NYC man ordered to relinquish The Simpsons Movie domain name
Last Updated: Thursday, July 26, 2007 | 3:55 PM ET
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Producers of The Simpsons Movie are letting out a "Woo hoo!" after a UN agency ruled ownership of the domain name thesimpsonsmovie.com should be handed back to Twentieth Century Fox.
The movie studio complained to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) over the internet address registered by Keith Malley of New York.
The Simpsons Movie launches Friday around the world.
(Canadian Press)
The WIPO also stated Malley wanted to "profit from and exploit" the movie, which has generated huge public interest.
Studio lawyers claim Malley was using the address to divert users to a site that included sexually explicit depictions of various characters from the popular cartoon series. Lawyers also said Malley was demanding $50,000 US for the domain name.
The movie launches worldwide on Friday.
The WIPO found Malley "has no rights or legitimate interests with respect to the domain name," and ordered the address be returned immediately.
"I found it bullying," said Malley, who registered the name in 1999 and added he plans to appeal the decision.
Malley said the studio's lawyers never contacted him but he was offered $300 for the name.
The Simpsons is the longest-running primetime entertainment series on U.S. television. The first episode about Homer and Marge Simpson and their three children debuted 18 years ago.
With files from the Associated PressShare Tools
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