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We live in an intangible world. Our checks are directly deposited, we pay for goods with our phone, and our entertainment is available from anywhere with Wi-Fi. And while this is all extremely convenient, when digital assets go missing, we are left with a sense of hopelessness.
And while the temporary loss of a favorite movie is distressing, it is nothing compared to the loss of an extremely valuable form of intangible property: domain names.
Domain name theft is a huge problem. But, with the help of competent Internet attorneys, you can recover your property. Here are a few tips to help.
To recover your domain names, your attorney will need to serve subpoenas on a number of entities, including your domain name registrar. To narrow the scope of the required search, you should carefully track your interactions with your domains to determine the time they were stolen.
Because there is no way to “feel” the domains being taken out of your possession, some owners may not notice the missing domains until days or weeks later. It is critical to pin down an approximate timeline of when the domains were taken. Checking the WHOIS records will likely help in this situation. The point is you want to have dates, and hopefully times, in which unauthorized access to your registrar account was obtained.
Once one of your accounts has been compromised, you should assume your other online accounts are equally at risk. Access to your email account, bank account, social media accounts, credit card accounts, and any other account that holds sensitive information should be immediately confirmed. If you have access, change the passwords immediately and enable two-factor authentication on every account that supports it.
It is likely you will first contact your registrar to complain about your missing domains. While this may seem like the right step, it could be a waste of time. The problem is that from the registrar’s perspective, everything seems normal. The account holder signed into his or her account and transferred the domains to a new registrar. As a result, most registrars will not take any affirmative action to protect your domains without proof the domains are subject to litigation.
As a result, it is imperative that you contact an attorney to file suit as soon as possible. Once a lawsuit is filed, registrars will usually place domains on an administrative hold pending resolution of the dispute.
Domain theft recovery is a multi-front legal effort. The specific legal claims and procedural mechanisms available depend on the facts of each case, but the following tools are the core of any domain theft recovery action.
The first and most urgent step in most domain theft cases is obtaining a temporary restraining order (TRO) from a federal court. The TRO locks the stolen domains in place, preventing the thief from further transferring them or liquidating them to a third party. Without a TRO, a thief can move domains through multiple registrars across multiple jurisdictions in a matter of hours, each transfer making recovery more difficult.
Obtaining a TRO requires demonstrating to the court: (1) a likelihood of success on the merits of your underlying claims; (2) irreparable harm that cannot be compensated by money damages alone; (3) that the balance of equities favors the injunction; and (4) that the public interest is served by injunctive relief. In domain theft cases, courts have consistently found that the potential permanent loss of high-value domain names constitutes irreparable harm that justifies emergency relief.
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), 18 U.S.C. § 1030, prohibits unauthorized access to computers and provides a civil cause of action for victims who suffer losses of $5,000 or more as a result of a CFAA violation. In domain theft cases, the CFAA claim typically arises from the thief’s unauthorized access to the registrant’s email account — the gateway through which most domain thefts are accomplished. The CFAA provides both a federal hook for jurisdiction and a powerful damages framework that can support claims against thieves worldwide.
Courts in most jurisdictions have recognized that domain names constitute personal property subject to conversion claims. Conversion — essentially the civil law equivalent of theft — allows the domain owner to recover the fair market value of the stolen domains, which in high-value cases can be substantial. Domain names that generate significant advertising revenue or that are valuable for their inherent characteristics — short, memorable names in premium TLDs — can have market values in the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars.
Identifying the thief requires digital forensic work combined with strategic use of legal process. Subpoenas served on registrars, hosting companies, payment processors, and domain monetization platforms can yield IP addresses, account records, payment histories, and other identifying information that points to the perpetrator. IP geolocation, device fingerprinting, and analysis of behavioral patterns across multiple accounts can help identify thieves who have taken steps to conceal their identities.
This investigative work must be done quickly and systematically. Registrar records retention periods vary, and relevant records can be deleted or overwritten if subpoenas are not served promptly.
One of the most challenging aspects of domain theft litigation is that thieves routinely transfer stolen domains to registrars in foreign jurisdictions — particularly in countries where enforcement of U.S. legal process is difficult or impossible. Registrars in China, Eastern Europe, and other regions with limited legal cooperation present serious practical obstacles to domain recovery.
Experienced domain theft attorneys have established working relationships with registrars worldwide and understand the specific procedural requirements — and practical realities — of obtaining cooperation from foreign registrars. In some cases, the registry itself (such as Verisign for .com and .net domains) can be directed by court order to implement a registry lock that prevents further transfers regardless of the registrar’s cooperation.
Recovery is possible, but prevention is far less expensive and disruptive. Several steps can significantly reduce your risk of becoming a domain theft victim:
If your domain names have been stolen, immediate action is critical. Revision Legal’s internet attorneys have successfully recovered hundreds of domain names for clients worldwide and have the expertise, relationships, and litigation infrastructure to move quickly on your behalf. Contact us today — every hour matters.
Domain theft cases share one constant: the faster the victim acts, the better the outcome. The window during which stolen domains are vulnerable to further transfer or liquidation is often very short. Thieves who steal domain portfolios typically attempt to sell or monetize the domains quickly, knowing the victim will eventually discover the theft and initiate legal action. Every day that passes without a court order locking the domains in place is a day that recovery becomes more complicated and expensive. Contact Revision Legal’s domain theft attorneys immediately if you believe your domains have been stolen.
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