19 October 2011

On 19 October 2011, PIR received from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) a “Warrant to Seize Property Subject to Forfeiture” issued by the US Federal District Court for the District of Colorado on 11 October and a “Warrant to Seize Personal Property Subject to Civil Forfeiture” issued by the US Federal District Court for the Western District of Washington on 17 October The warrants are based on affidavits by agents of the DHS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and order the seizure and civil forfeiture of twelve domain names, six in .COM, two in .NET, one in .US and three in .ORG (COOLNFLJERSEYS.ORG, PICKJERSEYS.ORG and NFLJERSEYSUSA.ORG). Pursuant to the instructions of the DHS, PIR transferred the registration to a specified IP address.

The .ORG domains now resolve to a web site established by the DHS with a message that it has been the subject of seizure. The legal authority for the seizure are two sections of the US Statutes, Criminal Code, that provide for seizure and forfeiture of property used in violation of the criminal provisions of copyright and trademark law.