Gizmodo did a short little piece looking at a time when the Internet was bascially considered to be just a bunch of hype. It looks at the battles for, McDonalds.com – MTV.com – Candyland.com – Peta.org and RoadRunner.com.
I had never heard the Peta.org story, from the article:
PETA.org
Michael Doughney nabbed peta.org back in 1995 because he loved animals. Specifically, eating and wearing them. His website was called People Eating Tasty Animals and needless to say the other PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, weren’t too pleased.
The animal rights organization sued Doughney and the case wasn’t settled until 2001. Doughney argued that his site was parody and thus afforded First Amendment protection, but the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed. The court said that Doughney was obliged to give up the domain due to the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) of 1999.
You can read the other 4 stories on Gizmodo