Domain name was deleted in 2013 and registered again in 2015.
CM.com is an extremely valuable two letter domain name. It’s not just that it’s two letters; it’s also a typo of .com.
It’s also a domain name with a unique history.
The domain name was registered in 1997 and was deleted in 2013. It’s unclear exactly why Domain.com deleted the domain in 2013, but it appears the owner was accused of using the domain to send unsolicited email. Deleting a seven-figure domain name for this reason might seem like overkill.
Once it was deleted it couldn’t be registered again. Verisign is forbidden from allowing two letter .com domain names to be registered. Domains that were previously registered are grandfathered, but once this domain was deleted, it couldn’t be re-registered.
In 2014, a couple years after CM.com was deleted by the registrar, a company came out of the woodwork claiming it owned the domain name in the late 90s and the domain was stolen from its Network Solutions account. It sued Network Solutions to recover the domain name.
At that point, Network Solutions was a disinterested party. The domain was deleted, and it Network Solutions wasn’t even the last registrar to have control over the domain name. It didn’t bother responding to the lawsuit.
A judge ordered Verisign to register the domain name the domain name to the plaintiff.
Since that time, the Whois record for the domain name has essentially been under privacy. It just shows corporate brand registrar CSC as the owner.
This month the nameservers for the domain name changed from Uniregistry parking to CM.nl, which is run by CM Telecom, a mobile services company in the Netherlands.
This would seem to indicate that the domain name sold. But it’s also possible that CM Telecom is merely leasing the domain name or testing the traffic to see if it converts.
I’ve reached out to CM Telecom for confirmation.
(Hat tip: Jamie)
interviewsecret says
I remember when that domain name showed “Available” via whois.com and we tried to registered but was prevented by the registry from doing so. Quite funny
JZ says
i really wish i would of regged some LL.com’s in 1997 when i was first online instead of wasting my time in chatrooms. oh the regrets.
Acro says
The domain was essentially hijacked from its owner, Satoshi Shimoshita, and the allegations of theft were debunked: http://domaingang.com/domain-news/scandalous-decision-cm-com-re-allocation-raises-several-questions/
Andrea Paladini says
Actually the history of CM.com is a little bit more complex than that.
IMHO, as I’ve already stated before, the domain was stripped by Mr Roland Chemtob (Branded Holding Group), a well-known figure in the domain industry, from the legitimate owner through a very questionable lawsuit, which very likely contains false statements made by the complainant: http://domaingang.com/domain-news/scandalous-decision-cm-com-re-allocation-raises-several-questions/#comment-58842
As Domain Gang said, “Owners of domains that have been stolen don’t wait 13 years to file a case at court. Especially when the domain was removed from the lawful owner’s account of 10 years without any due process.”
In this case many things don’t add up … 🙂
C.S. Watch says
What? Whaaat? There is nothin’ goin’ on here but the rent.
If Shimoshita did not allow CM.COM to expire, then Domain.com/Dotster.com are on the hook for a seven-figure pay-up. Full stop. No notice from them to Shimoshita of spamming concerns? No request to desist, warnings, no specific proofs? http://domaingang.com/domain-news/scandalous-decision-cm-com-re-allocation-raises-several-questions/#comment-68844
This smells like Dotster screwed up during their migration to Domain.com in 2012/2013 because of the restrictions on two-letter domain registrations, and they deleted the name. Because no sentient being at Dotster/Domain.com ‘decided’ to delete a two-letter .com, registered since the 90s, without comprehending the big-ticket lawsuit that would land on them for doing so.
If any registrar thinks that an attorney will not find a way to draw a straight line between ‘your negligence’ and ‘you pay for the resultant loss,’ they are dreaming. Regardless of whatever 30-page boilerplate BS gravy the registrar or ICANN may ladle over their liability exposure, or whatever half-baked, untested law may have stumbled dozily onto the books.
Title company: ‘I accidentally gave away his 1.5M house. Sorry.’
Courts: ‘Good talk. Get out your checkbook.’
And thanks for the reminder that EIG/Dotster/Domain.com is run by slithering para-criminal incompetents. This epic screw-up and cover-up was only four years ago. There’s no way the CM.COM deletion and the choice to shaft Shimoshita wasn’t discussed in-house at the highest level.
Unless every soul at EIG died and was replaced by a new hire who then found the Buddha, that company and all of their brands should be considered radioactively unethical and unsafe.
EIG: Call them legion, for they are many: Domain.com, HostGator, BlueHost, TypePad, iPower, iPage, FatCow, TypePad, StartLogic… (http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/blog/site-updates-news/the-who-what-when-of-endurance-international-group-eig/)
Michael Berry says
FYI – I’ve reached out to Satoshi several times to offer any assistance I can provide…with no response.