Because of a recent intellectual properties ruling, Nintendo might have to shell out some big bucks if they want to own the "WiiU.com" internet domain name.
You’d think that a big-name company like Nintendo would have the jump on claiming website names for an upcoming console release but in the case of the Wii U, you’d be wrong.
Back in February, Nintendo tried to file a complaint with The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) over an internet domain name squatter who managed to claim the domain name “WiiU.com” before Nintendo could. Apparently, the squatter first registered the domain name way back in 2004 before even the standard Wii’s release and has been sitting on it ever since (the site currently redirects to a number of different random Wii U-related links).
Yesterday, WIPO denied Nintendo’s claim but wouldn’t cite their reasoning why. Funnily enough, Nintendo actually had an opportunity to buy the domain name for a reasonable price from its current owner when the user put it up for online auction mere days before Nintendo filed their complaint. Now it looks like Nintendo will have to negotiate directly with the owner which, considering the company’s deep pockets, could get rather expensive.
