MikeRoweSoft is now MikeRoweForums
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MikeRoweSoft is now MikeRoweForums

Sadly MikeRoweSoft.com is now owned by Microsoft.

The original MikeRoweSoftDesign is now MikeRoweForums mikeroweforums.com.

News articles:
Teen agrees to change name of his Web site (Star-Telegram.com)
and
Teen sees happy ending in row over Web site (Times Colonist)

The 17-year-old Langford high school student has settled for a trip to Redmond, Wash., Microsoft X-Box game system -- a $230 Can. value -- and a special subscription to MSDN.
[...]
The company will also redirect traffic to a new Web site to be established by Rowe. His old site was still up on Friday, but the agreement requires him to assign rights over to Microsoft.

Rowe will also receive reimbursement for out of pocket costs.

That's a bit too cheap, I'd say. Poor boy, got rubbed by a giant company.

Teen agrees to change name of his Web site Star-Telegram.com

SEATTLE -- A Canadian teen-ager whose Web site address bothered a certain giant software company will find a new home on the Web, Microsoft Corp. said Friday.

Mike Rowe, a 17-year-old resident of Victoria, British Columbia, has agreed to pick a new name for his Web site, www.mikerowesoft.com, Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler said.

Mike's father, Kim Rowe, confirmed that his son had struck an agreement with Microsoft. Rowe said his son could not be interviewed Friday because he had to study for final exams.

Desler said Microsoft would cover Mike's costs of changing to a new Web site, and help the teen get Microsoft certification training and other gifts, hoping to nuture "his interest in technology.

Teen sees happy ending in row over Web site

Norman Gidney
Times Colonist
Saturday, January 24, 2004
After attracting worldwide attention, Langford student Mike Rowe agreed to an offer from Microsoft that requires him to change his Web site name.
Microsoft Corp. has called off its lawyers after reaching a deal with Mike Rowe to give up his soundalike Web site name.

The 17-year-old Langford high school student has settled for a trip to Redmond, Wash., Microsoft X-Box game system -- a $230 Can. value -- and a special subscription to MSDN, a company Web site for software developers. The company will also redirect traffic to a new Web site to be established by Rowe. His old site was still up on Friday, but the agreement requires him to assign rights over to Microsoft.

Rowe will also receive reimbursement for out of pocket costs.
"He's happy with the results," said his father, Kevin Rowe. Mike Rowe wasn't planning to comment until Monday, and now is focussed on catching up on studying and sleeping.

His father said he had maybe one good night of sleep in the last week and will have to face final exams Wednesday in math and chemistry.
Rowe attracted worldwide attention last week when the Seattle technology company tried to shut down www.mikerowesoft.com.

On Monday, there were 250,000 attempts in 12 hours to access his Web site, after CNN.com featured Rowe's story on its front page. The New York Times and major U.S. networks featured the story.

But the Internet-fuelled publicity machine was gearing down Friday afternoon when the settlement was announced by Microsoft.

Microsoft lawyers Smart & Biggar initially offered him $10 US, the cost to Rowe of registering the name last August.

He countered by suggesting $10,000 was closer to what his site and business name were worth to him.

Microsoft has a policy of not buying off anyone in trademark disputes like this, but the $300-billion technology company will help Rowe in others ways, said spokesman Jim Desler.

"We wanted to work things out in a fair and reasonable manner," he said. Microsoft considers him "a bright young man with great potential."
The all-expenses-paid trip to Microsoft's suburban corporate campus in Redmond, Wash., near Seattle will be in March when the company hosts Tech Fest.

It's an annual event for employees that showcases new products, software and the latest in-house research, said Desler. "We wanted to bring Mike along to see this."

Will Rowe get to meet Microsoft founder Bill Gates when he goes to head office? "That really depends on scheduling. I don't really know," said Desler.

Microsoft started out defending its trademark "in a very process-oriented way," he said, and the company is required to defend its copyright, Desler said.
It might have taken a different tack if it anticipated the storm of publicity -- most people rooted for Rowe in the modern David-and-Goliath story -- generated by Mike Rowe vs. Microsoft, he said.

© Copyright 2004 Times Colonist (Victoria)

Related AntBlog701 entries:
Microsoft has admitted it took things too seriously after bad publicity (21 January, 2004)
Your name is Mike Rowe, you can't call your website MikeRoweSoft.com, says Microsoft (21 January, 2004)