Sex.com domain goes on sale (again)

The Sex.com domain has been in an odd position, in that it has been the subject of both a decade-long legal battle and several books.

Escom LLC currently holds the domain name for the website, which is a news, horoscopes and shops portal at present. However the US$14 million price tag it paid for the domain name in 2006 might have been too high. The company's ownership of the asset is being foreclosed, "for default in the payment of debt and performance of obligations owed.

To qualify to bid at the site's auction, buyers "must appear at the auction with a certified bank check in the amount of US$1,000,000."

"All of Borrower's interest in and to all right, title and interest in an undivided 100% interest in the internet domain name and related INTERNIC registration of the URL www.sex.com, and 100% of all cash proceeds, accounts receivable, licensing rights and intellectual property rights directly associated with or derived from the ownership of such URL," the auction site states.

The website attracts 120,000 unique visitors per month for nothing other than the name. In frank comparisons with other major Web sites, that's not massive web traffic volume.

In 1994, American entrepreneur Gary Kremen registered sex.com with Network Solutions but did not develop a site. In October 1995, Network Solutions transferred the domain to Stephen M. Cohen, who had been trying to gain control of the domain for some time by misrepresentation, using phone calls, e-mails and forged letters.