Bodoglife.com: Is That For Life Or Is That Another Temporary?
Bodog has moved its site to yet another Internet URL address. Now, Bodog’s new address is at bodoglife.com. Whether that will be there permanently for life or temporary, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Of course, we know that Bodog originally used to be bodog.com and bodog.net. However, last month Bodog moved to the temporary URL newbodog.com when the original names were stripped from Bodog following a patent infringement case filed against Bodog by 1st Technology LLC.
The lawsuit was filed in the state of Nevada by 1st Technology LLC, who claimed that Bodog’s software infringed on their patents filed in the US and elsewhere in the world. Bodog failed to appear in the hearings and represent itself in the suit. A summary judgment was then issued and 1st Technology LLC was awarded almost $50 Million in damages. Bodog failed to make restitution by the court’s deadline and an enforcement hearing was scheduled. Bodog, once again, failed to appear at the hearing and the judge ordered all registrars to turn over Bodog’s domain names to 1st Technology. Also included in the judgment was the removal of all DNS servers associated with Bodog and its owner Calvin Ayre. However, whether the patent infringement actually applies to Bodog’s online services remains a point of heated debate.
1st Technology, a leading technology licensing company with a specialized portfolio of multi-media patents for advanced gaming, has been known to go to litigation to secure licensing agreements in cases of patent infringement. Back in December 2005, SportingBet PLC and Paradise Poker entered into a licensing agreement with 1st Technology to resolve patent litigation claims between the parties. Other groups like NDS Group PLC and Orbis Technology also agreed to a licensing deal in order to settle the claim against them for patent infringement.
Anyway, Bodog is not going to enter into a license deal and doesn’t look like they’re about to settle the almost $50 Million in damages to 1st Technology. Bodog has entered into an agreement with Canada’s Morris Mohawk Gaming Group regarding the licensing and administration of the Bodog brand name and the new internet names, which include newbodog.com and bodoglife.com.
Along with the new move to a new domain also comes a new slogan for Bodog, which goes, “This is Bodog. This is the Life.” The slogan is based on Bodog’s emerging corporate culture which is founded on “High stakes, hot women and killer parties in exotic locales.” On the new website, Bodog’s billionaire founder, owner and CEO Calvin Ayre stated:
“As you may know, there have been some changes at Bodog recently because of issues related to our domain name. We temporarily released newbodog.com a few weeks ago, but in an effort to move to a more permanent home we are pleased to announce bodoglife.com. We reacted quickly, as we always will, so you can enjoy the hottest site on the net with no interruption in play.”
Maybe if they were this quick to respond to the courts, then perhaps the whole legal ordeal could’ve been avoided. But then, we’ll never know now. As far as it seems, Bodog subscribers remain loyal. Maybe a bit confused, but certainly it doesn’t stop them from playing online poker, shooting craps at the online casino, or betting on-line at their sportsbook.
To be fair to Calvin Ayre and Bodog, the income generated by Bodog is not just all for “high stakes, hot women and killer parties in exotic locales.” Billionaire Calvin Ayre also has The Calvin Ayre Foundation, which has its headquarters in Antigua, and is a private and independent foundation with a charter to do charitable work worldwide. The Calvin Ayre Foundation has pledged millions of dollars in support of individuals, communities and charitable organizations throughout the world. Among those charities are the Fisher House Foundation, the LA Lakers Youth Foundation, the Humane Society, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Animal Avengers Organization, and the Sean McCauley Hope Foundation for Pediatric Cancer.
The Calvin Ayre Foundation’s own initiatives include the Sponsor a School Project, which provides students living in underdeveloped nations opportunities for a quality education, and the Sponsor a Family Project, which provides financial support for the immediate families of sponsored students.
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