July's Hottest Domain Name Stories - Sex.com, a $50,000 cybersquatting settlement and more.
Legal stuff continued to make headlines in July in the domain biz. ParkingCrew also made things interesting with its acquisition of NameDrive.
Here’s a look back at the top stories on Domain Name Wire last month.
1. Sex.Com lawsuit – company demands domain name over copyright and trademark claims.
2. Work Better Updates – I wrote several posts about the WorkBetter.com cybersquatting lawsuit last month that made the top charts. The owner ... read more ...
Tag Archives: sex.com
Tue 4th August 2015
Wed 2nd May 2012
Sex + prohibited amicable site = vital press -
Sex.com relaunches as a Pinterest clone for adult photos.
I’ve got to hand it to the company that bought Sex.com for $13 million: nice PR move.
The site was just relaunched in beta as a “Pinterest for Sex”. That’s a nice way to get buzz.
For news story research purposes I just checked out the site. I assure you it’s NSFW.
I’ve got to believe the site is going to run into all sorts of copyright issues with this new format.
The company put out a “press ... read more ...
Wed 17th November 2010
Sex.com Officially in a Record Books during $13 Million -
Sex.com officially becomes the largest all cash publicly announced domain sale of all time.
The check has cleared.
A few weeks after signing documents for a $13 million all cash deal, Escom LLC has officially sold Sex.com with the help of Sedo. Congratulations to Sedo broker Jeff Gabriel who handled the deal. Also congrats to Sedo for its persistence trying to get the name to broker. It filed an affidavit with the court arguing it should be allowed to broker the ... read more ...
Thu 21st October 2010
Sex.com Will Be The Most Expensive Domain Name Ever Sold -
In my book, $13 million is the top sale of all time.
When the Central California Bankruptcy Court approves the sale of Sex.com for $13 million cash later this month, it will be the most expensive all-cash domain name ever sold and publicly disclosed.
Some may debate this. Some may say Insure.com at $16 million was higher. Or Insurance.com at $35.6 million. But I disagree. These purchases had to do with the existing organic traffic and search rankings of the properties. ... read more ...
Thu 2nd September 2010
Want to Bid on Sex.com? Deposit $1 Million. -
If an auction occurs, expect to put your money where your mouth is.
We might never see an auction for Sex.com. But if we do, expect to put up a significant deposit if you wish to bid.
Court documents show that the bankruptcy sales procedure for Sex.com will include three phases.
In the first phase domain broker Sedo will do a worldwide outreach and prequalification of interested parties. The second phase is a negotiation period with qualified parties. The third ... read more ...
Wed 9th June 2010
Court Greenlights Sex.com Order -
Order paves way for sale of Sex.com.
The Central California Bankruptcy Court has issued an order approving a settlement between the managers of Sex.com owner Escom, LLC. This means that Escom can go forward with entering into an agreement with domain broker Sedo to sell the domain name.
There was a slight hitch in the process as investor Nothin’ But Net (run by Mike “Zappy†Zapolin), which had been quiet in the early stages of the case, filed an objection. ... read more ...
Fri 21st May 2010
Breaking: Sedo to Sell Sex.com Domain Name -
Settlement paves way for Sex.com domain name sale.
The managers of Escom, LLC, which owns the Sex.com domain name, have agreed to enter into an agreement with Sedo to sell the domain name. Terms of the brokerage agreement are confidential.
The agreement to retain Sedo to sell the domain name comes after a settlement between a number of the creditors to Escom. Originally, creditor DOM Partners pushed the Sex.com domain name into foreclosure and scheduled an auction ... read more ...
Thu 29th April 2010
New Developments in Sex.com Case -
More fighting between Sex.com owners.
It’s a business relationship gone sour, and it doesn’t look to be getting any better. Here’s a recap in the case of Sex.com owner Escom, LLC, as well as the latest developments in this soap opera.
To recap:
-First, one of the company’s creditors, DOM Partners, pushed the company’s main asset, Sex.com, into a foreclosure auction.
-The day before the auction was to take place, three entities controlled by Mike Mann filed ... read more ...
