Bodog's Domain Names Confiscated

lnspin

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First off , currently bodog.com does not exist you have to go to Newbodog.com and you can download the software and log in and play from there , for poker and casino .

Now Why is bodog not working anymore ? Well they stated they have DNS problems , which means , the forgot to renew the domain name and someone else bought it , and is probably holding it hostage for some cash .


heres The Message From Calvin

Welcome to the new (temporary) Bodog. As you may know by now, Bodog.com is experiencing a technical issue impacting our players' ability to access our website.

This is the result of a legal dispute over the ownership of the Bodog.com domain name. We are fighting this dispute. We are confident that we will win, but until all is settled, I do not want our battle to interrupt your play.

So, I present you with newbodog.com. You won't notice very many changes: same website, same brand, same product, and same service. Just a new domain name.

We are working to resolve any remaining issues on the temporary site as soon as possible, and fully expect to have our original site back up shortly.

I sincerely apologize if you were affected by our interruption and assure you that I will update you soon.

Regards,

Calvin Ayre
 
Bodog Site Down

The other forums are carrying news that Bodog's site is down for the last 24 hours.

There is a new site called NewBodog.com. On that site, Calvin's face appears and there is a link called "Why The Switch To NewBodog.com" It used to work but it doesn't anymore, at least for me.

When it did work, it said this:

Welcome to the new (temporary) Bodog. As you may know by now, Bodog.com is experiencing a technical issue impacting our players' ability to access our website.

This is the result of a legal dispute over the ownership of the Bodog.com domain name. We are fighting this dispute. We are confident that we will win, but until all is settled, I do not want our battle to interrupt your play.

So, I present you with newbodog.com. You won't notice very many changes: same website, same brand, same product, and same service. Just a new domain name.

We are working to resolve any remaining issues on the temporary site as soon as possible, and fully expect to have our original site back up shortly.

I sincerely apologize if you were affected by our interruption and assure you that I will update you soon.

Regards,

Calvin Ayre

So he's saying that some other character has claimed the Bodog name. And there's a court case going on. Doesn't say where.

But as I have posted on OGD and MW, Bodog has no real standing to claim a property interest in the domain name bodog.com. Bodog is a criminal organization under US law. No US court is going to recognize ownership of a domain name by a criminal organization. Likely some smart guy recognized that and has contested the rights to the name Calvin claims. As long as he doesn't intend to use it for criminal purposes, he will win.

So that has a lot of implications for everyone, if anyone still has money at bodog. That doesn't seem to be the case, given the relatively low level of comment on the forums.

I guess that's the real test of what kind of business you have. Shut down for a day and see if anybody notices.
 
Well they stated they have DNS problems , which means , the forgot to renew the domain name and someone else bought it , and is probably holding it hostage for some cash .

Wonder if that's the last thing Gonzales did... buy a domain name... ;)
 
Registrant:
Mani Chagtai (NEWBODOG-COM-DOM)
Lyon Finance Ltd
Giusseppe Cali Street
Ta Xbiex, MT 14
MT
+1 (888)343 2269
bodogmedia@gmail.com

....

Record last updated on 27-Aug-2007.
Record expires on 27-Aug-2008.
Record created on 27-Aug-2007.



Huh?

Looks like phishing to me. Take note of when the domain was registered: YESTERDAY.

There's also no mention of this "newbodog.com" in the email I received today:

Brian,

Bodog.com is currently experiencing technical difficulties. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience.

All of us at Bodog are working hard to get things fixed as fast as possible so you can continue enjoying all that Bodog Entertainment has to offer. Stay tuned for further updates via email.

Thanks for your patience,

Calvin Ayre, Bodog Founder

Bodog Customer Service
T. 1-888-263-0000

The real bodog.com:

Domain name: bodog.com

Administrative Contact:
Whois Privacy Protection Service, Inc.
Whois Agent (vvwpmmtn@whoisprivacyprotect.com)
+1.4252740657
Fax: +1.4256960234
PMB 368, 14150 NE 20th St - F1
C/O bodog.com
Bellevue, WA 98007
US
 
What a *diabolical* oversight for a company that lives and dies by the internet!

Nothing like domain confusion and diverts to give your players confidence in handing over their credit card/financial details :eek::eek::eek:
 
Clevfan seems to have broken the story over at MW.

It seems a company with a patent on gaming software has successfully sued Calvin in Seattle court for patent infringement and has been awarded $48 million. On August 21, a writ of execution was granted and that likely allowed the plaintiff to take over the rights to the domain name bodog.com, calvinayre.com, etc.

Let's hope there weren't many people left with money on deposit at Bodog.
 
what???

