Not So Fast Google!"GooglePlay.com" Domain Is Already Taken! Now What?
Many had speculated that Google Play would be the name of Google's newest tablet, but all the rumors were put to rest in an unexpected name change of the Android Market. When Google implemented the changes and decided on the name, they purchased the following domains:
appsonplay.com
booksonplay.com
gamesonplay.com
googleplayapps.com
googleplaybooks.com
googleplaydownloads.com
googleplaygames.com
googleplaymagazines.com
googleplaymovies.com
googleplaymusic.com
googleplaynewspapers.com
googleplaynewsstand.com
googleplaytv.com
googleplayvideos.com
magazinesonplay.com
moviesonplay.com
newspapersonplay.com
tvonplay.com
Notice anything missing? Yeah..maybe the most important domain name (googleplay.com)? The reason this URL is missing is due to the fact that a Japanese resident has already registered the domain, which was apparently copywrited by a company called GMO. GMO Internet Inc. is a company based in Tokyo, and describes itself as “a leading force in the Internet industry offering one of the most comprehensive ranges of Internet services worldwide.”
I don't know much about domain registration, but the owner of this domain appears to be in a pretty good position here! I mean, I doubt he/she will get very far in keeping the domain name, as I'm PRETTY sure Google has a license on the name "Google", but wouldn't it be crazy if due to some odd technicality that they couldn't use the domain?
Again, I'm pretty sure that won't happen, and even if it did, I'm sure Google would cut a pretty nice check to get the rights to that domain name. Google has apparently already filed a complaint over it, and we'll have to wait to see how long it takes to get it registered. I just find the whole thing a bit funny, as surely that would have been one of the first things Google checked before renaming our beloved Android Market. Also, why would GMO, a "leading force in the internet industry" allow another resident to register a web URL with the name "Google in it? One of the 2 companies clearly didn't think it through, but I'm pretty sure I have a good clue who will end up getting the domain name in the end.
Picture credits: Zazzle.com, Google Play
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Comments
That is true about the market. I still see it confusing the hell out of a lot of people.
Funny thing is, google did exact same thing as Nokia, not fixing the real issues of the application and changing the name blaming the name for everything.
They can't sell to large markets which Nokia and Apple sells, they allow blatant application theft, copyright violation (down to core Apple OS X icons) and trust their fanatics to neutralize anyone who talks about it.
They don't even cleanup reported clear spam comments from top 50.
Also they made people really confused by not keeping market icon at least for a transition period. Think about support departments trying to remote support, better go to phone dealer, they had 5 people a day asking where did market go.
Who needs googleplay.com when there is play.google.com? Like any other google service.
LOL! Crazy right! That guy could be in a good position to get a nice little payout!
This is the funniest thing man. And you know I was half thinking that I should buy a domain like Google Play.com lol. My congratulations go to the Japanese guy!!!