History of the Sex.com domain
A few days ago, news broke that one of the world's most scandalous domains, Sex.com, had been sold. The history of this domain, with its resonant name, is both fascinating and highly unusual, literally engulfed in a plethora of rumors and speculation.
The Sex.com domain first became known in 1994. It was registered in May 1994 by American businessman Harry Kremen. The domain registrar was Network Solutions, which had previously created the largest dating site, Match.com.
In October 1995, a man named Steven Cohen contacted the registrar, claimed ownership of the domain, and requested that it be transferred to him. Remarkably, he succeeded. Despite some completely ridiculous circumstances, such as his letter to the registrar containing 21 errors and lacking the necessary return details, Cohen requested that the transfer of an asset worth hundreds of millions of dollars be expedited "as quickly as possible."
Having acquired the domain, Cohen began placing banners on its pages and achieved 25 million hits per day. Naturally, with such traffic, advertising on the site was quite expensive – from $50,000 to $500,000 per month.
Although Kremen took steps to reclaim his domain, they were largely unsuccessful. Furthermore, Cohen eventually sought legal protection for his brainchild, something Kremen found difficult due to the high cost of legal services.
Nevertheless, in 2000, Kremen prevailed in the endless court proceedings. The court ordered the domain to be returned to him and ordered Cohen to pay a $25 million fine, plus $40 million to the domain's previous owner, Harry Kremen, for lost revenue as a result of Cohen's illegal actions. The $40 million figure was calculated based on an analysis of Sex.com traffic revenue and the cost of advertising Cohen placed on the site. Despite several appeals, the court's decision was upheld. Cohen, however, transferred his assets abroad and fled to Mexico. However, in October 2005, he was arrested in Tijuana on immigration charges.
In January 2006, the Sex.com domain was sold to Escom LLC, which paid $14 million for it. This amount is one of the highest ever paid for a domain name.
However, in February 2010the domain was put up for saledue to the bankruptcy of the previous owner. However, the company's creditors blocked the deal. Nevertheless, in October, information emerged thatThe domain will be purchased for $13 million.Clover Holdings. It was recently announced that this deal has been finalized.
It's not yet known what exactly will be hosted on the Sex.com domain. However, analysts are confident that this domain, along with the two registered trademarks, represents genuine intellectual capital, allowing the domain owner to quickly recoup their investment without much effort or investment.
