I didn't realize the estate didn't own the site.

LINK

nyquil32 said:

nyquil32 said:

I didn't realize the estate didn't own the site.

LINK

.

It's called cybersquatting and has gone on for years.

.

Basically, thieves register domains using the names of celebrities. In this case, the thief registered Prince.com back in 1995 and has been automatically updating the registry since then.

Domain Name: PRINCE.COM
Registry Domain ID: 149023_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.uniregistrar.com
Registrar URL: http://www.uniregistrar.com
Updated Date: 2017-03-02T15:47:51Z
Creation Date: 1995-02-28T05:00:00Z
Registry Expiry Date: 2021-03-01T05:00:00Z
Registrar: Uniregistrar Corp
Registrar IANA ID: 1659
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: abuse@uniregistry.com
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.3457698347
Domain Status: clientDeleteProhibited https://icann.org/epp#cli...Prohibited
Domain Status: clientRenewProhibited https://icann.org/epp#cli...Prohibited
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited https://icann.org/epp#cli...Prohibited
Name Server: NS1.DNSRESOLVE.NET
Name Server: NS2.DNSRESOLVE.NET
DNSSEC: unsigned

Obviously, Prince wasn't going to pay the ransom that the squatters demanded...so it stayed dormant.

.

But it was registered in "bad faith" so there's a high probability they can regain the domain name without paying the high ransom.

nyquil32 said:

A Chinese cybersquatter stole a domain name from me once after I failed to renew it in time. Fuck the greedy bastard, I ain't paying no ransom. I hope they burn in Chinese hell.

Would they go after Prince.org?

Dangelus said:

Would they go after Prince.org?

Prince.org is in legit use, unlike Prince.com which is held for sheer ransom purpose.

It can be hilarious, though, like when Michael Doughney registered peta.org not for the organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals but for his own website entitled People Eating Tasty Animals.

nyquil32 said:

I didn't realize the estate didn't own the site.

LINK

.

Why did you think so? You do know that Prince had dozens of registered domains over the course of his career (at one point they even registered hundreds of domains, all song names), and almost all of them are now in the hands of outsiders because mr multi-millionaire was too cheap to maintain its ownership. Which meant that for a while an URL that was printed in a booklet to a Prince CD actually showed you a gay porn website.

.

Also, the estate better be careful because there is a company called Prince which actually might also be interested in owning that URL: http://www.princetennis.com/ .

BartVanHemelen said:

nyquil32 said:

I didn't realize the estate didn't own the site.

LINK

.

Why did you think so? You do know that Prince had dozens of registered domains over the course of his career (at one point they even registered hundreds of domains, all song names), and almost all of them are now in the hands of outsiders because mr multi-millionaire was too cheap to maintain its ownership. Which meant that for a while an URL that was printed in a booklet to a Prince CD actually showed you a gay porn website.

.

Also, the estate better be careful because there is a company called Prince which actually might also be interested in owning that URL: http://www.princetennis.com/ .

And let's not forget https://www.princepasta.com/

Aldi sells a lot of "Prince" products. For example:

http://www.discountstoresau.com/aldi-catalogue/special-buys-week-34-2013-19.html

Lianachan said:

laytonian said:

nyquil32 said:

I didn't realize the estate didn't own the site.

LINK

.

It's called cybersquatting and has gone on for years.

.

Basically, thieves register domains using the names of celebrities. In this case, the thief registered Prince.com back in 1995 and has been automatically updating the registry since then.

Domain Name: PRINCE.COM
Registry Domain ID: 149023_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.uniregistrar.com
Registrar URL: http://www.uniregistrar.com
Updated Date: 2017-03-02T15:47:51Z
Creation Date: 1995-02-28T05:00:00Z
Registry Expiry Date: 2021-03-01T05:00:00Z
Registrar: Uniregistrar Corp
Registrar IANA ID: 1659
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: abuse@uniregistry.com
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.3457698347
Domain Status: clientDeleteProhibited https://icann.org/epp#cli...Prohibited
Domain Status: clientRenewProhibited https://icann.org/epp#cli...Prohibited
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited https://icann.org/epp#cli...Prohibited
Name Server: NS1.DNSRESOLVE.NET
Name Server: NS2.DNSRESOLVE.NET
DNSSEC: unsigned

Obviously, Prince wasn't going to pay the ransom that the squatters demanded...so it stayed dormant.

.

But it was registered in "bad faith" so there's a high probability they can regain the domain name without paying the high ransom.

Yes: https://en.wikipedia.org/...ection_Act

Sam Jennings posted on Facebook that Prince looked into buying Prince.com years ago and the owner wanted $500,000 but Prince declined.

Dangelus said:

Would they go after Prince.org?

I put 'Prince.org.com' as an inside joke. There was a piece up for auction here recently that was handwritten by Prince asking his manager to get the unauthorized pics taken down from 'Prince.org.com'- it was funny how he referenced it being this is Prince.org not "prince.org.com'...sorry if I was the only one to find humore in it.

BartVanHemelen said:

nyquil32 said:

I didn't realize the estate didn't own the site.

