20 October 2011

On 20 October 2011, PIR received from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) a “Seizure Warrant” issued by the US Federal District Court for the District of Maryland on 20 October. The warrant is based on affidavits by agents of the DHS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and orders the seizure and civil forfeiture of  twenty-seven domain names, eighteen in .COM, two in .NET, three in .NAME, two in .US and two in .ORG (CHEAPJERSEYSSITE.ORG and CHEAPJERSEYS16.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.