Bodog changes domain name ... again

[The Buzz]

Apparently there's a legal dispute over the Bodog.com domain, so people who want to play have to go to http://www.newbodog.com/.

Haven't seen anything about this affecting or changing affiliate relationships ... here's a quote from Calvin Ayre about the change.

Welcome to the new (temporary) Bodog. As you may know by now, Bodog.com is experiencing a technical issue impacting our players' ability to access our website.


This is the result of a legal dispute over the ownership of the Bodog.com domain name. We are fighting this dispute. We are confident that we will win, but until all is settled, I do not want our battle to interrupt your play.


So, I present you with newbodog.com. You won't notice very many changes: same website, same brand, same product, and same service. Just a new domain name.


We are working to resolve any remaining issues on the temporary site as soon as possible, and fully expect to have our original site back up shortly.


I sincerely apologize if you were affected by our interruption and assure you that I will update you soon.


Regards,
Calvin Ayre

[The Buzz]

Gambling 911 is reporting that the dispute has to do a patent infringement case, and that every single Internet gambling company could be at risk.

That's because a retired contractor, Mel Molnick, 63, claims to own a method patent that governs live, electronic betting from a remote location. In other words, the process by which just about every Internet gambling site does business. He is also CEO of the Home Gambling Network.

Complete story at this link ...

http://www.gambling911.com/online-gambling-082907.html

[big fish]

when i receiv ed the email fom bodog my jaw just about hit the floor. it is hard to imagine something like this. now reading the gambling911 articles it sounds pretty crazy indeed. i wonder if the gambling911 article is based in facts or designed for buzz?

[aksana]

yes, it's very hard to understand such situation but we need to work and I've already changed my aff links to newbodog.com links.

[gordonprice1947]

Here is the article written by the Las Vegas Sun in April of 2006 on Mel Molnick and his patent.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/st...?Mel%20Molnick

[MichaelCorfman]

Our editorial team has researched the situation, and an article providing all the details is the featured news story in the GPWA Times issue e-mailed out earlier today. I've quoted the story below:

Bodog loses domain names in patent infringement suit
29 August 2007
By Vin Narayanan

Calvin Ayre was forced to launch a new gambling Web site Wednesday after losing most of his Bodog.com domain names to 1st Technology LLC in a patent infringement dispute.

Last September, 1st Technology sued Bodog in a federal court in Nevada, alleging the online gaming company was illegally using a "method and system for interactively transmitting multimedia information over a network which requires a reduced bandwidth," according to court documents obtained by Casino City.

Bodog failed to appear in court to defend itself and lost the case by default. Judge Roger L. Hunt ordered Bodog to pay (including interest) $48,937,456 to 1st Technology in March for patent infringement.

The case then moved to the state of Washington this summer for enforcement, 1st Technology's attorney Venkat Balasubramani said. Bodog also failed to appear there.

"They've definitely been provided notices at various stages of both the lawsuit and the enforcement action," Balasubramani said. I can't speculate as to why they might have done that (not appeared). It's safe to assume they knew about it and definitely ignored it."

At the enforcement proceedings, 1st Technology noted Bodog had failed to respond to the default judgment and asked that all Bodog domains be confiscated and transferred to them. On Aug. 21, Judge John Erlick agreed, ordering all registrars to transfer Bodog related domains to the control of 1st Technology.

"The Court makes it clear that the intent of this Order is to allow the Plaintiff to liquidate or otherwise monetize the Domain Names without incurring any expense," said Erlick in the ruling. "Plaintiff may decide not to auction the domain names, and instead may operate the Domain Names in any manner it sees fit, including exploiting any traffic to the sites accessible via the domain names."

"Essentially, this is all to satisfy (1st Technology's) judgment," said Balasubramani, who specializes in commercial litigation that involves the Internet and technology.

And this is serious business for 1st Technology.

"1st Tech has a large multi-firm team dedicated to enforcing the judgment relative to Bodog, enforcing its rights in its intellectual property and protecting its intellectual property rights relative to others active in the U.S. market, and demonstrating that no company that has customers in the United States is above or beyond U.S. legal jurisdiction," said a company spokesman.

Bodog, for its part, doesn't appear to be ignoring this any longer. "1st Technology is in contact with Bodog's lawyers," the spokesman added.

Casino City contacted Bodog's media relations department Wednesday and was told that a response to the inquiries would come as soon as possible.

After losing its domain, Bodog initially informed the media and its customers that the company was encountering "DNS issues related to several of its Web sites."

Tuesday evening, Bodog launched www.newbodog.com and directed its customer base to the new site which was offering "the same Web site, same brand, same product, and same service. Just a new domain name."

Ayre later posted on newbodog.com that his company was involved in a legal dispute that included the rights to the Bodog.com domain names.

"This is the result of a legal dispute over the ownership of the Bodog.com," Ayre said. "We are fighting this dispute. We are confident that we will win, but until all is settled, I do not want our battle to interrupt your play."

If Ayre is trying to intimidate 1st Technology, it's not working.

"1st Technology is in this for the long-haul as necessary," the firm's spokesman said.

[vinism]

There's been plenty of talk about Mel Molnick and his method patent for live, electronic remote betting being the driving force behind this lawsuit. But according to our research so far, there is nothing to support that claim. In an affidavit filed on March 21, 1st Technology LLC CEO Scott W. Lewis, Ph.D. swears that he is the sole inventor of U.S. Patent 5,564,001, which is titled " Method and system for interactively transmitting multimedia information over a network which requires a reduced bandwidth." He goes on to say that this is the patent that Bodog violated and calculates damages based on that fact.

I've looked up the patent at the U.S. Patent Office Web site, and it confirms the assertion. Here's a link to that page: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-P...S=PN/5,564,001

We'll continue to report on this story and post any new information here.

[MZwanenburg]

It is insane. A company with such a long-standing reputation should be certain of the use of their domain name.
One couldn't imagazine amazon.com suddenly having to move to newamazon.com.

I think it sends out a scarry signal for any firm doing business on the .com domain.

[matted]

Everyone knows they need to appear in court when a lawsuit is filed no matter how legitimate the claims are. Big companies know they are targets, because they can afford big settlements. They are getting what they deserve.

[The Buzz]

Bodog has switched domain names yet again, and it's now at www.bodoglife.com ... looks like this switch is voluntary, but you have to wonder what the short- and long-term effect of all this domain hopping is.

[wildhorses]

When I got the news it sounded kind of strange. I guess I see where they're going with it, since their brand has diverse interests now like music and mixed martial arts. The 'life' part of it is sort of all-encompassing.

However, as a longtime affiliate I hate changing links - especially twice. It would've been totally cool if they just kept newbodog for as long as it takes to get their business ironed out.

[big fish]

I think they will suffer some long term damage from all of this. Question is... how bad will it be? Calvin has proven a successful brand builder and marketer, so he will probably recover in time but who know sfor sure. it must be causing customer doubt which cant be good