It looks like entrepreneur Kim Dotcom will be able to retain his domain, K.IM, according to a ruling by the Isle of Man ccTLD .IM registry. The story is somewhat convoluted. Kim Dotcom registered the domain in 2013 for $20,000, a large sum at the time, and used it for his new project. Dotcom (Kim Schmitz) is infamous for creating Megaupload, which was once the most popular file-sharing service in the world.
The website always hosted copyrighted content, which resulted in its being shut down and in serious legal issues for its creator. Kim Dotcom, who had moved to New Zealand by then, was arrested in 2012 at the request of the US, but soon posted bail. This is where the story of his extradition begins. Several courts of different instances ruled on extradition, but constant appeals from Dotcom’s lawyers always delayed or found a way out.
Since then, Kim Dotcom has been trying to get back into online business. His project K.IM was originally intended to become a new version of Megaupload, but recently Dotcom has been showing more interest in blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, so his ideas have changed accordingly. Until recently, news of his latest project has been published on K.IM. However, last December something unexpected happened. According to Dotcom, he couldn’t extend the registration in time due to “problems with the registry” (it remains unclear what problems). The domain expired and was quickly snapped up by Bulgarian specialist Kalin Karakehayov.
Technically, Karakehayov was within his rights, but Kim Dotcom filed a complaint with the registry calling Karakehayov’s actions “domain squatting.” Owning the trademark for the term ‘K.IM’ works in his favor, too. The Isle of Man registry agreed with Dotcom and ruled that the domain must be returned to him. However, Karakehayov still has 10 days to appeal and he plans to do so, according to TorrentFreak.
