Zow.com is a stolen domain name — Lawsuit alleges

Person who registered the domain in 1996 states it’s stolen.

A California resident has filed a lawsuit (pdf) alleging that the valuable domain name zow.com is stolen.

Yesterday, Marci Seely filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Virginia, where .com registry Verisign is located.

It’s an in rem case against the domain name. Unlike many in rem Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act cases for stolen domain names, it appears that the plaintiff actually used the domain name at one point and can legitimately argue common law trademark rights in the name.

As stated by the suit, Seely registered the domain name in 1996. Seely then used the domain for a variety of purposes. The domain was stolen late last year, with the domain transferring from Network Solutions to Alibaba.

Steven Rinehart is representing Seely.