In a story that appeared in our February 2006 issue, Michael Gross documented the battle between Gary Kremen, who registered the domain name Sex.com way back when, and his nemesis Stephen Michael Cohen, who stole it by fax in 1995. When Kremen finally got the domain back (along with a $65-million judgment against Cohen), he almost immediately cashed out by selling it to a Boston company for about $14 million.
By comparison, a Detroit company bought Porn.com earlier this month for $9.5 million, which seems like a better deal. (Incidentally, Playboy.com might be available for $20 million deposited quietly to a Bahamian bank account under the name “C. Rowe.”) This month the Sex.com saga took what appears to be its official last gasp when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Cohen’s most recent appeal of the judgment and let him know it would consider sanctions if he shows up in court again. If you can’t get enough of battling porn entrepreneurs, the Sex.com saga is the subject of a new book by journalist Kieren McCarthy entitled, appropriately enough, Sex.com.
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