They might, but if so it would be a special exception from their usual policies. In general, deciding who owns a particular domain name is a matter for the cor

They might, but if so it would be a special exception from their usual policies. In general, deciding who owns a particular domain name is a matter for the corresponding TLD's registry. If NIC.LY decides to seize bit.ly, there's nobody that can declare that illegitimate per se, or force them to give it back. And to quote Wikipedia on the semantics of DV certificates (which are the normal kind): > The sole criterion for a domain validated certificate is proof of control over whois records, DNS records file, email or web hosting account of a domain.