Wow isn't this bad business by Bo Dog. Come on guys wake up!!! This is very sloppy on their part:eek: And you want us to deposit and play here???? Wow very scary... Delayed payments... Don't protect "your name" of your website..:eek: Send me some free cash to my account and if I win and get paid then I might just make a deposit :thumbsup:
 
Wow isn't this bad business by Bo Dog. Come on guys wake up!!! This is very sloppy on their part:eek: And you want us to deposit and play here???? Wow very scary... Delayed payments... Don't protect "your name" of your website..:eek: Send me some free cash to my account and if I win and get paid then I might just make a deposit :thumbsup:


You are so funny....they are NEVER going to give you free money.



(they should give it to me instead :D )
 
:)

Come on Calvin what is a free 20 to a multi million dollar casino operation??? Show some love :D

I just sent Calvin a personal e-mail. I have faith that he will respond kindly and show his gratitude and insert a few dollar bills into my poker account :)
 
I find this quite amusing. Mostly because I've never really been a fan of Bodog.

The 32,000 question is, who is this other party that thinks he owns Bodog.com? Is it some greasy-haired slob living out of his mom's basement, or some greasy-haired slob with a suit-and-tie living out of Washington DC?

I remember reading something a couple years ago where Microsoft forgot to renew their domain name and some guy generously did it for them so that they wouldn't experience any service interruption... and they merely reimbursed him the $30. You'd think they could have $hown a little more re$pect to someone who did that, but they were probably nervous that he was going to try what Bodog's hijacker is now doing.

Anyway... regardless of the fact that I am not a Bodog player... given everything that's been going on in the US, this is really bad timing and doesn't give off a good vibe.

And I can't imagine it's very good for business either... :lolup:
 
Updated Info

Story is 1st Technology LLC holds the patent on bodogs software , and for some reason , guess bodog did not give them there cut , 1st Technology LLC sued them in a US court , Kings Superior Court In Washington State for $48,937,456.00, since no one from bodog showed up in court for fear of stepping on US soil , the judge had to rule in favor of 1st Technology LLC . So i guess they made bodog forfit the name .

look at Link Removed ( Old/Invalid)

look down to case number 07-9-21969-8 , its on the first page , dated 8/1/2007 , with this case number you can also go to the court main site [
You do not have permission to view link Log in or register now.
]and get more info on what they were charged with
 
If you re-download the casino client from the new site, and re-install it, you will be able to log-in from the client as well. In case you still would like to play there...
 
Here's the official press release from Bodog:

Bodog Remains Fully Operational

Online gaming giant continues to offer customers full service
despite domain dispute


For Immediate Release

August 28, 2007

Bodog is encountering DNS issues related to several of its websites and is directing customers to an alternate site (www.newbodog.com) with little or no interruption to service.

We are having difficulties related to our DNS registration but in little more than 12 hours, nearly all aspects of the website have been updated to reflect the environment our clients are accustomed to, says Bodog founder Calvin Ayre. We are working to resolve any of the minor remaining glitches on the alternate site, but other than that it is business as usual.

According to Ayre, the problems result from a dispute over the ownership of the Bodog.com domain name.

We are fighting this dispute and are confident that we will win, says Ayre. I sincerely apologize to any customers affected by our interruption and will continue to provide updates
 
The above sounds about right. It seems a company with a patent on gaming software has successfully sued Ayre in a Seattle court for patent infringement and has been awarded $48 million.

On August 21, a writ of execution was granted and that likely allowed the plaintiff to take over the rights to the domain name.
 
It looks as if the US legal situation and Ayre's/Bodog's vulnerability in regard to appearing in the USA may have played a hand to their disadvantage here.

On August 1st a Washington State judge in Kings County, Seattle issued a court order on the registrar for Bodog.com to have the site removed due to an unanticipated "patent infringement" claim.

It was part of a judgement in favour of a company called 1st Technology LLC against Bodog Entertainment Group, with the former winning an award of $48 937 456 (how do they work out the nickels and dimes on these massive claims LOL!)

Bodog may not even have been aware of the action, or decided that it was too risky to enter the States to defend it, or perhaps did not want to give the USA the power of jurisdiction over it. In any event, Bodog did not appear and suffered for it.

Known Bodog registered domains have been suspended, and as an immediate bandaid solution the company registered New Bodog - the company has trademarked the BOdog brand and has said it is going to fight the action with determination. The implications for brand, business, search engine positioning and other elements are clearly significant.

According to Internet searches, 1st Technology LLC is "....a leading technology licensing company with a patent portfolio of advanced Internet and multimedia innovations.

"1st Technology is headed by Internet pioneer Dr. Scott Lewis who led the development of the world's first single integrated circuit chip with on-board video and audio compression, advanced adaptive digital signal processing technology at Oxford University, and introduced multiple broadband Internet and multimedia technologies. 1st Technology has a long list of industry leaders as licensees.

"The violation relates to the Method for the production and transmission of enhanced multimedia information.

