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Yep, Apple owns iPhone5.com now

Lingering questions about who actually owned the iPhone5.com domain, following a decision by the The World Intellectual Property Organization, have been answered.

Josh Lowensohn Former Senior Writer
Josh Lowensohn joined CNET in 2006 and now covers Apple. Before that, Josh wrote about everything from new Web start-ups, to remote-controlled robots that watch your house. Prior to joining CNET, Josh covered breaking video game news, as well as reviewing game software. His current console favorite is the Xbox 360.
Josh Lowensohn
2 min read
Apple's iPhone 4S, not to be confused with the domain name for what may or may not be Apple's next iPhone.
Apple's iPhone 4S, not to be confused with the domain name for what may or may not be Apple's next iPhone. Josh Lowensohn/CNET

If there were any lingering doubts that Apple sought to control the iPhone5.com domain, a recently updated domain record shows that that's exactly what happened.

The Whois database record for iPhone5.com, updated on May 21, now shows "Apple Inc." as its registrant, with registered servers that go back to Apple.com. Even so, the site continues to not go anywhere.

The move comes a week after the closure of an investigation by The World Intellectual Property Organization regarding the domain name. Apple had taken aim at an Internet forum site residing at iPhone5.com, which had been created in February 2008, less than a year after Apple unveiled its first-generation iPhone.

Click to enlarge. CNET

Following a termination of that investigation, it remained unclear whether Apple was the owner, given a handover to brand protection agency Corporation Service Company, which continues to be listed as the registrar.

The timing made the entire ordeal curious. Apple is expected to unveil its next iPhone later this year; whether it will continue with an enumeration scheme, however, remains unclear. The iPhone 4S is technically Apple's fifth iPhone, yet the third generation of Apple's iPhone body style. Apple did away with numbering all together on its latest iPad, choosing to call it simply "the new iPad."

As the usual caveat goes, Apple has bought up or taken control of numerous domains that aren't necessarily products or future products. That is perhaps best illustrated with the company's purchase of iSlate.com near the end of 2007, roughly two years before the company would unveil its slate-like device, the iPad.