, whose scientific name is Felis domesticus, cannot speak or read or write. Thus, a common cat could not have submitted the Response (or even have registered the disputed domain name). Therefore, either Respondent is a different species of cat, such as the one that stars in the motion picture �Cat From Outer Space,� or Respondent�s assertion regarding its being a cat is incorrect.

The full ruling is available online.

  Posted by RichM June 2, 2006 | Permalink | Newsletter