Domain Name Ownership: How to Register a Domain Name
Go to one of the many registrars, such as Register.com, Network Solutions, or GoDaddy.com. Use their search engine to see if the domain name you’re interested in is available. You can also use the “who is” function to look up who owns a particular domain name. If the name you want is not available, the registrars will offer you other similar ones, usually those with different suffixes than .com, such as .net or .biz, or one of the many “top-level domains” that exist. Once you settle on one, complete the registration process by entering your contact information and paying the nominal fee.
Note that if this domain name is also going to be your trademark, hire a trademark lawyer to “clear” the name before you select it. The last thing you want is to get sued for trademark infringement or cyber-squatting because you didn’t pick a viable and available trademark/domain name.
How NOT to Register a Domain Name, Part 1
NEVER let anyone else register your domain name in THEIR name. Even if you’ve hired them to design your website. Even if they’re your partner – if they’re your partner, register the partnership as the registrant, and make sure you have a written partnership agreement that proves the ownership. The reason this is important is that registrars ask for the registrant/owner’s s name, an administrative contact, and a technical contact, and the registrar will NOT ask any questions about the registrant’s internal organization or agreement; they’ll just take the registrant’s word for who is who and who owns what.
How NOT to Register a Domain Name, Part 2
The registrant is the owner of the domain name; the administrative contact is the person who receives the yearly or biannual registration statement and should pay the required fee; and the technical contact is the computer/tech person who may be required to change technical settings and troubleshoot technical problems. If you don’t make sure that the actual owner of the domain name is listed as the registrant, you may end up in a dispute, and the registrar, who functions more or less like a utility and charges a nominal fee in exchange for marketing these domain names, has a contract with all registrants that limits their liability in case of a dispute over ownership. While it’s true that courts do protect the actual owners, even if some employee listed themselves as the domain name’s owner (see e.g., Silverstein v. E360Insight, LLC, 2008 LEXIS 36858 (C.D. Cal. May 5, 2008), this kind of litigation is avoidable by just making sure that you, the actual owner, are listed as the domain name’s owner with the registrar.
Maintaining Your Domain Name’s Registration
Your domain name needs to be periodically renewed, and like your trademark rights, this asset can be kept indefinitely. Your registrar will send your administrative contact renewal notices, and the required renewal fees need to be paid. Make sure your administrative contact’s address stays updated, and make sure these fees get paid – otherwise, your rights to your domain name can be lost. Ignore unsolicited notices you may receive from scam companies that may look like they’re from your registrar but aren’t. While they may offer to renew your domain name, they charge a fee for this service, and you don’t need to use them, you (or your administrative contact) can simply renew your registration when it’s time to do so.
The Value of a Domain Name
Everyone has a website, so domain names are a multi-billion dollar market. And it’s commonly understood that a short, recognizable internet address can garner great attention and reap huge profit. Because domain names are so cheap, quick and easy to acquire, especially compared to other forms of intellectual property like copyrights and trademarks, there has been a great deal of speculative buying among web entrepreneurs. This demand has led to a relative shortage of .com “top level domains,” and massively inflated prices of domain names in the second-hand market. The reason for the speculation is clear: Domain names in and of themselves can be wildly lucrative. One of the early pioneers of sex on the web had his www.sex.com domain name stolen, and he was awarded $40MM plus another $25MM in punitive damages for its theft. See Kremen v. Cohen, 337 F.3d 1024 (9th Cir. 2003), which also found the registrar subject to a “conversion” claim for giving Kremen’s domain name away as a result of a clumsily forged letter.