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Sex.com Settles Case Against VeriSign

netcentr writes "A press release on CircleID has announced that the owner of the Sex.com domain name today has got 'a final settlement with VeriSign (formerly Network Solutions, Inc.), concluding a six-year legal fight that set several important precedents for the future of the Internet. After the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted Sex.Com a sweeping victory that held VeriSign/Network Solutions, Inc. (collectively "VeriSign") strictly responsible for mishandling the famous domain name, Sex.Com and VeriSign have settled Sex.Com's lawsuit against VeriSign.' Gary Kremen was awarded a $65 million judgment against Cohen for stealing the domain name, which the U.S. Supreme Court declined to overturn on June 12, 2003."

13 of 165 comments (clear)

  1. o.O by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I, for one, welcome our rightful sex.com overlords

  2. 2nd post? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    VeriSign is bad news(for years thay would not let you put "fu*k" in your domain name)

    The base VeriSign site:
    http://www.recallverisign.com

    Check out this page by GoDaddy.com about VeriSign: https://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/PressReleases/inter net_battle.asp?isc=&se=%2B&from%5Fapp=

  3. I notice by platypibri · · Score: 5, Funny

    there is no such battle over intellect.com

    --
    Yeah, I guess I'm funny like that.
  4. Re:One in a million by tbase · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So, by that logic, is it ok for me to illegally hijack the expedia.com domain and make millions from it because there's no shortage of travel sites? Have you been too busy looking at pr0n to realize that Network Solutions handed over this multi-million dollar domain name without verifying the authenticity of the request? The victim (yeah, you heard me) will likely never see a dime of the $65 million settlement against the guy who stole it - shouldn't he have some recourse against the company that handed him the keys?

    --

    666-607: 6th floor apartment of the beast
  5. Finally. by 7Ghent · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Well, it's great that the good guys finally won and defeated the spectre of Verisign's vast incompentence and utter lack of responsibility, but SIX YEARS? I don't even want to think about the legal fees. There's definitely something wrong with our justice system when a stright-forward case of theft takes SIX years and millions of dollars to successfully prosecute.

  6. Re:One in a million by justMichael · · Score: 5, Funny
    ...hadn't screwed the pooch?

    If that's what he was selling, maybe it's a good thing they hijacked his domain to save us. ;)
  7. Re:Offended by andy666 · · Score: 5, Funny

    This isn't a story about sex, it is a story about the internet. Unless you find the supreme court sexy...

  8. Re:Offended by LordKazan · · Score: 5, Insightful

    My girlfriend and I are both technically feminists - it's actually illogical for a feminist to condemn porn. Why? Sure some porn is negative, but saying ALL porn is, is saying that it's impossible for a woman to enjoy her sexuality. You are perpetuating the very double standards you are trying to destroy.

    --
    If you cannot keep politics out of your moderation remove yourself from the Mod Lottery.. NOW!
  9. Re:what a case, what a name by Mateito · · Score: 5, Funny

    > Goooo Sex.com

    or "How to get yourself sued by Sex.com AND Google in one easy domain registration"

  10. Court of Appeal Decision by David+Hume · · Score: 5, Informative


    You can find the decision by the United States Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit at:
    Kremen, et al. v. Online Classifieds Inc., et al. (pdf warning)

    To get the html version, paste this url:

    http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/ 99 9D1D5B0D734B6088256D6D0078CB88/$file/0115899.pdf?o penelement

    into the Adobe PDF Conversion Page.

  11. Re:Why so much by mehtajr · · Score: 5, Informative

    $25 million of the award was punitive damages, so presumably, the other $40 million was compensatory (lost profits) and legal fees (probably mostly legal fees).

    Interestingly, those damages were awarded by a judge, not a jury. Here's a link. I would've expected a smaller judgement from the bench.

  12. State Action + Converstion = takings by pdcryan · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Very interesting.

    Not all of the pieces of the puzzle are in place yet but it looks like VeriSign is finally being pegged as a state actor. What does that mean? Well, all of those annoying parts of the constitution that apply to governments, but not to private parties... might apply to them (little things... like... due process maybe?).

    Further - if domain names are property (which is contrary to some lot of previous court precedent - partially based on the idea that domain names are only protected in so much as they are trademarks, which generally cannot be transferred without transferring the good will of the company behind the trademark) VeriSign has some further problems. When they bumble these things, not only are they violating the domain owners due process rights - but it might be a constitutional "taking" - requiring compensation.

    Hopefully finding that VeriSign is a state actor, and that there is a property interest in a domain name - will be the final nail in SiteFinder's coffin (which essentially would be conversion of all of the unregistered domain names).

    Anybody interested in being the .net and .com domain registry? I have a feeling ICANN might be looking to fill some positions soon.

    --
    Ryan Kennedy opposes comm
  13. I worked with Steve Cohen weeks after he stole sex by hmhoek · · Score: 5, Informative

    I had just started at a small recruiting shop and he was around in various unspecified capacities. We started talking one night and he was really excited about showing me how he owned sex.com. He did a whois, which had his name, then logged into the sex.com servers and poked around a little. He then bragged about the cashflow and the offers to buy from Playboy, Penthouse and Hustler.

    He also asked all the secretaries to pose naked, used the company phones to call Nevada brothels for business advice and other shady activities.

    I was later deposed as a witness for a sexual harassment case against the company because of his behavior (he was not an employee but rather an acquaintence of the owner) and the behavior of other sales people. The company's attorneys were in the process of searching for him at that time, which was around 2000 or 2001.

    I can't wait for him to finally get caught. He reminds me of Robert Vesco; he's probably funding Al Queda or Russian prostitution rings or something now.