".ca" Domain Names As Personal Property

A recent Ontario Superior Court of Justice decision has determined that ".ca" domain names are personal property. This decision clarifies that ".ca" domain names may be characterized as personal property independently of any registration in any public office, such as the registration of a domain name as a trade-mark under the Trade-marks Act (Canada)¹. It also implies that ".ca" domain names, being personal property, may be subject to a security interest created by a general security agreement ("GSA").

In Moldservices², a co-founder of a company called Mold.ca Inc. (the "Company") registered domain names associated with the Company under his own name. The Company and others subsequently applied for summary judgment to determine ownership of the domain names in question. In reaching its conclusion that the domain names were owned by the Company as the associated registrations were made for the benefit of the Company, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (the "Court