Accused domain thief could face jail time

In a case that is the first of its kind, a man accused of stealing a domain name could face jail time. The heart of this case is the alleged illegal transfer of the "P2P.com" domain name by Daniel Goncalves, a 25-year-old computer technician for a New Jersey law firm. 

Almost three years ago, Goncalves allegedly hacked into the email of the rightful owner and retrieved the GoDaddy.com account particulars with which to affect a transfer using a false name. P2P.com was later auctioned and sold for a cool $110,000.

An initial police investigation was dropped due to the lack of evidence, but then the case was reviewed and Goncalves was arrested. This case illustrates the lucrative market for domain names, and the difficulty in resolving disputes or theft via legal channels. For one thing, a domain name isn't considered property.

Nevertheless, the outcome is expected to set a precedent for future such cases. In the meantime, Goncalves is currently out of jail on $60,000 bail, and prosecutors intend to push for a felony conviction.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at Ars Technica

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