Telegram Username @dodopizza Sold for 70,000 TON

The user elector.ton is selling the username @dodopizza and its associated channel on the Fragment platform for $1.02 million (155,555 TON). Representatives of the eponymous pizza chain have filed a lawsuit against the messaging service Telegram in an attempt to secure ownership of the lot, reports RBC.

The lawsuit was filed in the Arbitration Court of the Komi Republic in April. “Dodo Franchising” demands that the actions of Telegram FZ-LLC be recognized as acts of unfair competition, that they be granted the name @dodopizza, and that the purchase of usernames identical or confusingly similar to trademark holders’ names be prohibited in the terms of use.

With the cryptocurrency TON, any channel name can be purchased, even if it belongs to a well-known brand. This can lead to extortion cases against rights holders, sometimes for “enormous sums,” explains Alexandra Akimova, senior IP and Privacy lawyer at “Dodo Pizza.”

According to her, Telegram does not respond to rights holders’ requests and does not control the procedure in any way.

“The essence of our lawsuit is the existence of such a field of activity for fraudsters, as the current rules of Telegram pose reputational risks for bona fide market participants,” she added.

The username @dodopizza was initially acquired in November 2022 for 1,865 TON. In June 2023, it was transferred to the address elector.ton. This user also owns a large number of other usernames and TON DNS, including those associated with well-known brands such as @sbertech, @wildberries, @notcoinbot, and others.

At the time of writing, the mentioned DODO PIZZA channel has 2,706 subscribers. 

Previously, ForkLog reported that the Telegram username @pavel, purchased for $80,000, was gifted to Pavel Durov.