Universal Tube, which sells used machines that make tubes, has said it “has lost business because customers have had trouble accessing its site.” So now Utube is suing YouTube seeking a cease and desist on the youtube domain.
But this isn’t news now, at least not in internet terms – the story has reached every major technology/web2.0/news site on the (pla)net.
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/02/0357210&from=rsse
http://digg.com/tech_news/Breaking_UTube_Sues_YouTube
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/02/pipes_youtube/
The readers’ reaction was the same pretty much everywhere; be it in direct responses to the news item, blogs and forums, everyone were talking about how stupid Utube is, and how it should “cash-in” on it’s traffic and free publicity. Because hey, when sites are being acquired for millions (and billions…) of dollars based solely on the amount of their monthly visitors and Alexa ranking, who the hell are Utube to say that traffic is worthless?
Who are UTube
UTube is a real company, the kind of company that depends on its revenue stream to survive, has a budget and client list, and is operating in a competitive market. Established in 1985, and led by a person with 30 years of experience in tube and pipe industry.
From the Company’s overview:
“We have one of the largest selections of used tube and pipe mills in the world. Utilizing over 125,000 square feet of warehouse space…. “
An example from their product line:
“Replacement Cost for a New Machine is approximately $1,900,000. “
The company was also smart enough to get a website early on, when most companies weren’t considering the Internet as part of their business model at all:
Domain Name: UTUBE.COM
Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, LLC.
Updated Date: 10-oct-2006
Creation Date: 26-oct-1996
(Youtube was registered in 2005)
But still, why not monetize the incoming traffic?
This question has been asked in many places (especially SEO and webmaster related parts of the blogosphere and forums), and the simple answer is - SMALL MONEY. Considering the amount of confused visitors (which will drop by around 90% when the lawsuit issue ends), this could probably bring in no more than 1500$ a day using the standard advertising methods. Which is less than what your local coffee shop makes, and is probably less than 1% of what UTube makes in a day. They stick to piping and don’t expand their business to the Online Advertising niche for the same reason webmasters stick to advertising and don’t expand their business to the Tube and Pipe business niche. Because it’s not their core business, and both companies and people should stick to what they know. Especially when what they don’t know brings a lot less money than what they do know.
For Dessert -the UTube Trademark
This is where things get funny, and somewhat ugly. It’s only two weeks old.
Word Mark
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UTUBE
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Goods and Services
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IC 007. US 013 019 021 023 031 034 035. G & S: Tube and pipe mills, rollforming lines, and slitting lines. FIRST USE: 19961231. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19961231IC 037. US 100 103 106. G & S: Refurbishing of tube and pipe mills, rollforming lines, and slitting lines. FIRST USE: 19961231. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19961231
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Standard Characters Claimed
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Mark Drawing Code
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(4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
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Design Search Code
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Serial Number
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77023852
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Filing Date
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October 18, 2006
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Current Filing Basis
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1A
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Original Filing Basis
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1A
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Owner
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(APPLICANT) Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment Corporation CORPORATION OHIO 26202 Glenwood Road Perrysburg OHIO 43551
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Attorney of Record
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Richard G. Martin
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Type of Mark
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TRADEMARK. SERVICE MARK
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Register
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PRINCIPAL
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Live/Dead Indicator
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LIVE
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This information was taken from the USPTO.gov website – notice the date, 18 October 2006. Just 9 days after Google bought Youtube for 1.65 Billion dollars in stock.
So, bottom line is : Yes, UTube is after Google’s money.
