Microsoft Suit

Microsoft threatened to sue a high school student named Mike Rowe for registering MikeRoweSoft.com. It claimed that it was copyright infringement because it sounded phonetically the same as Microsoft. The student was a part-time web designer and thought it would be funny to add Soft at the end of his name.

When Microsoft found out about the domain, it asked him to give up the domain and offered to give him $10 to cover the registration expenses. He counter offered with $10,000, because he was upset at Microsoft's offer. Microsoft accused him of being a cybersquatter.

The case resulted in a PR loss for Microsoft, as the media portrayed it negatively. In the end, Microsoft flew Mike to its headquarters, gave him training as a developer, and an Xbox in exchange for the domain.