"An optimization method is disclosed that enhances the interactivity of multimedia information. The optimization method includes separating a multimedia information into primary and secondary layers and enhancing that information in the primary layers such that the perceived psychographic information quality is improved. This method has the advantage of providing compression and/or transmission algorithms to maximize enhancement of the multimedia information."

Bodog boss Calvin Ayre says: "We are fighting this dispute and are confident that we will win."

His group continues to offer customers full service despite the domain dispute, with Bodog staff working through the night to get the alternative site up and running.

"Nearly all aspects of the website have been updated to reflect the environment our clients are accustomed to," says Ayre. "We are working to resolve any of the minor remaining glitches on the alternate site, but other that it is business as usual."

The CalvinAyre.com blog is dead, but the Bodog Beat remains active, so not all brands have been nailed yet.

The litigation timing is significant and presumably intended - the first two to three weeks of football are the busiest of the year for online sportsbetting in the North American market.
 
Bodog Looses Domain Name, Ordered to Pay $49.0 million

This is just found on GamingIntelligenceGroup.com:

Bodog Looses Domain Name, Ordered to Pay $49.0 million

Bodog.com is no more. Following what appeared to be technical difficulties yesterday with the companys domain, customers are now being directed to NewBodog.com.

According to details emerging this morning, the loss of the companys domain name is not the cause of the problem, but rather a result of more serious litigation brought against the company by 1st Technology LLC.

1st Technology LLC owns a patent on a process for taking bets online and claims that Bodogs downloadable software infringes the companys patent, which has been granted in the United States as well as elsewhere in the world.

Bodog failed to answer the allegations made against them in a suit filed in the State of Washington and as a result, a default judgement was issued against them on August 1st 2007 ordering the company to pay damages of $49.0 million.

As a part of the ruling, the registrar of Bodogs domain names was ordered to remove all name servers associated with Bodog and Calvin Ayre, rendering the domains useless.

While this will no doubt severely impact Bodog, the implications for the online gaming industry as a whole are huge. If the 1st Technology patent really does protect a fundamental process of online gaming, many, many more operators could find themselves being forced to pay out big.

Gaming Intelligence Group will bring you further details of this case and the patent in question, as information becomes available.
 
'Meister - this makes (I think) now three threads on the Bodog patent topic running simultaneously - any chance of combining these to avoid confusion and duplication, please?
 
1st Technology LLC owns a patent on a process for taking bets online and claims that Bodog’s downloadable software infringes the company’s patent, which has been granted in the United States as well as elsewhere in the world.

Were this to relate to the casino side of things then this would be an RTG infringement, not a Bodog one. My bet is that this relates to sports betting, reference the quote:

1st Technology LLC owns a patent on a process for taking bets online

My bet (patent # 2340928 ;)) is that 1st Tech simply owns one particular method for taking bets which happens to be the method Bodog uses. Chances are that this only affects sports betting and only affects companies using the same specific method that alledgedly infringes the patent. It's clearly bad news for Bodog, but...

the implications for the online gaming industry as a whole are huge

:rolleyes:

...is pure conjecture. Basically we don't know the whole story yet and shouldn't necessarily take the comments of third party editorial and industry observers out of context or at face value until the full facts are known. The press love to blow things out of proportion lets not forget - the truth is often far less interesting than the speculation!
 
Bodog (or New Bodog!) uses a special proprietary version of the RTG software which has been extensively "tweaked", I'm informed.

Some time ago Ayre purchased rights to the source code and his developers have apparently improved on it since.

This sentence from the litigation is interesting imo: "The violation relates to the method for the production and transmission of enhanced multimedia information."

That could cover a wide field, especially in a diverse group like Bodog.

Remember Molnick - the Home Gaming Network - i2corp guy who claimed he held the patents to live online gaming and launched several cases? I wonder if there is a connection to him, or if this 1st Technology LLC is another claimant to the patents on this sort of technology?
 
Update

More detail emerging on this issue. Note the Las Vegas connection!

The following article is from The Vancouver Sun:

Gambling site Bodog hit with $48-million judgment in U.S. court

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

"Online gambling website Bodog.com was out of service Monday and remained inoperative Tuesday, apparently due to a $48.6-million default judgment obtained by a Las Vegas company against Bodog in a patent infringement case.

".....but according to Nevada court documents, 1st Technology LLC of Las Vegas obtained a $48.6-million default judgement on June 14 against Bodog Entertainment Group S.A., Bodog.net and Bodog.com.

The Las Vegas company obtained the judgment after the Bodog companies failed to answer allegations, filed in U.S. District Court in Nevada, that downloaded software used by Bodog customers to facilitate its gaming activities infringed upon 1st Technology's patents.

It is not clear why Bodog officials did not respond to the allegations. One possibility is they were scared away by the U.S. Department of Justice, which has declared war on Internet gambling.

