Google looking to seize googleplay.com domain
In an earlier post, I compared Google’s decision to rebrand Android Market to Google Play as similar to Netflix’s “Qwikster” mistake. And the similarities extend a little more, with Google fighting to obtain the googleplay.com domain name after having announced (an executed) the rebranding. (Netflix faced the issue of Qwikster’s Twitter username).
While Google only applied for the trademark for Play a day before the announcement, the issue of obtaining the domain should be pretty straightforward, since it contains an already trademarked term (i.e., Google).
ICANN’s guidelines for such circumstances state a request will be approved if:
(1) the domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark in which the complainant has rights
(2) the owner has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name and;
(3) the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.
[via TheNextWeb]