TREATMENT OF COPYRIGHTS PURSUANT TO STATE PROPERTY LAW

摘要

May a creditor obtain satisfaction by taking legal action against a debtor's domain name and the copyrighted matter posted on the website located at that domain name? At least one state has answered yes to this question. See Sprinkler Warehouse, Inc. v. Systematic Rain, Inc., 859 N.W.2d 527 (Minn. Ct. App. 2015), review granted, (Apr. 28, 2015). Sprinkler Warehouse won a law suit in the Texas courts against Systematic Rain and obtained a default judgment for $156,000. Sprinkler Warehouse had the judgment docketed against Systematic Rain in Scott County, Minnesota. Sprinkler Warehouse then served a garnishment summons on Systematic Rain's CEO, Palm. Palm asserted the absence of any gar-nishable property under his control. Sprinkler Warehouse argued that Palm did have control of the debtor firm's website and domain name. The trial court held that neither the website nor the domain name were property subject to garnishment under Minnesota statute. The appeals court reversed.