domain names

Courts do not agree on the issue of domain names as property. Some courts treat domain names as a contract right between the domain name holder and the registrar. Other courts recognize domain names as a separate form of intangible property.

An unreported decision from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Utah, Paige v. Search Market Direct, Inc., 2009 WL 2591335 (Bankr. D. Utah 2009), provides a fresh look at how to determine ownership of a domain name.

According to the Associated Press, the company that previously purchased the domain name "sex.com" for an estimated $14 million in 2006, has been placed into an involuntary bankruptcy on the eve of a scheduled foreclosure sale of the domain name. Domain name owner Escom, LLC financed the purchase through a secured loan from Domain Capital, LLC. When Escom failed to make its payments, Domain Capital, LLC called the loan and scheduled a foreclosure auction of the domain name.

In October I reported on a rather unusual decision by a Kentucky Judge holding that domain names were "gambling devices" under Kentucky law. In the case, Kentucky v. 141 Internet Domain Names, Judge Wingate considered a request by the Commonwealth of Kentucky that he order in rem seizure of several domain names under a state statute allowing seizure of gambling devices.