If the Internet is a web of highways running through cyberspace, your
domain is where you live or work and your domain name is the address of
your home or business on the net. Every time you email someone or look
up a website, you are using a domain name. Each domain and each domain
name is unique. While more than one person can “live” on one website,
that website is the exclusive property of it’s owner, just like your
house is your exclusive property, although title may be shared with a
spouse or the bank.
Domain names are common language addresses corresponding to your domain,
consisting of a string of words separated by a dot (.) and usually
containing some word that represents you or your business and indicates
the type of information someone might find there.
When you walk into a shop with a large donut or bagel sign outside and
pictures of coffee cups in the window, you expect to find a coffee shop.
Domain names work the same way. You don’t hang a bagel sign over a
garage, for instance, or a tow truck sign over a flower store. In this
sense, domain names are also your advertising sign and may include the
name of your business.
This makes domains and domain names valuable. You don’t want someone
else stealing your domain or your domain name. Remember the old saying:
Location, location, location? You want to protect that domain and its
name the way you would protect the most marketable corner lot when
putting up your business or the way you would protect the name or logo
you use in your business.
When you are ready to buy that corner lot and put up a business, you usually meet with a lawyer to help you with the transaction. The lawyer, often referred to as a “qualified intermediary,” will, review all legal documents associated with the transaction, confirming that they comply with the relevant law, satisfies himself that both parties understand the agreement into which they are entering, and depending on the terms of the agreement, may hold onto the asset(s) and / or the money that are part and parcel of the transaction, until the terms of the contract have been complied with and / or the deed is safely in your hands. If the lawyer is required to hold assets or money he holds them in trust (often called escrow), in specially labeled accounts just for that purpose. Domain Intermediaries (DI) has domain name accounts at over 40 registrars and an IOLTA account specifically designed for this purpose. Further, as a law firm client all non-public information not shared with third parties is attorney-client privilege thus protecting your privacy rights associated with your transaction(s).