Video Game Reviews 4 You

Posted September 8, 2011 by Ben Strauss

Many gamers might remember a time when modernwarfare3.com simply took a redirect to the Battlefield 3 website. Understandably, Activision was not amused and sought to right this wrong. Today, a panel from the National Arbitration Forum has granted control of the domain to Activision.

The trouble began back in late 2009, when Anthony Abraham registered the domain as an unofficial fan site for the as-of-yet unreleased title. By the time Activision found out about the site, Abraham quickly changed his tone from support to downright anger, feeling threatened by ATVI’s lawyers.

Starting with an onslaught of insults, coupled with video tirades and anti-Call of Duty slogans, the controversy surrounding the domain exploded when gamers found the domain simply redirected to Battlefield 3’s main site. EA was quick to point out that they had nothing to do with the matter.

The escapades have come to an end today, as Activision has unsurprisingly regained control of the domain, citing the required elements from the ICANN policy. Activision was able to prove that the ‘fan site’ was “confusingly similar” to the Call of Duty trademark. It was also able to show that Abraham had “no rights or interests for the domain, and that the website had been created 'in bad faith' on Abraham’s part."

Ben Strauss is a student at Xavier University studying Marketing and Philosophy. He has been an active gamer since he got his hands on a Nintendo, and looks to help further gaming as a legitimate creative and entertainment development entity.