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Prince Harry and Meghan took my Instagram name

bbc.com

31–40 of 135 posts

Re: Prince Harry and Meghan took my Instagram name

#31
The daft thing is there are plenty of alternative names they could have taken, that are genuinely idle accounts, and arguably better names:

sussexroyals (there are two of them after all) thesussexroyals (more grammatically correct) thesussexes (as they are commonly referred to in the press) harryandmeghan (has only posted once since Dec 2017) meghanandharry (ladies first!)

and so on...

Re: Prince Harry and Meghan took my Instagram name

#32
post #10

I remember reading about this in their TOS years ago... I think they normally outline in under taking away names to give to rightful owners. (If you’re name is @apple for example ). This seems like a poorly handled extension of that power. But- truly just an example of how your use, data, name, etc on these services is really just at their whim.

Who would the "rightful owner" of @apple be? Maybe the one who registered it in the first place? Or does that old instinct of defering to power make you want to give in to the presumptuous request of a large entity?

The word apple has other meanings besides Apple, Inc, but it is a registered trademark in the USA. Since instagram is based in the USA, it's pretty clear that Apple, Inc is the rightful owner. Whether or not they should have a trademark on such a common word is a separate question.

Re: Prince Harry and Meghan took my Instagram name

#33
The only surprising thing here is that it's not even that good of a name. I understand platforms yanking the handles of established brands and registered trademarks, but is "sussexroyal" really as good an Instagram name as Harry and Meghan can come up with, and worth the negative pr of stories like this one?

Re: Prince Harry and Meghan took my Instagram name

#34
post #2

This goes to show that "your" handle on someone else's platform is never really yours. The only thing that can not be taken away from you is a domain name. Start hosting your voice via your own domain.

A domain name can be taken away. Check the Terms & Conditions for most country related domains, but specifically the newly popular ones: .io, .ai, .al, etc. they specifically mention if not being used they can revoke.

> All registered domains must be set in use within one year, otherwise the .AL Registry has the right to suspend them.

Re: Prince Harry and Meghan took my Instagram name

#36

Meanwhile, I've been emailing Instagram yearly for many years now trying to gain control of an account that has had 1 post and 15 followers for YEARS now, that is squatting on an account name that is the same name as a registered LTD that I actually own and use. Crickets.

Try signing your email with: His Royal Highness Duke of HN NickBusey. You never know.

Re: Prince Harry and Meghan took my Instagram name

#37
post #18
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Forget the ToS and sue for damages. That account had value and this is a poor business practice. Courts award value and the damages are to make a point that its a bad practice if the judge/regulator finds it disturbing. Assuming that the judge / consumer regulator will say "well but you clicked I agree" is a bad assumption, ESPECIALLY when European countries are involved. the company is just as likely to axe that con…

The user still has the account, just with a different handle.

the handle was valuable in this instance

in other instances the follower and engagement to the userID is valuable

in other instances a combination of all three is valuable

Re: Prince Harry and Meghan took my Instagram name

#38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure that 'especially' applies to ccTLDs any more than gTLDs. Especially since most (all?) gTLDs are covered by the same jurisdiction as the .us ccTLD.

Actually gTLDs are restricted by their contract with ICANN (registry agreement (RA), search google for "ICANN RA"). ccTLDs however merely give lip service to domain registration norms, but as there is no contract beyond "this registry is yours to run" ccTLDs have far more leeway (public pressure sometimes withstanding) to do as they please. It is for reasons similar to this that a fair number of ccTLDs don't run EPP…

In the context of accidental domain loss / attempted hijacking, absolutely agree on all of your points.

In the case of "entities with enough power and influence", I don't think any of the ICANN RA requirements make gTLDs any less likely to being seized than any ccTLDs.

Re: Prince Harry and Meghan took my Instagram name

#39
post #2

This goes to show that "your" handle on someone else's platform is never really yours. The only thing that can not be taken away from you is a domain name. Start hosting your voice via your own domain.

I have to agree that it's the better option. Certainly not a 100% fail-safe solution – I see people already listing domains that were seized for various inexcusable reasons – but the Nissan.com case [0] (Nissan the car company vs. Mr. Nissan the run-of-the-mill computer sales guy) comes to mind as a classic (and fascinating) counterexample. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Motors_vs._Nissan_Compu...

Madonna Ciccone famously thefted the Madonna.com domain away from Dan Parisi on the ridiculous basis that she somehow magically had a deserving claim on the domain due to her trademark of "Madonna" related to "entertainment services and related goods."

https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2000/d200...

Re: Prince Harry and Meghan took my Instagram name

#40
A while back, an Instagram employee stole the handle from my buddy’s wife. The only reason he got it back was because he had enough clout in the design community that he was able to get some press about it: https://medium.com/@behoff/they-say-nothing-will-change-5c54...
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