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Microsoft Bullies Kid For Using His Own Name...


HolyMoly

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Ridiculous, but at the same time the kid is willing to give up the name. If he were thinking, he'd be claiming he's too set on the name to change it for a paltry sum. Given that's partially comprised of his name, he could probably hold on to it if he tried hard enough. At least long enough to force a large settlement.

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Too bad he's Canadian. This would be a great case for the ACLU, hehe. Just because someone owns a big software corporation doesn't mean they should have the right to tell people they can't use their own names publically in business just because they "sound" like the corporation's name. I think the kid's lawyer should just tell Microsoft to go fish ... and let Microsoft risk the incredibly bad P.R. image they'd end up with for going after a kid for something as nonsensical as this.

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  • 2 months later...

Update...

Teen Microsoft Foe Donates Fund to Charity

VICTORIA, British Columbia - A teenager who tangled with Microsoft Corp. over his mikerowesoft.com domain name says he's donating most of his legal defense fund to a hospice for terminally ill children.

Mike Rowe, a 17-year-old resident of Victoria, was accused of copyright infringement by the software giant in January.

In a posting on his site, the teen said he received a 25-page letter from Microsoft in January threatening legal action for copyright infringement.

Rowe said he got about $6,000 in donations from supporters but reached an agreement with Microsoft that month to pick a new name for his site, www.mikeroweforums.com. Microsoft agreed to cover the costs of changing to the new site and threw in an Xbox (news - web sites) game console.

The teen took a poll to see whether he should refund the donations or make a charitable contribution, and his readers favored the donation. He decided to give $5,250 to the hospice, Canuck Place, and kept $750 to apply toward a university education.

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