Attempt of Hijacking Unique Info Space
The Continuing Saga of Infospace vs. 2D-infoSpace.com
Inspired by"Kremen vs Cohen"
"Two men's battle over a domain name shows how far the net has come"
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P A R A L L E L
 Launched on May 21, 2007 http://SexDotCom.info |
B O O K S
 Launched on October 1, 2007 http://Sex-Infospace.com |
ABOUT:
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Garry Kremen, 43, American,
never been married and has no children. "After graduating from Northwestern University with degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, the Chicago-area native earned an MBA at Stanford in 1989." "Moved to San Francisco when the dot-com boom was building."
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Sergiy Beloy, 42, Ukrainian,
never been married and has no children. After graduating from KISI Institute (now University) with degree Electrical Engineer, and the American University in Washington, D.C., with a honor certificate in Computer Science, - signed by the President Of America! - the Ukrainian earned a MSc. degree with distinction in the UK in 1999.
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STORY:
| "Sex.com was involved in one of the largest domain theft cases in the entire world." (Moniker) | Infospace, Inc. attempted to steal domain names from their rightful owner. |
| "The theft of something with no physical existence. That something was a website, more precisely a domain name that … Gary Kremen registered back in 1994 simply because he could: Sex.com."(TimesOnline) | The theft of something with no physical existence. That something was a website, more precisely a domain name that ... Sergiy Beloy registered back in 2002 simply because he could: 2D-InfoSpace.com. |
| "The epic battle for Sex.com, in which one man chased down one of the greatest living con-men and the world’s biggest Internet company, has finally come to a close with an undisclosed sum paid to the domain’s owner, businessman Gary Kremen." (The Register) | The epic battle for 2D-infoSpace.com, in which one man needed to fight with one of the richest men and the world’s biggest Internet company, has … not yet came to a close with any sum paid to the domain’s owner, software developer Sergiy Beloy. |
| "Kremen hadn't actually used the domain to put up a sex.com site." | Beloy has launched 2D-Infospace.com website, which introduced his original scientific concept and related software, from the day one! |
| "It took nine years, and $4.5 million spent on legal fees, for Kremen to emerge victorious in a long-running battle to re-establish his right to own one of the Web's most easily remembered names - Sex.com." (San Diego Union-Tribune) | Up to now, 2D-InfoSpace battle took only five years. If Infospace, Inc. has any doubts about a market value of 2D-Infospace.com, 2D-Infospace.net, and 3D-Infospace.com, it should re-assess the value of its own Infospace.com. |
| Kremen has became widely known "as an owner of one of the most famous domain names in history" (Moniker) | Beloy just starts becoming widely known as an owner of one of the most famous domain names in history. |
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"Mr Cohen was ordered to pay Mr Kremen $65m (£40m) in compensation for lost profits and a further $25m in punitive damages." ( BBC) |
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OBSESSION:
| "Why did I sue Cohen? He just pissed me off,” said Mr. Kremen. "I offered to settle it for $50,000 but he said you never owned the domain name, which is not true.” (RedHerring) | If Infospace really wanted piece, it could settle the whole thing for just $0. During first several years(!) it could simply pick up the phone and say to Beloy: "Sorry, we were not right." |
| "The settlement figure, with interest, now stands at $82 million." (Court TV ) |
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"As part of the damages, Mr. Kremen said he received a $6-million home in Rancho Santa Fe in San Diego County where he now lives."
(RedHerring) |
Mr. Beloy hasn't received a penny towards the damages, let alone a $13-million home in WA of the Infospace CEO who started the conflict. |
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"Tracking down Cohen and his money ...
has become an obsession … for Kremen." ( Court TV ) |
Considering the irreversible damages Infospace caused to Beloy's Internet business and LIFE, the conflict will not disappear by itself.
For Beloy, -- it's FOR YEARS!!! |
SALE:
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"The [SEX.com] sale ranks as one of the most expensive Web domain name transfers ever.." ( ConcreteCubicle) |
Before SEX.com, Infospace's Excite.com could be the most expensive domain name transfer. |
| "Internet industry websites are abuzz about the [SEX.com's $14 mln.] transaction, which ranks as one of the priciest domain name sales in history, eclipsing the $7.5 million for Business.com … in 1999." (Canada.com) |
The Infospace was an active player on the high stakes domain name game too:
Infospace had made a joint bid and purchased for $10 million the famous Excite.com domain name and brand … in 2002. |
SEARCH ENGINES:
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"Kremen now runs Sex.com as a search engine for other sex sites, refusing to host any material himself." (Daily Telegraph) |
Infospace, Inc. now runs Infospace.com mostly as an Internet search service. |
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"Cohen had made an estimated $100m from selling advertising space to whatever porn sites would pay him the most money for a link to their own sites." (The Guardian) |
Beloy wasn't been able to use his 2D-infoSpace properly as it was actually blocked by Infospace during last five years. |
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"These days [2003] the site does an estimated $100 million a year. … The lion's share comes from other porn sites that pay up to a million a month for banner ads that will drive traffic to their less name-advantaged sites.
