[Random-bits] BlueYonder.Com and Telewest

[James Love]

This is a pretty interesting story involving Telewest and a small
business that operates blueyonder.com.  According to Michael
Mahoney, Telewest tried to buy his domain.  He refused to sell.
But Telewest started using it anyway, in what he calls cyberbulldozing.   
Jamie


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 02 Sep 2000 14:12:09 -0700
From: Michael Mahoney <support@blueyonder.com>
To: love@cptech.org
Cc: Bob Cahune <lawbob@thegrid.net>
Subject: Inverse Cybersquatting by Large Corporations. Individual  Rights 
    Violations

Dear Mr. Love,

I located this email address for you on the ICANN site.
I admire the work that you and Mr. Nadar have dedicated yourselves to,
upholding the rights of the individual.

I may be the first recipient of harrassment due to inverse
cybersquatting by a partnership of giant corporations.
I fear that this may become an alarming and unethical trend, due to the
scarcity of good available domain names.

ATT and Microsoft are majority shareholders on Telewest PLC in the UK.
Telewest, to the best of my understanding, was set up by John Malone,
former head of TCI Cable.

Being a TV cable, telephone and internet provider, Telewest is the ideal
test bed for ATT and MS to implement and refine new software and
systems.

I was approached Jan. 25, 2000 by a broker representing Telewest, to
sell them my domain name, BLUEYONDER.COM

I have owned and operated BLUEYONDER.COM since 1996 and used BLUE
YONDER in connection with my graphic design business since 1995.
I have also applied for the US Tradmark, based on first use.

No satisfactory agreement was reached, and I did not sell my domain name
to them.

Telewest bought the domain name BLUEYONDER.CO.UK from a jeweler in the
UK, and began changing the name of it's internet service from
CABLEINET.CO.UK , as well as the name of it's servers, to BLUEYONDER,
using the CO.UK extension.

In discussions with Philip Jansen, Marketing, Simon Read, Telewest's
legal council, and other TW representatives, the negative effect that a
large service provider signing up thousands of customers using a domain
name confusingly similar to mine, would have on my wife and my
businessess was presented.

The upshot was that Telewest PLC would use the name regardless of the
impact on me, and their opinion was that each of their FIVE FINAL OFFERS
was adequate to compensate me. Telewest then withdrew it's offer to me
and refused to communicate further.

Since the launch of their name change, I have received and continue to
receive in ever escalating volume, thousands of emails meant for
Telewest engineers, employees, partners and customers.

I also have received email from Telewest customers telling me that they
were assigned blueyonder.com addresses, and Telewest engineering staff
using my domain in their email addresses.

Email meant for me has apparently been diverted to the UK since Jan 28,
2000, including confidential emails from my legal council.

In addition, Telewest released and distributed a customized version of
Internet Explorer on CD to it's customers that has links to my domain,
BLUEYONDER.COM

Microsoft's partner in producing web servers and other internet devices,
Dell Computer, registered the domain name wild-blue-yonder.com, May 11.
1999

Dell Computer        http://www.wild-blue-yonder.com

Please visit my site    http://www.blueyonder.com

Then go to Telewest's     http://www.blueyonder.co.uk

I have coined a new bit of technojargon to describe this somewhat
inverse cybersquatting situation.

CYBERBULLDOZING

When a giant corporation deliberately uses a domain name
so confusingly similar to that of a small business, that the
small business is plowed under with unwanted email.

I hope that you see that this is the first instance of what could become
a trend by large companies against individuals who cannot muster the
large amount of money involved to hire lawyers to fight for their rights
in court.

Please be aware that email to this address may be monitored and/or
diverted and use caution.

Thank you for your time and attention.

Best Regards,

Mike Mahoney

websergeant@blueyonder.com
Blue Yonder Design
http://www.blueyonder.com

cc: Robert Cohune
Atty at Law