Apple demands ipad3.com domain

Computerworld - For the second time in two months, Apple has disputed ownership of a domain associated with one of its products.

The company has filed a claim for the ipad3.com domain with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a United Nations agency that arbitrates domain disputes.

The domain, which is inactive, was registered in January 2010 on the same day that then CEO-Steve Jobs introduced the first iPad at an Apple-hosted event in San Francisco.

Domain Name Wire first reported Apple's claim on Friday.

Last spring, prior to the introduction of the newest iPad, most pegged the upcoming iteration as the iPad 3. Instead, Apple has only referred to the tablet as the "new iPad."

Use of the "iPad 3" label has persisted, however, in media reports describing the new iPad, perhaps as a clearer way to differentiate the device from 2011's iPad 2.

Apple has filed claims with the WIPO numerous times to gain control of domains it believes infringe its trademarks.

Last month, for example, it first asked for, then was granted, control of iphone5.com, a domain that was used to host a discussion forum devoted to smartphones.

Although a WHOIS search conducted at the time Apple was awarded iphone5.com put the domain in the hands of Corporation Service Company (CSC), a Delaware legal, business and financial firm that offers domain protection and recovery services, a similar search Sunday showed that it is now registered to Apple itself.

In November 2011, the company was also successful in a bid to acquire iphone4s.com and seven other URLs, all with the "iphone" name, and several of which included phrases such as "porn," "sex" and "xxx."

Other domains that have recently been transferred to Apple's control after claims with the WIPO include aplestore.com, which was awarded to Apple on May 30, and eight URLs with possible misspellings of applemusic.com, which all went to Apple on June 4.

Apple already owns applemusic.com.

Other iPad-related domains have been granted to individuals or companies, according to Internet records, including ipad4.com, which is owned by a Nevada man named Andrew Naylor, and ipad5.com, registered to a firm in Xi'An, a city in east-central China.

ipadmini.com and miniipad.com have also been grabbed, the former by someone in Paris, the latter by an individual in Tel Aviv. Those domains could be the focus of future Apple claims if the company, as many analysts anticipate, launches a smaller 7-in. tablet this year.

Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at @gkeizer, on Google+ or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed . His email address is gkeizer@computerworld.com.

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