As per the Whois record, iPhone5.com domain name was registered in February 2008 through an Australia-based registrar. It currently functions like a forum site, hosting smartphone advertisements and iPhone-related message boards.
The copyright statement on iPhone5.com clearly indicates that the “website is not endorsed, sponsored, nor otherwise affiliated with Apple”, and that it was “created for the sole purpose of entertainment and knowledge.”
Some of the denizens of iPhone5.com looked concerned about Apple’s move. Worried about Apple’s move to get the site closed, a user named Morphius urged other visitors to help avert an Apple takeover. He wrote in a thread:
“Yes, You as the community can play a huge part in all this. we as members here before the 4s was even released at iphone5.com should stand our ground against Apple. We have every right to be a fan of the iPhone and to talk and discuss about it. THEY WIILL NOT SHUT US DOWN!!!!!
Call Corporate Of Apple and tell them to stop there persuit!! Blow up there phones, Spam there emails, call there Administration! Do something to get our point across.”
There was another thread containing a poll that asked whether Apple should be able to take control of the domain. At the time of reporting, 27 people responded with 15 out of them going against Apple.
The WIPO filing doesn’t indicate anything about when Apple filed the complaint. However, as CNET noted, the case number “D2012-0951″ does suggest that it might have been sometime this year. In addition, it also says, “Case active”, under the heading “Decision”.
This is not the first time when Apple battles to take ownership of domain names in a bid to protect the good name of its products.
In August last year, Apple won rights to the domain iPods.com. The company also acquired iPhine4.com and WhiteiPhone.com for an undisclosed amount during the same year, Fusible reported.
After filing a similar dispute with WIPO in November last year, Apple successfully took control of iphone4s.com, iphonecamforce.com, iphonecam4s.com, iphoneporn4s.com, iphonexxxforce.com, iphone4s.com, porn4iphones.com and iphonesex4s.com that were reportedly being used by an adult website operator.
Apple is expected to unveil the next generation iPhone later this year, with many analysts betting on the September-October timeframe for the release.
The features that are most likely to be incorporated in the upcoming iPhone model include a 4-inch Retina display, an A5X Variant chip, 1GB RAM, iOS 6, 4G LTE technology, Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, improved Siri, liquidmetal casing, an 8 megapixel (or even higher) rear camera, a 2 megapixel front-facing camera for video chatting and a much-improved battery life.
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Article source: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/338411/20120508/iphone-5-apple-complaint-domain-name-wipo.htm. Creative Commons (CC)
