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As far as I know, there's nothing specifically codified into law prohibiting others from stealing my wheelbarrow. It just fits into the general category of thef
by CydeWeys 7y ago
As far as I know, there's nothing specifically codified into law prohibiting others from stealing my wheelbarrow. It just fits into the general category of theft of an item owned by someone else. Domain names are treated in exactly the same way. The concept of private ownership of things (tangible or sometimes intangible) is definitely codified into law. And domain names are actually much more tangible than most IP. If I pirate a film, I'm only making an unauthorized copy; I'm not actually depriving the copyright owner of anything save for maybe some hypothetical revenue. But domain names aren't copyable; they are globally unique, and if you take someone else's then you are completely depriving them of their right to use it. It's theft in a very real sense, unlike piracy. The courts have found as such.
- toomuchtodo 7y agoDo you have a link to a court case you can reference establishing precedent that a domain is considered tangible property? If so, I’m happy to eat crow.
- CydeWeys 7y agohttps://www.casebriefs.com/blog/law/property/property-law-keyed-to-cribbet/what-is-property/kremen-v-cohen-network-solution-inc/ https://www.casebriefs.com/blog/law/property/property-law-ke... https://freedom-to-tinker.com/2008/10/18/kentucky-vs-141-domain-names/ https://freedom-to-tinker.com/2008/10/18/kentucky-vs-141-dom... They're intangible property (I never said they were tangible), though that distinction doesn't really make a big difference here anyway since the physicality of the property isn't relevant.