Due to, well, just really REALLY stupid litigation strategy (as in not showing up at all), one of the best known online gambling websites, Bodog, no longer owns its own domain name.
Back in September 2006, 1st Technology filed a infringement suit against Bodog for unlawfully using its patented “method and system for interactively transmitting multimedia information over a network which requires a reduced bandwidth.” I have not fully reviewed the complaint or the file, so I cannot comment upon the validity of the underlying lawsuit. I am not a patent expert anyhow, so I would not feel qualified to evaluate the patent claim. Nevertheless, I am a litigator, and I can tell you that Bodog’s litigation strategy, which was … (wait, lemme review the file) … oh yeah, failing to even show up was not well advised.
The judge awarded the plaintiff nearly $49 Million in a default judgment, and then gave Bodog’s famous domain name, bodog.com to the plaintiff. The plaintiff now gets to keep or sell the domain name.
This of course begs the question, what the hell are they going to do with it? Bodog still has a valid trademark for BODOG. How can anyone else use the bodog.com domain name and not stand exposed to an ACPA suit?
