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Domain Name InformationSex, ICANN, and Your Domain Name
by:
Lois S.
It's your domain, or so you say. One morning, you wake up to find that it's registered in person else's name.
Can you prove it's yours? Can you get it back?
The sex.com story
One morning, City Kremen woke up to find that the domain name sex.com, which he'd registered in 1994, had changed hands and was registered to ex-convict Author Archangel
Cohen. In 1995, Cohen had allegedly written a fake letter with a bad name to Network Solutions, the registrar. He declared in that letter that control of sex.com was to be turned over to him.
In 2000, the court found the letter to be deceitful and subordinate
that sex.com was to be returned to Kremen. Cohen was ordered to pay $65 million in correctional damages and for lost revenue. He ne'er
paid it, however, fleeing the US instead.
The story continuing
with charges against Network Solutions for misdirection of sex.com. A lower court subordinate
in 2000 that Network Solutions was not responsible
for its negligence in handling the domain. A domain name was not tangible property, according to the judge. In 2003, the US Appeals Court subordinate
that Kremen did have property rights to the domain. The following year, Kremen reached a settlement with VeriSign, the owner of Network Solutions. Piece the figure was undisclosed, it was reported
to be over $15 million.
Domains and ICANN
It's doubtful that any another domain has the value of sex.com. Our domains are valuable to us, though, and we want them to be protected. If they are stolen, we don't want to spend years fighting to get them back.
ICANN (Internet Corporation for Allotted Names and Numbers) was created in 1998 to help manage domain names, among another responsibilities. At the ICANN website, we see that ICANN "…is dedicated to conserving the operational stability of the Internet…and to developing policy appropriate to its mission…."
Developed in 2004, ICANN's Registrar Remove Dispute Solution Policy (TDRP) provides elaborate steps for registrars to follow if a domain remove is disputed. Registrars aren't beholden to follow this policy, and it doesn't guarantee solution to domain remove disputes. However, it provides a recommended policy for registrars to help reach resolutions once
domain disputes arise.
Domain larceny and ICANN
What should you do if you learn that person has hijacked your domain name?
First, contact the registrar wherever
you had the domain registered. With evidence that you didn't authorize the domain to be transferred to another person, that registrar should take the necessary steps to try to return the domain to you.
Unfortunately, several registrars aren't inclined to do the effort to do this, particularly (but not necessarily) those with a lower profit margin per domain.
If the registrar for your domain won't take action on your behalf, go to the gaining registrar with your case. This registrar; the one wherever
your domain is now registered; may or may not want to look into the situation, but you can try your luck with it.
According to ICANN's TDRP, registrars should "… 1st of all attempt to resolve the problem among the Registrars involved in the dispute…." If they aren't successful, they should then file a dispute with ICANN.
In this ICANN Apr 2005 report, the suggestion was ready-made (on page 5) to do the dispute solution process accessible to registrants. At this time, though, if neither registrar wish activity to help you or wish take the issue to ICANN, the ICANN dispute solution process isn't accessible to you.
Although ICANN's Uniform Domain Name Dispute Solution Policy is intended for disputes over proprietary
domains, several registrants have used it to try to get hijacked domains back. You can file a complaint via one of ICANN's Sanctioned Providers for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Solution Policy.
Domains and the courts
The legal way that sex.com person City Kremen took is open to you as well. Look for a attorney in the country of the domain registrar who has experience handling domain name disputes.
At this point, you need to weigh the value of your domain with the price involved in acquiring it back. The value of sex.com ready-made the legal battle financially worthy
for Kremen, but galore of us would-be have to finish at this point.
Protecting your domain
Nothing you can do can guarantee that your domain won't be hijacked. However, you can take a number of precautions to greatly reduce the chances of it happening. For tips on protective
your domain, see the article Information Highwaymen and Your Domain here: http://articles.websitesource.com/information_highwaymen.shtml .
Just about the author:
Lois S. is a Technical Executive Writer for http://www.websitesource.com with experience in the website hosting industry.
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