Introduction
As a great deal of value can stem from a debtor's domain
name, secured creditors ought to consider how best to protect their
interest in such property. One option, which has gained traction in
the United States, is to take constructive possession or
"control" of the domain name. This means doing whatever
is necessary technologically at the time credit is advanced to
ensure that no further consent of the debtor would be required,
should default occur, to dispose of the collateral. An example
would be obtaining and modifying all requisite passwords in the
domain name as a condition of providing credit.
While this "control" method has a certain practical
appeal, it is woefully inadequate in offering legal protection to
secured creditors in the event of a priority dispute. All security
interests in personal property – including those in domain
names – must be properly perfected to form legal priority
over competing secured creditors, trustees in bankruptcy