LINK

.

Why did you think so? You do know that Prince had dozens of registered domains over the course of his career (at one point they even registered hundreds of domains, all song names), and almost all of them are now in the hands of outsiders because mr multi-millionaire was too cheap to maintain its ownership. Which meant that for a while an URL that was printed in a booklet to a Prince CD actually showed you a gay porn website.

.

Also, the estate better be careful because there is a company called Prince which actually might also be interested in owning that URL: http://www.princetennis.com/ .

I thought the Prince tennis brand already owned Prince.com years ago.

laytonian said:

nyquil32 said:

I didn't realize the estate didn't own the site.

LINK

.

It's called cybersquatting and has gone on for years.

.

Basically, thieves register domains using the names of celebrities. In this case, the thief registered Prince.com back in 1995 and has been automatically updating the registry since then.

Domain Name: PRINCE.COM
Registry Domain ID: 149023_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.uniregistrar.com
Registrar URL: http://www.uniregistrar.com
Updated Date: 2017-03-02T15:47:51Z
Creation Date: 1995-02-28T05:00:00Z
Registry Expiry Date: 2021-03-01T05:00:00Z
Registrar: Uniregistrar Corp
Registrar IANA ID: 1659
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: abuse@uniregistry.com
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.3457698347
Domain Status: clientDeleteProhibited https://icann.org/epp#cli...Prohibited
Domain Status: clientRenewProhibited https://icann.org/epp#cli...Prohibited
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited https://icann.org/epp#cli...Prohibited
Name Server: NS1.DNSRESOLVE.NET
Name Server: NS2.DNSRESOLVE.NET
DNSSEC: unsigned

Obviously, Prince wasn't going to pay the ransom that the squatters demanded...so it stayed dormant.

.

But it was registered in "bad faith" so there's a high probability they can regain the domain name without paying the high ransom.

"The thief"? It's not even had the same owner for all of that time. A little research is all that's required to show that it was owned and used by an IT company between at least 2000 and 2002, for example.

[Edited 7/27/18 1:33am]

Before everyone starts to assume the domain owner is a squatter and a thief, this isn't as straight forward as you may think.

The Prince Estate have no legal right to prince.com

I'm not aware of Prince owning a company called Prince. The word Prince cannot be copyrighted and Prince is not a registered trademark - yet this isn't impossible but would be hard to achieve.

If my name was Prince (and there are those out there) when why can't I have a website called prince.com

Why would the Estate have priority over me???

However the Estate needs to get modern!!! Why oh why go after a .com TLD (top level domain) ??

If I was them I'd register prince.music !!!

In fact I think I'll register that one.... www.prince.music

I'm happy for the Estate to contact me!

HOWEVER... there are some very important legal test cases that show how celebrities can have ''protectable rights in their names'' but this would have to be proved on many legal accounts. However now that Prince has passed this may prove to be more difficult.

So it will be interesting to see how this develops.

Dangelus said:

Would they go after Prince.org?

It's prince.org with a small P


Answer to your question: NO

luv4u said:

Dangelus said:

Would they go after Prince.org?

It's prince.org with a small P


Answer to your question: NO

I think the confusion came in when I posted "don't you mean Prince.org.com?" which is how Prince referenced the org on his note that was up for auction asking his manager to take the unauthorized pics down. Did Ben purchase the note??

ISaidLifeIsJustAGame said:

Sam Jennings posted on Facebook that Prince looked into buying Prince.com years ago and the owner wanted $500,000 but Prince declined.

so that person has to keep paying to own prince.com???

luvsexy4all said:

ISaidLifeIsJustAGame said:

Sam Jennings posted on Facebook that Prince looked into buying Prince.com years ago and the owner wanted $500,000 but Prince declined.

so that person has to keep paying to own prince.com???

Yes and no. You can buy a domain name for 1, 3, 5, 10 years.

Could be as little as $10 per year yet prices vary depending on the TLD.

I feel going after prince.com is too boring and predictable when there are so many great Prince related domains that can be used that are available.

The Estate are clearly not very educated in the world of digital.

JorisE73 said:

BartVanHemelen said:

.

Why did you think so? You do know that Prince had dozens of registered domains over the course of his career (at one point they even registered hundreds of domains, all song names), and almost all of them are now in the hands of outsiders because mr multi-millionaire was too cheap to maintain its ownership. Which meant that for a while an URL that was printed in a booklet to a Prince CD actually showed you a gay porn website.

.

Also, the estate better be careful because there is a company called Prince which actually might also be interested in owning that URL: http://www.princetennis.com/ .

I thought the Prince tennis brand already owned Prince.com years ago.

.

Yeah, I also recall this.

precioux said:

luv4u said:

It's prince.org with a small P


Answer to your question: NO

I think the confusion came in when I posted "don't you mean Prince.org.com?" which is how Prince referenced the org on his note that was up for auction asking his manager to take the unauthorized pics down. Did Ben purchase the note??

Yeah I saw that note

I dunno if Ben bought it, although that would be totally