Battle of the Tubes: uTube sues YouTube

Iria · Nov 2, 2006, 10:31 PM

Source: TG Daily
__________
Universal Tube's Universal Tube and Rollform Equipment Corporation, a maker of tube manufacturing machines, is suing video-sharing giant YouTube because of its similarly sounding webwebsite, utube.com, has been knocked offline several times from people who misspelled youtube.com's website.

dsdsdk · Nov 2, 2006, 10:39 PM

lol... guessing utube is an american company? sry, couldnt help it :-D

BlueMak · Nov 2, 2006, 11:08 PM

so utube is suing youtube for making utube too popular?

ViRuS2k · Nov 2, 2006, 11:53 PM

lol what a bunch of tubes...

TheBlackCat · Nov 2, 2006, 11:58 PM

I am not clear on what ground they have to sue. What has youtube done that is wrong? The name is so different I do not see how youtube could be considered to have violated anything. I am not, however, an expert on internet law. It would seem illogical, but then again I guess it would be asking too much to expect the law to be logical.

ChrisW · Nov 3, 2006, 12:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBlackCat

The name is so different I do not see how youtube could be considered to have violated anything.

^^^

TheBlackCat · Nov 3, 2006, 02:58 AM

I see the similarity, but the question is whether it is similar enough to have somehow infringed on some sort of intellectual property owned by Universal Tubes. I am not aware of any law against making a domain name that is similar to another company's domain name (except perhaps for fraudulent purposes, which this obviously isn't). However, even if such a law exists I still don't see youtube being similar enough to utube to fall under such a law. I could be wrong, but if that was the case I think it would be silly. People set up domain names far more similar than that all the time. For instance there is a ww.gagle.com. I don't see google suing them. How about www.yehu.com or www.mocrosoft.com? So yeah, it sucks for Universal Tubes, it may kill their bandwidth. But is there any legal ground on which they could actually sue because of it? I sincerely doubt it. I could be wrong, as I said I am far from an expert, but I would be surprised. It is not illegal to hurt someone's profits.

Besides, even if they did sue I am sure Google could keep them in appeals until they are bankrupt from attorney fees. It is extremely difficult, nearly impossible, for a small company to actually win a case like this against a company with pockets that deep and so much to lose after that sort of acquisition.

I do find it telling that this company decides to wait until just after google buys youtube to file the lawsuit. youtube on its own had pretty much no money. And despite massive use Universal Tubes didn't seem to care enough to sue. However, the moment they get bought up by one of the most profitable technology companies on the planet immediately they decide youtube is a problem and they need to sue. That is more than a little bit suspicious to me. They may be hoping google settles out of court or something.

blown503 · Nov 3, 2006, 04:19 AM

Hey I gave utube.com a click or two so they would feel special.

SFOSOK · Nov 3, 2006, 04:43 AM

They are just a whiny child that wants attention

Tinkerhell · Nov 3, 2006, 03:21 PM

I would think with 68 million hits they should be smart & set up a ad site that pays them based on the # of hits. They should be in good shape. They just aren't thinking properly.
On the other hand I would imagine that Google wouldn't want bad publicity and could just buy the site from them for a small amount and then direct all hits to youtube. I agree I think somone sees an opportunity for some good cash by filing a suit. It will never go to court - they will settle outside somehow. I still think an ad site would be a better deal fo Universal Tubes. hehehe

BlueMak · Nov 3, 2006, 04:04 PM

If I were in charge of google I would take them to court. I don't like google but utube is clearly doing this only for the money, so, let them fight for it.

Nov 2, 2006, 10:31 PM	#1
Iria DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 7,275 Rep Power: 87	Battle of the Tubes: uTube sues YouTube Source: TG Daily __________ Universal Tube's Universal Tube and Rollform Equipment Corporation, a maker of tube manufacturing machines, is suing video-sharing giant YouTube because of its similarly sounding webwebsite, utube.com, has been knocked offline several times from people who misspelled youtube.com's website.

