Facebook Gets Free New Web Domain

It would appear Amjad Abbas from the United Arab Emirates thought he was on to a winner when he purchased http://www.facebook.me for $5,115 back in 2008. It’s been reported that he also snapped up oracle.me, trump.me and other domains that he intended to simply squat.

When I say squat, I mean buy up potentially valuable web real-estate (domains) and just let them sit there until the time is right to attempt a sale of a domain for huge profit to the people who should own it in the first place…

So when Abbas claimed he bought the facebook.me domain simply to impress his friends, the other domains he held / squatted kind of screamed “Ummm he’s fibbing…”

Anyway, it has all ended with the World Intellectual Property Forum stating in a written decision on the matter that they believe Abbas made his registration of the domain in bad faith from the start, simply to gain profit by selling the domain back to Facebook.

However, the reported initial plan ended in epic failure on Abbas’s part, as the domain was given to Facebook with no money changing hands. So Abbas is left a little red faced and $5,115 lighter, all for nothing other than the detriment of his reputation… don’t try it at home kids!

Currently http://www.facebook.me is just being used to point to http://www.facebook.com, however rumours are circulating that this may change and we could see a mini-blogging site sprout from the ashes of the current re-direct.

Looking forward to seeing what they do with it!