Bodog to NewBodog to BodogLife, Old Bodog Heading to Court

2007 September 26, Jonny Vincent

The Bodog empire has moved their operations to a new set of domain names (BodogLife), as the battle between Bodog and the "Patent Trolls" looks to be heading back to court.

Bodog CEO Calvin Ayre has announced on his blog that Bodog and 1st Technology will clash in a Nevada court on October 11 to argue the default judgment handed down by a Nevada judge earlier this month.

1st Technology claimed Bodog's downloadable casino software infringes on a US patent held by 1st Tech. Bodog claims they were never served notice of the claim and didn't appear in court to defend against the action being taken against them. As a result, a Nevada judge handed down a default judgment against Bodog, ordering them to pay a $49 million fine and ordering the registrar of Bodog's domain names to remove all name servers associated with Bodog and Calvin Ayre.

Bodog was quick to respond, with operations quickly re-launched on the NewBodog set of domain names. They have now moved all operations across to the BodogLife set of domain names.

Ayre and Bodog were quick to respond to the challenge, announcing that they had entered into a partnership with the Morris Mohawk Entertainment group. The timing of this partnership was either reactionary or very coincidental.

Ayre announces on his blog that 1st Tech will be fighting a losing battle and that he believes "this ridiculous decision will be overturned and all the domains will be freed".

Bodog's quick restructuring might see the online gambling company avoid damages when they go up against 1st Tech in court next month. Ayre announces on his blog that Bodog will present the following case in court:

• Bodog Entertainment SA the CR company is an international company and it does not have a presence in the United States and is not part of the Bodog Group of Companies and has no assets. Domains are not assets and the domains it held were on behalf of other companies.
• United States patent disputes are not possible against an international company that does not operate within the United States, particularly one that does not have any operations that could even use a patented process.
• Nobody involved with the company that was sued or anyone with BodogLife has any knowledge of anyone getting served and this is the basis of the appeal of the judgment on Oct 11th. You cannot have a valid default judgment without having valid service as far as we know.