Nov 2, 2006, 10:39 PM	#2
dsdsdk DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Denmark, CPH. Posts: 586 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	lol... guessing utube is an american company? sry, couldnt help it :-D __________________ No more Kitty!

Nov 2, 2006, 11:08 PM	#3
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,248 Rep Power: 326 System Specs	so utube is suing youtube for making utube too popular? __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Nov 2, 2006, 11:58 PM	#5
TheBlackCat DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Searching for the Candle in the Dark Posts: 567 Rep Power: 0	I am not clear on what ground they have to sue. What has youtube done that is wrong? The name is so different I do not see how youtube could be considered to have violated anything. I am not, however, an expert on internet law. It would seem illogical, but then again I guess it would be asking too much to expect the law to be logical. __________________ [color=#000000]There is always an easy solution to every human problem—neat, plausible and wrong.[/color] -H. L. Mencken

Nov 3, 2006, 02:58 AM	#7
TheBlackCat DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Searching for the Candle in the Dark Posts: 567 Rep Power: 0	I see the similarity, but the question is whether it is similar enough to have somehow infringed on some sort of intellectual property owned by Universal Tubes. I am not aware of any law against making a domain name that is similar to another company's domain name (except perhaps for fraudulent purposes, which this obviously isn't). However, even if such a law exists I still don't see youtube being similar enough to utube to fall under such a law. I could be wrong, but if that was the case I think it would be silly. People set up domain names far more similar than that all the time. For instance there is a ww.gagle.com. I don't see google suing them. How about www.yehu.com or www.mocrosoft.com? So yeah, it sucks for Universal Tubes, it may kill their bandwidth. But is there any legal ground on which they could actually sue because of it? I sincerely doubt it. I could be wrong, as I said I am far from an expert, but I would be surprised. It is not illegal to hurt someone's profits. Besides, even if they did sue I am sure Google could keep them in appeals until they are bankrupt from attorney fees. It is extremely difficult, nearly impossible, for a small company to actually win a case like this against a company with pockets that deep and so much to lose after that sort of acquisition. I do find it telling that this company decides to wait until just after google buys youtube to file the lawsuit. youtube on its own had pretty much no money. And despite massive use Universal Tubes didn't seem to care enough to sue. However, the moment they get bought up by one of the most profitable technology companies on the planet immediately they decide youtube is a problem and they need to sue. That is more than a little bit suspicious to me. They may be hoping google settles out of court or something. __________________ [color=#000000]There is always an easy solution to every human problem—neat, plausible and wrong.[/color] -H. L. Mencken

Nov 2, 2006, 11:53 PM	#4
ViRuS2k HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Uk Posts: 8,334 Rep Power: 72 System Specs	lol what a bunch of tubes...

Nov 3, 2006, 04:19 AM	#8
blown503 HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: S. Indiana Posts: 573 Rep Power: 57	Hey I gave utube.com a click or two so they would feel special. __________________

Nov 3, 2006, 04:43 AM	#9
SFOSOK 939 Goin Strong Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Ontario Posts: 7,033 Rep Power: 89 System Specs	They are just a whiny child that wants attention __________________ Warning - Explicit Content Preceeding METAL!!

Nov 3, 2006, 03:21 PM	#10
Tinkerhell Not all fairies are nice. Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Georgia, USA Posts: 989 Rep Power: 42	I would think with 68 million hits they should be smart & set up a ad site that pays them based on the # of hits. They should be in good shape. They just aren't thinking properly. On the other hand I would imagine that Google wouldn't want bad publicity and could just buy the site from them for a small amount and then direct all hits to youtube. I agree I think somone sees an opportunity for some good cash by filing a suit. It will never go to court - they will settle outside somehow. I still think an ad site would be a better deal fo Universal Tubes. hehehe

Nov 3, 2006, 04:04 PM	#11
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,248 Rep Power: 326 System Specs	If I were in charge of google I would take them to court. I don't like google but utube is clearly doing this only for the money, so, let them fight for it. __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*