<nettime> toywar: defcon 3

[wunderkind@etoy.com]

>>> eToys VS etoy: what happened?

etoy.com is still online! we survived the first round and spent more than
four times as much money as we did for the production of the digital
hijack! just to protect our rights...

a few days before the first court hearing in L.A., the leading online toy
retailer offered to stop the lawsuit and to hand over an amount of 160 000
$ (about 300.000 DM) in cash and shares to take over the etoy.com domain
name.

even though the eToys business men are not familiar with contemporay art
and therefore not aware of the value of the "etoy.BUSINESS" they must know
that their offer is far from acceptable considering the fact that we would
loose the etoy.com domain: all our artistic endeavours and art actions are
connected and related to this internet address. this has been the concept
from the first day of operation and the most important paradigm of etoy
art work. the domain name is the established and exclusive way to consume
the famous and multiawarded etoy.ONLINE-ENTERTAINEMNT-SERVICES (the core
of the etoy.IDENTITY since 1995). eToys Inc. set up one of the leading
zero gravity corporations (depending on ONE single domain name). so they
know what they ask for: a well established brand in the media art world -
our whole identity. that's not something you can pick up like a can of
coke in a 5 min. break.

RESULT: the etoy.BOARD rejected the offer in the name of the
"etoy.SHAREHOLDERS" who "invested" in one of the most exciting internet
art viruses.

and so the first hearing in the case took place on monday november 8, 1999
(united states district court / central district of california). a jury
was supposed to decide on the preliminary blocking of the domain etoy.com.
but on demand of the eToys attorneys the case was sent back to state
court: this didn't cause a preliminary blocking of the domain. this
strategic move is just aiming at the increase of our expenses.

the next hearing has been fixed for november 29, 1999 (superior court of
the state of california for the county of los angeles).

the eToys attorneys urged the court to press ahead with the processing of
the case and to fix an earlier date (having concerns about their xmas
sells). but the court didn't follow this request.

after this defeat eToys general counsel peter juzwiak called our attorney
and offered 400 k to solve the problem without negative publicity.

the "etoy.SHAREHOLDERS" are called to "vote" on further directions.

...for the etoy.BOARD: zai, gramazio & kubli

"...etoy, the corporation that infects global markets and family values...
...just to see what happens... ....a virus growing in the heads of your
little daughters & sons... sponsored by art investors around the globe..."


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