I suppose we all know that stealing domain names is illegal, but do you know how many people have been convicted of such a crime? Zero. Not a single person has ever been convicted of stealing a domain name.

I discovered this today because I read a story that one man has now been arrested over this very charge - but whether there will be enough evidence for the court to find him guilty; Who knows?

Apparently there’s a whole bunch of (heavily paraphrased) reasons why this has never happened before:

1. The victim of the crime would need to know the technical and legal intricacies of the domain name system.
2. They would also need a law enforcement professional who understands the case.
3. Often, the rightful owners can’t afford the legal fees necessary to handle a case like this.
4. Most domains have little-to-no aftermarket value, making it difficult to prove its value in court.
5. Domain names are globally traded assets. Jurisdiction across international borders makes it difficult to gather evidence and prosecute.
6. Domain names aren’t considered property:
   • The IRS treats domains as a form of intellectual property.
   • The Eastern District of Virginia (home to the Verisign registry) holds domains to be the subject of a license and thus not property.

Well. That’s some fascinating stuff. I certainly feel a lot better knowing this. How about you?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 4th, 2009 at 2:39 pm and is filed under Serious Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.