Our domain was stolen

...and now redirects to a porn site

[jwebber]

I was managing a website for some friends and recently got a call from them. Apparantly they had a customer call them because they tried to visit our website and were being redirected to a porn site. I checked it out and, sure enough, it was. I logged into my Godaddy account and did not see the domain in my Domain List. I did a whois and it is now registered to someone called "<snip>". Registered through Godaddy of course.

I have contacted Godaddy about this but I would like some more advice from you all. What should I do next? Is it legal for the company "<snip>" to do this, steal a respected company's domain and redirect the traffic? What are the chances of me ever getting the domain back?

Thanks in advance!
John

[edited by: jwebber at 2:06 pm (utc) on Jan. 26, 2004]

[edited by: Brett_Tabke at 3:30 pm (utc) on Jan. 26, 2004]
[edit reason] Thanks but, no personal details or legal accusations in our forums per the tos. [/edit]

[Birdman]

I don't see how they could have stole the domain. It sounds like the domain expired and they scooped it up. If that is the case,I don't think you can make them give it up. You could, however, ask to buy it back from them.

[2oddSox]

Take the URL away as the site in question is mega pop ups and attempts to load dialers.

[jwebber]

URL removed, sorry about that. If you want to see it, sticky me. I am on a filtered environment here and won't be able to see it for another hour or so.

Any ideas on what I could do? I will definitely contact them to try and resolve the issue. Is that all I can do right now?

[Webwork]

If it expired then how could you not notice it since, as it enters the delete cycle, the domain will no longer resolve.

This happens days before the delete.

If it was hijacked - taken while the registration was live - then prove your fraud to GoDaddy. Phone calls. Fax. Etc.

If you let it expire you are toast. Buy it back if you can, if it's that valuable.

But, if it was that valuable, I ask again: Why didn't anyone see the delete coming when the DNS wouldn't resolve?

[martinibuster]

webwork is right.

Furthermore, Go Daddy routinely sends out warning notices three months, two months, and one month before the domain expires. I assume they send more notices as the date gets closer.

[xbase234]

yep - the site would have went dead. This puts the domain back in the pool.

You should talk with an experienced domain attorney - they may be able to help.

[martinibuster]

Also keep in mind that, the way I understand it, nobody ever "owns" a domain.

[xbase234]

martini - you bring up an intersting topic. A US judge in the sex.com case recently ruled that domains are property, similar to a plot of land.

[law.washington.edu...]

[martinibuster]

That's interesting. Perhaps we need someone to clarify this further. My understanding has been that you "register" a domain name, but not actually own it.

[Webwork]

The distinction that the Calfornia court drew - that a domain was "property" - was important only in the context of what legal remedies could a plaintiff be afforded. If a domain was "other than property" the remedies would be limited.

The distinction does not mean one owns a domain. It just means that a domain shares in the legal characteristics of "property".

You can lease real estate, a car, equipment, etc. You don't own it. That doesn't mean you don't have what the law calls "property rights".

The courts weren't quite certain where a domain name fit into the scheme until some court said "Well, they behave a lot like property...."

Someone is mixing up legal concepts. Don't get confused. Just because a domain - for the purpose of enforcing legal rights - fits within the realm of property doesn't mean you own it forever once you pay one years rent.

If it does I want to rent Buckingham Palace for a day.

[xbase234]

True webwork, claims to a domain are strained if the reg fee is not paid. The problem indicated in the first post is rooted in the fact the registrant did not renew the name. Makes it difficult to say it was stolen.

[Hunter]

blah blah blah you all :)

>Is it legal for the company to do this, steal a respected company's domain and redirect the traffic? What are the chances of me ever getting the domain back?

The domain either expired and they picked it up or it did not expire and someone on your end foolishly authorized a transfer request from them or they stole it from your account outright, surely you must be able to tell which happened just by knowing or re-checking the expiration date and any authorized tranfers for the domain.

If the domain is a trademark of your company then you may have rights to it no matter what happened. The more you know what happened, the more help you will get.