LOS ANGELES—After the news broke yesterday that MXN Limited had filed a UDRP with WIPO over the Porn.com domain, the company today released the following statement confirming rumors that the top-ranked domain had been hijacked by an unknown party, and also confirming that the recovery of the domain is underway through the "diligent efforts" of several parties:
"We can now confirm that Porn.com, one of the largest and top adult entertainment websites in the world, was recently 'hijacked' by an unknown third party. Porn.com was originally purchased in 2007 for $9.5 million making it the 3rd most expensive domain of all time.
"Since learning of the hijacking, Porn.com’s attorneys Corey D. Silverstein, and Paul Keating, with the assistance of Larry Walters have worked tirelessly to recover Porn.com and return it to its rightful owner. Porn.com is presently in transit back to domain registrar Moniker.
"The domain was recovered through the diligent efforts of Porn.com's legal team, in cooperation with the registrars and Verisign. At no time did Porn.com consider payment of any ransom or settlement fee to retrieve its rightful property.
"As a result of Porn.com’s legal team’s efforts, despite the hijacker’s malicious attempt to steal porn.com, at no time was day-to-day business affected at Porn.com and consumer experience was not impacted in the slightest.
"Porn.com and its attorneys continue to conduct a detailed investigation into how this event occurred and intend to hold all responsible parties accountable for their actions.
"During this unfortunate event, Porn.com’s attorneys utilized all available tools including but not limited to Mr. Keating initiating UDRP proceedings through the World Intellectual Property Organization ('WIPO'). Additionally, Porn.com was at all times poised to take aggressive legal action in the event that the registrar did not act quickly to remedy this blatant act of domain theft.
"Porn.com thanks the countless individuals that offered assistance and did assist during this difficult event. All further media inquiries should be made by email and directed to Corey D. Silverstein ([email protected]), however, due to the continued investigation regarding this matter, no further information shall be provided at this time."
