Many Sites at Risk from Copycat Laws that Scratched Bodog
1st Technology LLC’s patent suit shut down Bodog.com, but others may also fold to legal pressure
Thursday 30th August 2007
A payment process for online transactions owned by 1st Technology LLC was the cause of the transfer of Bodog.com to NewBodog.com when a copyright infringement ruling led to the closure of all domain names associated with Bodog and founder Calvin Ayre.
1st Technology LLC argued that the software for taking bets was its intellectual property and as such Bodog.com were ordered to pay damages of $49m and saw domain name servers removed, jamming the entire Bodog community.
However, other sites may run into similar trouble as Sportingbet, Excapsa, Chartwell Technology, Orbis and Playtech all operate similar systems. Playtech competitors CryptoLogic must be delighted as they are thought to be unaffected by this problem.
However, there is also the chance that other sites may not be pursued as the affidavit filed by 1st Technology LLC had the air of a personal grudge, stating; “Ayre gloats about his companies' ability to operate above American law.”
Given that the software in question is associated with money transfers, 1st Technology LLC may just be trying to ensure that they can avoid prosecution under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.