No wonder Kremen is pissed. " (Law publication) |
Although there is nothing that legally prevents Beloy from integrating into his Sex-Infospace.com ad links to PORNO sites, - the feature that brings Sex.com MILLIONS every month! - up to now he hasn't considered that possibility. |
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"When you focus on a very small niche, you can get higher prices than anyone else, because you understand the subtleness of the niche that other search engines don't understand.
I guess you kind of replaced the Sex.com." ( Moniker) |
Although the term 2D-infoSpace was used by Beloy in public before Infospace registered its INFOSPACE trademarks, he wouldn't be too happy if his websites will ultimately replace, OVERRIDE Infospace.com. |
Network Solutions:
| "Verisign is facing a multi-million dollar claim for damages over the way it has handled the lucrative sex.com domain." (BBC) |
Infospace may face a multi-million dollar claim for damages over the way it has handled the contraversial 2D-Infospace.com domain." |
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"The company that owned and ran all dotcom domains had decided that if it ignored Kremen he would eventually give up and go away." ( Daily Telegraph) |
Almost M A N I A C A L denial of Infospace to respond to Beloy's mail for YEARS clearly shows its way of dealing with problems! |
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"Kremen contacted Network Solutions and demanded they change the details back. "They said they weren't going to do anything about it. So I had to go and get a cheap lawyer." ….
It took nearly five years for Kremen to regain ownership of his domain.." ( The Guardian) |
Beloy has contacted Infospace many times.
Infospace keeps silence, as it feels perfectly comfortable when for five years 2D-infoSpace websites are indirectly BLOCKED, rather than completely deleted! Making the belief Infospace here is not guilty.
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"A paper trail uncovered by Kremen's lawyers … conclusively proved that VeriSign knowingly misled Kremen in order to avoid setting a precedent and out of corporate a r r o g a n c e ." ( The Register) |
Infospace lawyers' attacks aimed to hide the really important threat for INSP:
Just entering into any talks with Beloy would inevitably trigger discussing astronomical figures of a real price for 2D-infoSpace domains and trademarks that happened to be very similar to a marketing "face" of the giant wanting to be worth a TRILLION! |
| VeriSign has "dug a hole so deep and they can't dig themselves out of it." (InternetNews) | |
| "Since 2003, Kremen’s lawyer … has been building a case against the company that at one time possessed complete control over global Internet domains and remains the most powerful company on the Internet. What he found in the subsequent discovery hearings proved so damaging to VeriSign that its CEO and Board became personally involved in the case and pushed for settlement." (The Register) |
Since era of the Infospace's President Naveen Jain, - according to the press, he practiced his almost 100% personal control over practically every corporate's move, - Infospace's CEOs were not smart enough for taking simple steps, e.g., - offering to Beloy any kind of settlement.
Besides, they have been too arrogant for that! |
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"VeriSign declined to comment.
Its shares slipped … on Nasdaq." (LA Times) |
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| "However, VeriSign has retained its envious legal record of never losing a legal battle, avoided having to admit blame for wrongly handing over the domain, and kept the financial details secret to aid it in possible future legal battles." (The Register) | |
| "Terms of the agreement weren't disclosed. The settlement comes just weeks before the case was expected to go to trial in federal court in San Jose, California. A VeriSign spokesman declined to comment on whether the domain-name registrar admitted to any wrongdoing as part of the settlement." (Wired) | |
| With the settlement, VeriSign has avoided having to publicly accept blame for wrongly handing over the domain - a situation that could have bankrupted the company since it has been responsible for thousands of disputed domain changes. (The Register) |
LIAR:
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"Cohen is a liar."
"Cohen … called up Kremen pretending to be from the United States Patent and Trademark Office and informed Kremen that he was investigating trademarks owned by one Stephen Cohen, including the trademark "Sex.com". Over the course of the conversation, he persuaded Kremen that he, Cohen, had legitimate rights over the domain." ( Daily Telegraph) |
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'And the scam: "This letter shall serve as our authorisation to the internet registration to transfer sex.com to your corporation." '
( The Guardian) |
And the Infospace's scam for Beloy:
"Confirm to us … that you … are willing to submit a request for transfer of the domain name 2D-infoSpace.net to Infospace, Inc." ( See official Infospace letters at http://mini-news.com/infospace/page30.jpg ). |
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' "In the Sex.com case, there was one side with no case but who fought it to the bitter end and got what he deserved. There is no question that what Cohen did was fraud," says Michael Froomkin, a professor of law at the University of Miami and one of the world's leading experts on internet and the law. Conviction for fraud would mean jail for a sixth time for Cohen. Or at least for the old Cohen.
