Client sues TrustName over stolen domains

Client states its losing $70,000 in daily revenue from one of the domains.

[Update: On Thursday afternoon, a judge denied the request for a temporary restraining order on the grounds that it lacks personal jurisdiction and it has not shown why TrustName shouldn’t be given an opportunity to respond.]

Oath Research, LLC, has sued (pdf) domain registrar FewMoreTaps, d/b/a TrustName, following its domains were stolen from the registrar.

A number of TrustName clients have claimed that domains were stolen from their accounts shortly following TrustName received a de-accreditation notice from ICANN.

The “bulletproof” registrar claimed it would help firms protect domains in industries that often “face false or bad-faith abuse notes.” ICANN sent it a termination notice since the registrar was not handling abuse complaints appropriately.

Clients who had their domains stolen note having two-factor authentication on their accounts. Despite this, someone was able to steal the domains and transfer them from the Estonian domain registrar. The domains have ended up at the Chinese domain registrar NiceNic.

Oath Research alleges that the thief initiated transfers on 25 of its domain names. The firm stated one of the stolen domains generated $70,000 in daily revenue.

As an initial step, the firm is asking the court for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction.