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The Internet has been around for about 14 years now, which many would consider to be a while. But, despite all that time, the legal system still hasn't had time (or so it seems) to catch up, as there are still many uncertainties about what's legal, and not, online. Even things that are blatantly illegal, or should be, are not, and as you could imagine, that can cause a headache for some people.
Once such crime is theft of a domain name. That is, to physically log (or break) into the rightful owners domain account, change the information, and simply call it your own. That's just what Daniel Goncalves did with web URL P2P.com. Except, he didn't just steal it, he actually sold it from right under the real owner's noses. As you'd expect, such a domain would sell for a pretty penny, and it did... $110,000 to NBA player Mark Madsen.
It's hard to tell if the owners received the domain name back yet, or not, but it's proven to be a complicated process in having the case dealt with, since, as mentioned before, it seems that no one knows just how to handle legal cases like this. It's a legal gray area, but with the Internet what it is today, I don't think it's safe to keep on going without hardened laws. After all, the owners of P2P.com had the money to fight their case... many people do not.
The main problems affecting victims of domain name theft are lack of experience of law enforcement, lack of clear legal precedents, and the money necessary to launch an investigation. DomainNameNews, which first reported the arrest, relates the Angels' experience in reporting the crime. When the Angels called Florida police to report the theft, a uniformed officer in a squad car was sent to their home. "What's a domain?" the officer asked them, according to DomainNameNews.
Source: Ars Technica
Once such crime is theft of a domain name. That is, to physically log (or break) into the rightful owners domain account, change the information, and simply call it your own. That's just what Daniel Goncalves did with web URL P2P.com. Except, he didn't just steal it, he actually sold it from right under the real owner's noses. As you'd expect, such a domain would sell for a pretty penny, and it did... $110,000 to NBA player Mark Madsen.
It's hard to tell if the owners received the domain name back yet, or not, but it's proven to be a complicated process in having the case dealt with, since, as mentioned before, it seems that no one knows just how to handle legal cases like this. It's a legal gray area, but with the Internet what it is today, I don't think it's safe to keep on going without hardened laws. After all, the owners of P2P.com had the money to fight their case... many people do not.
The main problems affecting victims of domain name theft are lack of experience of law enforcement, lack of clear legal precedents, and the money necessary to launch an investigation. DomainNameNews, which first reported the arrest, relates the Angels' experience in reporting the crime. When the Angels called Florida police to report the theft, a uniformed officer in a squad car was sent to their home. "What's a domain?" the officer asked them, according to DomainNameNews.
Source: Ars Technica
