|
VeriSign worried after sex.com ruling
June 13 2003
The six-year battle for ownership of the lucrative sex.com domain name has reached something of a conclusion, with the US Supreme Court finding in favour of the original owner.
The protracted feud was based on the accusation that Stephen Cohen forged a letter that instructed VeriSign - then known as Network Solutions - to hand over the internet address to him, which it promptly did.
Rightful owner Gary Kremen was awarded $65m in costs following the rejection of an appeal by Cohen, who is now on the run as a fugitive.
It might be more accurate to suggest that Cohen is not running anywhere. He is believed to be protected by armed guards after hunkering down in Mexico, made possible by a swift transfer of funds to an offshore bank account.
The prized sex.com domain name allowed Cohen to establish a porn empire that generated more than $500,000 in advertising revenues per month on the website.
Kremen faces a real struggle in trying to claim the $65m assigned to him by the court to cover his own heavy legal costs, but is understood to have assigned bounty hunters to seek out Cohen from his Mexican lair.
The pursuit of VeriSign could be a better - if equally difficult - option for Kremen. The registrar denies that domain names are legal property and as such, claims that it cannot be held responsible for transferring it to Cohen.
More details at: http://www.netimperative.com/cmn/viewdoc.jsp?cat=news&docid=BEP1_News_0000053882
|
