Apple Inc. doesn’t show a lot of “love” towards domain names as they often launch products without the matching domain name. iPad.com is a clear example of this. It’s a domain they very likely could have purchased prior to launching the iPad but did not and have not purchased it since either!
In general, Apple mainly puts its focus on Apple.com and doesn’t file a ton of legal actions on domains in general. They do chase some domains when they drop, like AppleIphone.net which they recently grabbed when the domain released from the registry in June 2014 but do not own AppleiPhone.com. Maybe speculators did not get the memo? Apple very rarely purchases matching domains to its products but A LOT of domains are registered relating to Apple products or services with the majority hoping Apple will buy the domains.
Yes, Apple does buy some domain names. It has been reported they paid $4.5 Million for iCloud.com from Xcerion who changed its name to CloudMe. They also purchased iPhone.com for reportedly seven figures (about $1 Million) after launching without the domain.
Apple does own many exact match product domains, like iPhone.com, iCloud.com, Mac.com, iTunes.com, iPod.com and iTunesRadio.com for an example.
IMO, they do not use the domains to max potential even when they do own them. iPhone.com simply forwards to the iPhone page on Apple.com, as does Mac.com, iTunes.com, iPod.com and iTunesRadio.com . Not the worst use for the domains, but also not the best! iCloud.com is a stand alone site.
So the big current question with the recent releases, will Apple try to obtain AppleWatch.com and ApplePay.com?
Well, Apple Watch should be the “easiest” to get if they decide to! MacRumors.com domain / site owner Arnold Kim owns AppleWatch.com and PARKED the domain up to very recently when he started forwarding AppleWatch.com to his Twitter page. Parking the domain was dumb! It gives more ammo to Apple if they so choose to go after the domain legally. Arnold Kim registered the domain in 2004.
Since Mac is also a registered trademark of Apple, they could easily legally obtain MacRumors.com And AppleWatch.com in one swoop! They could play nice guy and say… we will let you keep MacRumors.com if you give us AppleWatch.com . Either way, I wouldn’t expect Arnold to be getting a big payday from Apple, because they have options with what route to take.
I would bet that Arnold had registered the domain without a “product” in mind and in relation to Mac Rumors “watching and reporting” on Apple.
I would think Apple would like to own AppleWatch.com, just for brand protection!
ApplePay.com, if Apple does decide to try and obtain the domain name in some way, they will likely have to PAY for it! AppleOne Payroll has owned the domain name ApplePay.com for a pretty long time. The domain was registered in 2002 and it was likely registered by AppleOne, the current owners. The latest whois history record is 2005 for the domain and shows AppleOne as the owners. They use the domain name as the main domain for the payroll services they offer.
I will monitor both domain names and there is a chance that Apple may go for both! Apple did register the domains wwwApplePay.com and wwwAppleWatch.com so those are some indications they may go after the exact match domains.
Some other one word generic domain names owned by Apple that you may not have been aware of?
- Airport.com (.biz, .us, .info)
- Apple (.com, .net, .us, .biz, .info)
- Aqua.us
- Carbon.com (.us)
- Chomp.com
- Cocoa.us (.biz, .info)
- Cups.org
- Keychain.biz (.info)
- Mac.com (.info, .us, .biz)
- Me.com
- Newton.com
- Next.com
- Quartz.us
- Sherlock.biz (.info)
Apple also owns several domains like Siri.com and general terms like iKids.com, iWork.com, GarageBand.com, ThinkDifferent.com, ShopDifferent.com and more relating to general terms Apple uses.
Comment * I find it strange why they wouldn’t act one way or another on such a vital branding tool, such as this domain name
I own the domain iphonecalls.com, which I registered on August 23rd 1999 as one of thousands of domains I registered by hand during that time period. Apple did not come out with the iPhone until 2007, so when I registered the domain it was for the purpose of internet phone calls, like “i” in front and then “phonecalls.” I registered hundreds of domains in the 1990s with cyberspace type prefixes like that: i, e, cyber, web, net, etc.