Mon 26th April 2010
When a Domain Partnership Goes Bad -
Sex.com disagreement isn’t sexy, but it is an important warning.
If you’ve ever formed a partnership or had a business partner in a venture, you know how contentious it can get. When you draft the legal documents, the lawyer wants a provision for every possible outcome under the sun. Everyone is on good terms at the time, so you don’t suspect there’s any reason for half of the provisions.
But when things do go wrong, it can really be a mess. In the case ... read more ...
Wed 21st April 2010
Judge Denies DOM Partners Motion to Dismiss Bankruptcy Case -
Bankruptcy case to proceed for now.
A judge assigned to the bankruptcy case of Sex.com owner Escom, LLC has denied creditor and shareholder DOM Partners’ request to dismiss the case.
Three companies run by Mike Mann filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition against Escom the day before Sex.com was to be offered in a high profile auction in New York City. Mann argued that the best way to realize the maximum value from the sale of Sex.com was to hold an orderly bankruptcy ... read more ...
Tue 13th April 2010
DOM Partners Fires Back during Mike Mann in Sex.com Case -
Creditor to Sex.com says Mike Mann proves its point.
DOM Partners, a creditor and equity investor in Sex.com owner Escom, LLC, has filed a reply (pdf) to Mike Mann’s opposition to DOM’s motion to dismiss bankruptcy proceedings against Escom.
In the reply, DOM Partners says that Mann’s opposition and declaration proves that he filed the bankruptcy case in bad faith to prevent a planned foreclosure auction of the Sex.com domain name.
Petitioners acknowledge ... read more ...
Tue 30th March 2010
Sex.com Investor: Give Sex.com Domain Name to PETA -
Mike Mann plays along with PETA.
Sex.com investor Mike Mann is playing along with PETA’s request that it get the Sex.com domain name.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) grabbed some publicity earlier this month when it requested the domain name Sex.com be donated to it instead of auctioned for millions of dollars.
As it turns out, one of Sex.com’s investors — Mike Mann — is a long time vegetarian. He says he’ll accept PETA’s request, ... read more ...
Mon 29th March 2010
Sex.com Dirt: Inside Details of What Went Wrong with Sex.com -
New dirt on Sex.com exposed in court filings.
Documents filed in a bankruptcy case involving Sex.com owner Escom, LLC, provide intriguing details into who actually owns Sex.com and what went wrong with the company.
DOM Partners, a creditor and an investor in Escom, filed the papers in response to an involuntary bankruptcy filing initiated by Mike Mann against Escom to halt the auction of Sex.com.
In a motion to dismiss (pdf) the petition for bankruptcy, DOM alleges ... read more ...
Fri 19th February 2010
Mike Mann Speaks His Mind about Sex.com -
Sex.com investor tells his side of the story.
Mike Mann, who founded BuyDomains, is always one to speak his mind. So when news broke yesterday that Sex.com, in which he was a part investor, was going into foreclosure, he didn’t hesitate to speak up.
“I am merely an investor who got completely railroaded by other investors with big guns, bad practices, and bad attitudes,” Mann wrote via e-mail. “I am always up for a good fight since any money I would make ... read more ...
Thu 15th October 2009
Kieren McCarthy Leaving ICANN -
ICANN public participation GM announces his resignation.
Kieren McCarthy, who officially is ICANN’s general manager of public participation, announced today that he is leaving the organization at the end of November.
If you think it’s hard to connect with ICANN now, you should have experienced it before Kieren came on board. He has made it much easier to interact with ICANN and access information from the organization. It was no easy task to get public participation ... read more ...
Mon 6th April 2009
Book Review: The Sex.com Chronicles -
Lawyer’s inside look at Sex.com legal battle gets off to slow start, but redeems itself in the end.
It’s a shame for Charles Carreon that his book about the Sex.com legal battle came out after Kieren McCarthy’s book Sex.com (review). As much as I tried to disassociate the two books, they require comparison. And while Kieren’s book was a riveting, objective tale by a professional author, Carreon’s book is a poorly written, subjective book written by a ... read more ...