[olug] OT: is a "domain name" property or service ?

[Shawn Mattingly]

The title of the vehicle conveys ownership.  When you buy a new car and 
get it financed, the finance company owns the vehicle but turns your 
information over to the Secretary of State/DMV for taxation 
purposes...if you fall behind on payments the finance company already 
has the title so they send a repo man to collect their property and then 
they resell it (usually at auction) to recover some of their costs.  
When you pay off the car, the finance company sends you the title.  You 
don't need the title of the vehicle to register it at the DMV, 
registering it merely designates you as the driver of the vehicle and 
allows the state to tax you for your usage of the roads.  If you are 
unlucky enough to total a vehicle while it is being financed (especially 
near the beginning of the loan) you may end up "upside down" or have 
negative equity.  Leasing a vehicle does not convey ownership, basically 
you are paying to borrow a car for a period of time.  The leasing 
company retains the title and will resell the vehicle as a used car when 
the vehicle is returned off lease.

I Am Not A Lawyer, nor do I work in the car industry so some of these 
statements may not be 100% correct...I've just owned a decent number of 
used vehicles and have recently been through the process of buying my 
first new car.

As far as domain names go, I would agree that you own the domain...you 
are free to move it amongst domain registrars as you see fit.  The fee 
you pay is essentially insurance that guarantees that your name is 
globally unique.

Shawn

T. J. Brumfield wrote:
> I don't know how solid it is, but when you lease a vehicle you owe
> Toyota or Chevy or whomever for any damages you cause to the vehicle.
> You can walk away from negative equity.  I'd contend that you don't
> own the vehicle, which makes it rather odd that you still pay taxes
> for purchasing the vehicle, and registering it.  In theory, since
> Toyota or whomever is purchasing the vehicle and leasing it to you,
> shouldn't Toyota be paying the taxes?
>
> Also, this is just opinion, but each registrar just provides a service
> to you, but they don't own the domains to begin with.  You are paying
> them for a service, but I would contend you own the domain.
>
> -- T. J.
>
> On Tue, Oct 21, 2008 at 11:30 AM, Will Langford <unfies at gmail.com> wrote:
>   
>> I've.... been having a hard time finding a solid definition for if owning a
>> domain name is considered a property or a service agreement.
>> Many law related texts seem to insist that a domain name is a 'property'.
>>  Reading Agreements at registrars leads me to believe they are a service.
>> Lastly, the worlds end all be all legal resource (cough), wikipedia suggests
>> that 'owning a domain name' is more or less:
>>
>> "Domain names are often referred to simply as *domains* and domain name
>> registrants are frequently referred to as *domain owners*, although domain
>> name registration with a registrar does not confer any legal ownership of
>> the name, only an exclusive right of use."
>>
>> Of similar note - is a leased vehicle my property or the bank's property ?
>>  What about time shares to vacation spots or spa/gym memberships ?
>>
>> ICANN's website is sadly, the typical annoyingly obtuse 'lots of content,
>> impossible to find' sites.  I can't find anything in agreements that
>> specifically defines a domain name as either goods or services.
>>
>> Damnit!
>>
>> Anyone care to point me to a solid definition rather than some editorial
>> opinion piece ?
>>
>> -Will
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