The new Cohen, however, who is now one of the richest men on the planet, is proving a little harder to track down." ' (The Guardian) |
Infospace's CEO Jain at that time was listed by the Forbs Magazine as one of the richest men on the planet too. |
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"Cohen used a forged letter to gain control of sex.com, which he used to create a Web site." ( San Diego Union-Tribune) |
Infospace lawyers, and later a legal company specially hired by Infospace, had used false allegations that 2D-Infospace.com must belong exclusively to InfoSpace, Inc. |
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"Basically, the Unfair Competition Code says,
'If you steal a product and sell it, you're competing unfairly with people who have to buy it and sell it,'" said Kremen's lawyer, Charles Carreon.(Wired) |
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| "Cohen used some of the money he made from the online pornography business to buy a Tijuana strip club in his daughter Jhuliana's name." (San Diego Union-Tribune) | Jain used some of the money Infospace made in interests of his family. His fraud resulted in the biggest in the U.S. history insider stock penalties of $247 mln. |
AMERICAN REALITY VS. UKRAINIAN REALITY:
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" 'I began downloading software,' he [Kremen] said, and earned his first $100,000."
( San Diego Union-Tribune) |
The Electrical Engineer's salary Beloy earned in Ukraine was sufficient only for eating. |
| [Kremen's] "red-tiled home, surrounded by an expansive lawn and a lemon grove. There's a private tennis court, disappearing-edge pool and a guest house … " (San Diego Union-Tribune) |
For all his life, Beloy has never had his own house! NEVER HAD A CAR! |
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"Despite his legal odyssey to regain Sex.com - which he says cost him $4.5 million in legal fees Kremen isn't crying poor." (USA Today)
"Kremen has done well with other investments, which allowed him to pursue the case against Cohen."
(Times Staff Writers) |
That average American was capable to hire half a dozen lawyers,- and to spend nearly $5 million in legal fees! Obviously, being a citizen of poor Ukraine that has average salary few hundred USD per month, Beloy spent for legal issues much less. However, he spent to it
ALL HIS LIFE SAVINGS! |
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"A personal trainer visits Kremen's house daily. He practices yoga on an almost daily basis. He's eating healthier." ( San Diego Jewish Journal) |
Would Kremen sustain the pressure if he had a Ukrainian passport, not American one? Living as a typical Ukrainian with typical Ukrainian salary? Absolutely not! |
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"He is currently building up the Sex.com site, and will not be poor …"
( The Register) |
The 2D-Infospace projects have been "frozen" as Beloy couldn't afford to develop them further: They haven't been promoted since 2002, - when Infospace first approached him with its $200,000 legal fee threats. |
CRIMIANL:
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"[Cohen] was convicted of bankruptcy fraud and served nearly four years in federal prison in Lompoc, Calif." ( USA Today) |
Infospace was involved into huge fraud scandal shortly before the 2D-infoSpace case.
See more at http://seattletimes.nwsource.com |
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"Cohen had moved his millions [to other businesses]." (Times Staff Writers) |
After being fired as Infospace President,
Jain had moved his millions to another his company, - Intelius.com |
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'Kremen explains: "I had made some money … so I got a real, real expensive lawyer and he told me I was making the wrong argument, that I should be arguing Cohen was a career criminal." ' (The Guardian) |
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"With Cohen finally exposed as a crook, the judge refused to listen to any more of his tales and suddenly the case fell into Kremen’s lap." ( Daily Telegraph) |
CRIMINAL aspects of the Infospace vs. 2D-InfoSpace.com story are to be discussed in the future eBook "INSPgate". |
CHEAP:
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'In Tijuana, Cohen lived in a penthouse apartment in the upscale Chapultepec neighborhood near the city's center, but often ate hot dogs at the Tijuana Costco. "He was very cheap," said Alejandro Osuna, a Tijuana lawyer hired by Kremen to track down Cohen. … He could have paid $100 to have a lawyer go down to the immigration office Thursday, but instead appeared personally, Osuna said.' - This is how he finally was cought up! (San Diego Union-Tribune) |
From "How To Kill $B Corporation"
(Advices for INFOSPACE CEOs): "6. Never send urgent business letters to Ukraine via international mail, let alone registered mail services like DHL. Instead, use the cheapest US inland(!) stamps for 80 cents, - this almost guarantees your corporate's letter may be delivered to Ukrainian addressee within several weeks or even months. If simply not lost, of course. (See real photo at
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"This guy is classic 'Catch Me If You Can' " ( USA Today) |
Obviously, Infospace will NEVER pay a penny without stucking into long embarassing legal hearings. Even if the courtroom case may be used as a foundation for future thousands of similar cases against Infospace. As Russian proverb says: "A miserly person always pays twice!" |
WITH COMPUTER VIRUSES?!! And to whom 2D-infospace.com domain name would be assigned if the attacks succeded? See the future eBook "INSPgate" |
Disclaimer: This website is not affiliated with official websites of Infospace, Inc. 'Infospace' is a registered trademark of Infospace, Inc. Names and registered trademarks of corresponding companies and used in the context of news reporting. Sergiy Beloy does not explicitely accuse Infospace, Inc. in a criminal activity. Only the court can make the final judgement.
Copyright(C) Beloy