The Interactive Media and Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA), filed a Petition in the Kentucky Court of Appeals asking the appellate court to throw out the original seizure notice dated September 18th and its order of October 16th upholding the seizure.

In its 55 page petition, iMEGA names as defendants, the Judge who issued the seziure notice Thomas Wingate, and the Commonwealth of Kentucky as well as the Attorney General of the State.

The petition states that the seizure order was unconstitutional as a violation of the First Amendment for violating free speech and failing to provide due process.

The petition cites tons of case law to support its positions.

Domain names clearly fall within the definition of commercial speech.

By ordering their seizure the trial court blocked the speech and thereby imposed prior restraints.

Prior restraints is where someone goes to the court asking the court to order something not to be published or broadcast.  Courts are very reluctant to issue an order before publication or broadcast because an offended party has rights to sue after the publication or broadcast and freedom of speech demands that communication be allowed to occur.

The petition stated that the court held no hearings before issuing its order, violating the first amendment right of due process.  None of the registrants had notice of the original hearing nor did they have an opportunity to present evidence or even state their position.  The court simply ruled based on the Commonwealths position in a closed hearing.

The brief is extremely well written and you should read through it and familiarize yourself with the law in this area if you own any domain names.

If you want to see the full petition you can click here:

It’s great to see a proactive approach being taken on this issue of great importance to all domainers.