Abstract: In this article, Moringiello analyse's the opinion in Network Solutions, Inc. v. Umbro International, Inc., the case that sparked much discussion about whether an internet domain name can be considered "property" of the registrant.
Moringiello argues that for the purposes of creditors' rights laws, the
characterisation of a domain name as property or not is essentially
irrelevant because under the laws governing creditors' rights, almost
any right with monetary value can be made available to creditors. The
thesis of this article is that judges can rework existing laws
governing creditors' remedies to account for new technologies. Courts
have been adapting such remedies to novel assets for more than a
century, and there is nothing inherent in domain names to suggest that
courts cannot do the same with respect to them.This article by Juliet M. Moringiello was originally published in the University of Cincinnati Law Review and is available from ssrn.com/abstract=1270651. David Goldstein