Sex.com Ruling
from the give-it-back dept
We’ve always been careful to make sure that we’ve kept you updated on the continuing saga concerning sex.com, the apparently stolen domain name. So, the latest news is that a judge has ordered the domain returned to its original owner. The interesting part about the ruling is that previously the judge had ruled that a domain cannot be property. Apparently, while not property, it can still be worth something. I’m not quite sure how that works. Chances are the current owner of sex.com will appeal, and we’ll be able to continue following this story that we started following in early 1999. By the time they finish maybe ICANN will have finally gotten around to approving “.sex” and it won’t matter any more.
Comments on “Sex.com Ruling”
pyrrhic victory?
It’s about time this obvious theft was resolved. Perhaps someone could explain the issue of the “tangibility” of the property. Aren’t there many kinds of intangible, but valuable property, such as copyrights, IP, and even reputation (ie slander/libel)? Is the issue even relevant? Isn’t enough that the plaintiff suffered financial losses due to the fraudulent actions of the defendant?
Due to the obvious shadiness of the defendant, the judge ordered that the defendant pony up $25 million to the court to insure that a settlement could be made. But won’t the defendant just declare bankruptcy and walk away?