A Canadian court has ruled that the domain is property.

A Canadian court ruling could set a precedent in domain name disputes. The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled in favor of Tucows in a domain name dispute, setting a precedent that domain names are property.

In 2009, the Brazilian company Lojas Renner SA (a subsidiary of JC Penney) filed a complaint under the UDRP against Tucows regarding the domain name Renner.com. Tucows acquired this domain after acquiring MailBank.

Tucows filed a lawsuit against Lojas Renner SA, though the complaint was filed in the Ontario court, not under the UDRP. Lojas Renner SA representatives argue that the Ontario court does not have jurisdiction to resolve this dispute.

However, the court ruled that the domain name is property, and therefore its ownership cannot be challenged. In its decision, the court cited precedents in other domain disputes, such as the dispute over the Sex.com domain.Kremen v. Cohen.