WRITERS SPOOF SITE; WHAT DOES THE AMPTP KNOW ABOUT THE INTERNET AFTER ALL? (DHD, THB, LAT)

By Nancy Vialatte

The writers made a different kind of strike against AMPTP yesterday when a chink in the armor left the door wide open to anyone who knows anything about domain names. By purchasing the available www.AMPTP.com (the group�s real address is www.AMPTP.org) and then proclaiming the �new economic partnership proposal�the single greatest document since the Magna Carta,� the writers fooled a fair few folk. However, in blogland, some wonder whether the writers� satirical savvy has done more harm than good.

Nikki Finke posted the link saying she was getting a ton of puzzled emails from folks who weren�t sure what was what. For her part, she wrote the site is �laugh-out-loud funny no matter what side of the issue you're on.�

Later yesterday evening, when the WGA sent news of the site to its mailing list, David Poland, who agrees it�s funny, wrote that the WGA's choice was �vaguely unsportsmanlike.�

The Los Angeles Times writes: �When the Hollywood studios say they don't know enough about the Internet to pay writers what they seek for the streaming and downloading of their shows, they might not be kidding.�

The owner of the domains (.net was also available) is Bill Davis, a self-described "military and police technical advisor" to movies and TV shows. Davis said he had owned the site names for more than a year, and last week was approached by a person who was interested in paying him for their use, says the LAT.

Davis wouldn�t name names but said, "It was strictly entrepreneurial. I did it on whim," he said, adding that he twice offered to sell or lease the domain names to the alliance, most recently last weekend.

The writers behind the site are on safe legal ground, cyber-law expert Michael Atkinstold the LAT. "It's perfectly defensible for a disgruntled party to use someone else's trademark if the purpose is to protest," Atkins said. It would be improper only if the writers were attempting to confuse the public or sell something.

A spokesman for the alliance confirmed it had received an e-mail from Davis but had not yet responded to him. "We've been telling the writers that the Internet potential hasn't been fully realized, and here's a case in point," Jesse Hiestand said. "We tried to obtain [the domains] a while back, but like the guild, the owner refused to negotiate a deal with us." (LAT)

As it turns out, the alliance isn't the only player in the strike that may still have a lot to learn about the Internet. The Writers Guild of America also did not register other domain suffixes. The wga.com site address is owned by the Western Growers Assn., an Irvine-based trade group of farmers. (LAT)