Multiple AVN Award-winning performer/director Lexington Steele was awarded the domain lexingtonsteele.com earlier this month, ending a dispute over the domain that dates back to 1999 when it was purchased by a cybersquatter.
“We’ve tried to get it back repeatedly over the years and finally we’ve gotten it back without contest,” Steele told AVN.com. “Although with that having been said, once we brought on Holly Pranger, the lawyer who handled our case, and she began the process, it was returned to me without any problems.”
The domain was bought in 1999 by Russian Communications, and was being used to direct traffic to various online adult destinations. “Russian Communications used my name and my picture on the Web site, and he was using it to sell anything and everything. I am sure people mistook this for my official Web site," Steele said.
Steele regained control of the domain by filing a domain dispute through the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers' (ICANN) rules and submitting to arbitration through the National Arbitration Forum.
Pranger, principal of the Pranger Law Group and an attorney specializing in intellectual property, represented Steele during the process.
"I know from research that Russian Communications, as well as other cybersquatters, are currently sitting on and profiting from the domain names of famous adult entertainers," she said. "Adult entertainment is a billion-dollar industry and these domain names are worth a great deal of money. The entertainers who have worked hard to create the recognition and goodwill associated with their performer names should have the right to control how those names and trademarks are used.
“It is an atrocity that these porn squatters wrongfully profit from them and they should be stopped."
Cybersquatters often purchase domain names based on the pseudonyms that adult performers use professionally, selling ads on the domain or redirecting the traffic to another Web site with adult entertainment for sale.
“The porn squatters rarely, if ever, have legitimate rights to use the names and we are usually successful in getting the domain names back to the owners through the domain dispute process," Pranger said.
The process took about two months, Pranger added, and Steele's registering his name as a trademark contributed to the judgment in his favor. She contrasted the ICANN arbitration process, which takes just a few months and costs under $15,000 to complete, against suing in federal court, which can easily run over $50,000 to $500,000 in legal fees and sometimes take years to resolve. Winning in a federal court allows for recovery of fees and costs associated with the lawsuit, however, while resolution through ICANN does not.
"The beauty of the ICANN process is that you can go through it and quickly get the domain name back, but still bring a federal action to recover your damages."
The domain has already been turned over to Steele, though he has yet to determine what he’ll do with it.
Prior to the settlement, Steele operated and continues to operate lexsteele.com and lexonblondes.com, with affiliates for the sites being run by BrainCash and SteeleCash, respectively.
“I’ll direct my domain to one of these two sites. I’m not sure which one I’ll use yet,” Steele said. “I can’t make a smart decision on that until I have some figures on the performance.”
Steele, who owns adult production company Mercenary Pictures, intends to start branding the domain on Mercenary’s box covers. “Rest assured, once I get lexingtonsteele.com on my box covers the traffic will go through the roof,” Steele said. “I’ll make a killing as it is, but I’ll be murdering at that point.”
Steele is also considering selling the domain and has already been offered as much as $25,000. "Let's just say the bidding starts there."
