Domain name registrar sues web3 metaverse firm over its name

These two firms are fighting over the earth.

Image of earth on the left and right with "vs." in text in the middle

The Website, Inc., which operates an ICANN-accredited domain name registrar called DotEarth, has sued (pdf) a web3 firm called Dot Earth Inc.

The Website’s domain name registrar is at DotEarth.com. The firm was founded in 1999. It holds IANA #64, which shows how old it is. (A quick visit to its website will also convince you of its age.)

Defendant Dot Earth Inc. operates a gamified metaverse application at erth.xyz.

At first blush, it isn’t easy to see much similarity between the firms’ offerings. But the defendant filed a trademark application for .ERTH for “providing a metaverse web hosting platform for discovery, navigation, and technical infrastructure for decentralized applications, games, ecommerce and graphical user experiences.” The hosting platform mention caught the plaintiff’s attention.

As stated by the lawsuit, The Website, Inc. sent a cease & desist letter and followed up, only to be told by the defendant that it would not change its name.

Also on the wire