Through a series of high profile arrests of online gambling executives, the Justice Department has made it clear that online gambling is illegal and anybody operating or facilitating such activities is subject to prosecution.

Since then, (Bodog CEO Calvin] Ayre has avoided stepping on American soil, but he continues to return to Vancouver, where Bodog runs a marketing-support business in Vancouver called Riptown Media and a call centre in Burnaby called Triple Crown Customer Service.

Meanwhile, 1st Technology has been steadily tightening the noose on Bodog, which was previously run out of Costa Rica but is now based in Antigua.

In an affidavit filed in conjunction with the court action, 1st Technology lawyer Kristopher Rath complained that, despite the default judgment, Bodog "continues to act with impunity in the United States."

"The Bodog entities infringing activities are responsible for over $65 billion in cumulative transactions to date, with approximately two-thirds of this revenue currently being derived from infringing United States activities," he said.

The lawyer noted that, according to a Forbes interview with Ayre, "Bodog handled $7.3 billion dollars of revenue which translates to over $4.8 billion in revenue in the United States with revenue growing 300 percent per year since 2004."

He also noted that, according to the Forbes interview, Ayre "has amassed a current wealth of $1 billion, which was derived in large part through infringement of 1st Technology LLC's patent.

"However, despite reaping the rewards of U.S. commerce, the Bodog entities evade United States law and courts, and Mr. Ayre gloats about his companies' ability to operate above American law."

The lawyer said 1st Technology "continues to suffer massive and irreparable harm because of the Bodog entities' wrongful conduct", and the "only way to stop this harm is to enjoin Bodog's United States activities."

In the early 1990s, Ayre got into trouble with the B.C. Securities Commission over his dealings with Bicer Medical Systems, listed on the former Vancouver Stock Exchange. In 1996, he admitted to serious offences in connection with that company and agreed to a 20-year ban from the B.C. securities market.
 
The above sounds about right. It seems a company with a patent on gaming software has successfully sued Ayre in a Seattle court for patent infringement and has been awarded $48 million.

On August 21, a writ of execution was granted and that likely allowed the plaintiff to take over the rights to the domain name.
They'll get the domain name but I doubt they'll see a penny of that $48 million.
 
Update

BODOG IGNORED PATENT LITIGATION SAYS OPPOSING LAWYER (Update)

Background to litigation against Bodog continues to surface

Following previous reports on the 1st Technology LLC vs Bodog Entertainment Group SA, further detail is beginning to emerge, along with critical comment by lawyers representing 1st Technology in its $49 million patent infringement suit against the Antiguan based online gambling group.

The confrontation apparently began last September, when 1st Technology, which has enjoyed some success in previous actions against other companies, sued Bodog before Judge Roger L. Hunt in a federal court in Nevada. Lawyers for 1st Technology claimed that Bodog was illegally using a "method and system for interactively transmitting multimedia information over a network which requires a reduced bandwidth," according to court documents.

It is alleged that Bodog failed to appear in court to defend itself and lost the case by default, and Judge Hunt issued an order that Bodog was to pay $48 937 456 to 1st Technology by March 2007 for patent infringement.

When the order had not been complied with on the due date, it appears that the case was transferred as an enforcement issue to the state of Washington sometime in June, but Bodog again failed to make an appearance, according to 1st Technology's attorney Venkat Balasubramani.

The lawyer is adamant that all appropriate notifications were correctly given for both the lawsuit in Nevada and the subsequent action in Washington state. "I can't speculate as to why they might have done that [failed to appear]. It's safe to assume they knew about it and definitely ignored it," Balasubramani added.

1st Technology was left with no alternative but to note that Bodog had failed to respond to the default judgment and ask that all Bodog domains be confiscated and transferred to them. This was so ordered by Judge John Erlick on August 21, requiring registrars to transfer Bodog related domains to the control of 1st Technology.

"The Court makes it clear that the intent of this order is to allow the Plaintiff to liquidate or otherwise monetize the Domain Names without incurring any expense," said Judge Erlick in his ruling. "Plaintiff may decide not to auction the domain names, and instead may operate the Domain Names in any manner it sees fit, including exploiting any traffic to the sites accessible via the domain names."

Balasubramani, who is expert in commercial litigation involving the Internet and technology explained that the purpose behind the order was to satisfy as far as possible the apparently ignored 1st Technology judgment.

It is becoming clear that a great deal of preparation and planning by a competent legal team has gone into the action against Bodog. Balasubramani says that 1st Technology LLC has engaged a considerable multi-legal team that is now dedicated to enforcing its judgement against Bodog, embracing commercial and intellectual property rights. It intends to demonstrate that no company that has customers in the United States is above or beyond U.S. legal jurisdiction, he said.

And apparently the message has struck home at Bodog, with a 1st Technology spokesman disclosing that lawyers from both companies are now in communication.
 

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