Should expired domains be treated like abandoned property or intellectual property?

[nicenicnicenic is verified member.]

Right now, when a domain expires, it enters a system that treats it basically like abandoned property. It gets auctioned, recycled, or picked up by whoever's fastest.
But a lot of people argue that domains, especially branded ones, feel more like intellectual property.

So what's the right way to think about it?
Should they have some kind of IP-style protection, even after expiration?
Where's the line between "fair market process"and "digital identity hijacking"?

 

[cactusfly]

We can petition organizations who own the registry to extend due dates. I might be wrong, but what's your suggestion?

 

[Ricado]

Treating domain names as either “abandoned property” or “intellectual property” is a misunderstanding in itself. Although we commonly refer to the registrant as the domain owner, what the registrant actually holds is a right of use, not ownership.


This is closer to the concept of land use rights. When a lease expires and the holder chooses not to continue paying the fee, the right is revoked and the land returns to the system, waiting for the next party to sign a new agreement.


If ownership was never obtained in the first place, it makes little sense to frame expired domains as any form of “property” at all.

 

[nicenicnicenic is verified member.]

We can petition organizations who own the registry to extend due dates. I might be wrong, but what's your suggestion?

The fastest wins usually come from tightening renewal safeguards:

stronger multi-channel notices
default auto-renew for portfolios
registrar locks/2FA
clearer grace/redemption policies

so fewer legitimate owners lose names to simple misses.

Treating domain names as either “abandoned property” or “intellectual property” is a misunderstanding in itself. Although we commonly refer to the registrant as the domain owner, what the registrant actually holds is a right of use, not ownership.


This is closer to the concept of land use rights. When a lease expires and the holder chooses not to continue paying the fee, the right is revoked and the land returns to the system, waiting for the next party to sign a new agreement.


If ownership was never obtained in the first place, it makes little sense to frame expired domains as any form of “property” at all.

Appreciate this clarification, Ricado.

It also helps explain why expired domains reset legally, but not economically.

 

[leonidleonid is verified member.]

NameSilo has such safeguards (2FA, Domain Defender, grace and expiration policies, default auto-renew, etc.). But in some cases, people don’t want to renew anymore. In other cases, even if auto-renew is enabled, the billing profile has expired.

https://www.namesilo.com/support/v2/articles/policies/expiration-process

Also, at NameSilo, the client has the right to renew an expired domain for 30 days after expiration, even if there are bids on it. That is the grace period.

After the grace period, if there are no bids, the domain enters the restore period, from day 34 to day 64 after expiration, during which the client can still renew the domain.

 

[nicenicnicenic is verified member.]

If expiration wipes the registry right but not the domain’s economic “memory,” where should the line be between legitimate value and inherited liability for the next registrant?

 

[Ricado]

Think of a domain name as similar to a land use right.
If a well-known brand, for example McDonald’s, holds the use right to a location and, through its operation, brings traffic and commercial value to the surrounding area, that value is real, but it comes from use, not ownership.

When the lease expires and is not renewed, the right simply ends.
There is no basis for the former holder to claim compensation from the landlord for the value previously created.
If the brand still wants the location afterward, it must re-enter through the same competitive process as everyone else.

Domain names function in much the same way.
Brand recognition, traffic, and market “memory” are economic effects, not continuing legal rights.
Continuously emphasizing economic value does not change this reality, because any recognized rights are tied to the right of use itself.
Once the registration expires without renewal, that right of use is lost, and any related rights necessarily end at the same time.

Trademarks, of course, are a separate protection mechanism.
But trademark protection is limited in scope.
As long as the use is in a different industry and not made in bad faith, it does not constitute trademark infringement.

 

[nicenicnicenic is verified member.]

Think of a domain name as similar to a land use right.
If a well-known brand, for example McDonald’s, holds the use right to a location and, through its operation, brings traffic and commercial value to the surrounding area, that value is real, but it comes from use, not ownership.

When the lease expires and is not renewed, the right simply ends.
There is no basis for the former holder to claim compensation from the landlord for the value previously created.
If the brand still wants the location afterward, it must re-enter through the same competitive process as everyone else.

Domain names function in much the same way.
Brand recognition, traffic, and market “memory” are economic effects, not continuing legal rights.
Continuously emphasizing economic value does not change this reality, because any recognized rights are tied to the right of use itself.
Once the registration expires without renewal, that right of use is lost, and any related rights necessarily end at the same time.

Trademarks, of course, are a separate protection mechanism.
But trademark protection is limited in scope.
As long as the use is in a different industry and not made in bad faith, it does not constitute trademark infringement.

You’ve made a strong point about the expiration of a domain being comparable to the end of a lease.
While it's true that expired domains are legally “free to claim,” the market often sees value in the residual effects left by the previous owner’s use.
So, while former holders don’t retain rights, the domain’s previous performance still plays a role in determining its desirability to buyers.
This is more about market dynamics than legal ownership, and why some domains with a history of success or traffic can continue to attract interest.

 

[Ricado]

By the same logic, the same applies to land use rights.
Two parcels of land may both reach the end of their leases at the same time.
One may have hosted a well-known restaurant or a shopping mall, while the other was used for waste recycling.
When both leases expire, the residual commercial value left behind is obviously different, even though the legal status is identical.

That residual brand-related value is a market effect, not a form of intellectual property.