Report Domain Theft: The First Stolen Domain Name Database on the Internet

Domain Theft and Stolen Domain Name Update:

Domain theft has been around since the first domain names were registered at the very beginning of the internet.  A domain name can be stolen in a variety of ways.  A domain thief can hack into your email or registrant account and simply take control of the domain name at the registrar level.  An employee, web developer, partner or other person with access to your domain registrant account can simply take control of the domain and move it to their own account.  As an internet lawyer specializing in cyberlaw, I hear about domain theft just about every day. 

Morgan Linton recently launched domaintheft.org, the first internet website where users can upload stolen domain names into a common database, and anyone can search that database to see whether a particular domain name has been reported as stolen.  While domain theft continues to cost companies millions of dollars per year, domaintheft.org is a significant step forward in domain name protection.

If your domain name has been stolen or you are a victim of domain theft, you should enter it into the domaintheft.org database and give one of our internet law attorneys a call.  We can help you understand your options and the cost of getting your domain name back. 

Comments

[Domain Theft Tips]

There are steps to take when someone takes your domain name. If someone has stolen your domain name, then I would presume that you had control of it previously. If this is the case, you are likely going to have to send some sort of trademark infringement threat letter and perhaps make allegations of improper access to the registrant account. If someone has taken your domain name by registering your trademark as a domain name, you have several options including a threat letter alleging cyber squatting, a UDRP arbitration complaint or an ACPA lawsuit.

[Stolen Domain Name]

A stolen domain name is the last thing any business needs to deal with. Domain theft is real. Employees, web site developers, competitors and other third parties either have access to the domain registrant account or hack the account to gain control of the domain name. A stolen domain name could put your web site out of business. Are you protecting your domain name against domain name theft?

[Leonard Britt]

If someone has been the subject of multiple attempts to access an email account (threaten registrant that their email priveleges will be revoked if they don't forward their password), is there any recourse? I'm probably not the only individual they are targeting and yet wouldn't someone who repeatedly attempts to break into a home, car or business be subject to prosecution?