Talk of the Town - Stung August 12 2000

Local guy trumps a pop giant

Around 1989, the then-16-year-old Michael Urvan discovered the Internet using his parent’s IBM PC Jr. to log on to bulletin boards and to participate in online games. As Urvan logged on, he was prompted to give a name. Since Urvan’s favorite television character was a secret agent called “Stingray,” Urvan co-opted the tag for himself, which he eventually shortened to “Sting.” In 1995, Urvan, who lives in Marietta, bought the domain name www.sting.com, to use as his personal homepage. And then the lawyers came calling.

As the Web began to display a modicum of profitability, corporations and celebrities started buying up their corresponding domain names, and Urvan’s little site presented a huge problem for pop star Sting (real name Gordon Sumner). “I really know nothing about Mr. Sumner,” says Urvan. “I don’t listen to his music and I wasn’t aware that he was still actively touring and making records. I was surprised when an attorney representing him called me, and that they were so aggressive in wanting the domain.”

Urvan says he and Sumner’s attorney negotiated a purchase price of $25,000, but after a series of disagreements, Urvan says Sting’s lawyers stopped contacting him. Then, a few months ago, Urvan received paperwork from the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization Arbitration and Mediation Center, which has the power to transfer domain names, indicating that a hearing was imminent.

After Urvan defended his own case against Sumner’s squad of New York lawyers, sole arbitrator Dr. Andrew F. Christie ruled that Urvan could continue using the www.sting.com domain.

So, Urvan remains online at www.sting.com. Sumner, meanwhile, currently touring the world, can be found at the more complex address sting.compaq.com.

Amazing Grace: Georgia’s movie industry is about to receive a shot of adrenaline from the new feature film Losing Grace, which begins shooting this week in Atlanta. Helmed by writer/director Michael Valverde, the cast and crew kicked off the production by gathering at the Midtown Marriott Suites for a party Saturday, Aug. 5.

Stars Matt Farnsworth (from TV’s “7th Heaven”) and Ryan Browning spent most of the evening huddled in the hallway just outside the shindig; the two young Hollywood hunks, decked out in hip, scruffy gear, appeared to be doing some emotional bonding.

Inside the intimate bash, several other players, including Ronny Cox (Deliverance, Forces of Nature), mingled with the crew. Director of photography Keith Holland discussed his adventures the previous evening at Smith’s Olde Bar, while Valverde worked the room, his freshly shaved head gleaming like Kojak’s.

99X’s Steve Barnes, whose softball team will appear in the film, also attended, sitting near the door with a disgruntled expression. Local entertainment lawyer Lee Beitchman, however, managed to maintain a sunnier disposition for the camera crew circling the room, filming footage for daily updates to the film’s website, losinggrace.com.

This and that: Hosea Williams, who is currently hospitalized, will be honored on Thursday, Aug. 10, at 11 a.m., at City Hall for a “Lifetime of Service.” ... Local design firm Graphic Havoc recently opened a new office in New York. ... Did Braves centerfielder Andruw Jones really have his rep put in a call to the offices of hip-hop mag XXL, hoping to get a contact number for the barely clad centerfold in last month’s “Eye Candy” section? ... I’m out.

What’s up, Atlanta? Hit me up at 404-688-5623 x. 1502 or e-mail me at lang@creativeloafing.com.