Reglikedomain industry desk

Need Title Insurance for Domain Names? — Do we

Title insurance would provide peace of mind when making a sizable domain purchase.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday I read an article in Forbes (November 13, page 148) regarding real estate title insurance. The article was regarding how real estate title insurance is a joke and overpriced. But as I read in the article how titles are investigated, in dawned on me that a title check service for domain names would be helpful.

Title checks and title insurance would prevent you from losing money when you bought a stolen domain. Last year I almost got bilked for $5,000 buying domains…ahead of I discovered they were stolen. I basically ran my own title check to find out the domains were stolen.

Here’s how domain name title insurance might work:

You pay a firm to research the history and ownership of a domain to make sure it doesn’t have any past legal issues such as UDRP proceedings, suspicious transfers, etc. This would require using a historical whois database and perhaps making a few phone calls to previous owners of the domain to make sure it traded hands properly. The service might also run a trademark search to make sure there aren’t trademark issues. For an additional fee, the domain name title firm would insure you against any losses ought to it turn out that the domain didn’t have a clear title or ought to you lose the domain in a trademark dispute.

A firm like Name Intelligence might be a good provider of this service given its historical database of domain name information.

Purchasers of expensive domains frequently hire law firms to run trademark checks and do their own investigations. But this is a service that could be productized to the benefit of the domain name community. Stolen domains and trademark domains are a cloud over the industry and title insurance could help evaporate it.

Apparently I’m not the only person to envision a need for domain name title insurance. I checked a few domain names, counting the ones below, and they were by now registered.

DomainTitleInsurance.com
DomainInsurance.com
DNTitleInsurance.com
DNInsurance.com
DomainNameTitleInsurance.com
DomainNameInsurance.com

Also on the wire

Other reporting from the domain desk.

Then Submit to Directories — Develop DomainsServicesThen Submit to Directories — Develop DomainsLaunch UDRP.tools, adding insight into cybersquatting cases — Industry prosServicesLaunch UDRP.tools, adding insight into cybersquatting cases — Industry prosJoins DomainAdvertising.com as CEO — Dan WarnerServicesJoins DomainAdvertising.com as CEO — Dan WarnerDServicesDonuts makes $70 million unsolicited offer for Rightside’s fresh TLD businessJServicesJust Set the Bar for Domain Conferences? — Did DOMAINfestTServicesTo loss, billings soar on .XYZ deal — CentralNic swingsDServicesDates for 2012 Show — DOMAINfest SetsWhy Neustar paid $109 million for .Co and what it means for fresh TLDsServicesWhy Neustar paid $109 million for .Co and what it means for fresh TLDsDServicesDonuts invests in Cognate, a blockchain-trademark firm