Creating a Domain Name Company Entrepreneurs Won’t Despise

Great idea! It would be like leasing any other "asset" (car, boat, office space, etc.).

My only concern is: with a car, boat, office space, etc., if the lessor renegs on the lease, the lessee can likely pursue another lease/purchase on another asset because the underlying asset is more of a commodity than a one-of-a-kind asset.

What protection, if any, does a lessee have should the lessor decide not to transfer the domain should the lessee execute the purchase option? (other than the obvious: going to court, suing, etc.)

My thoughts are the domain should be held in some sort of escrow on behalf of both parties, but then as a lessor would I really trust the escrow/domain holding company?

Which then brings up the point: what other intellectual property (trademarks, patents, etc.) can also be "leased"? could software code, produced on behalf of a startup, be leased back to the startup for a period of time?

I had the same general idea about a year ago, and I setup a site as the entry point of the idea: ParkedAvenue.com

Since I don't have a huge collection of domains, it is kind of a chicken and egg problem getting people to list their domains they would be open to leasing/selling.

Good luck with the endeavor. I am sure someone who gets critical mass will have some success with it.

Hi Guys, I attempted a business model around this idea about 8 years ago. It was a great idea on paper, but in the real world, people just didn't want to lease a domain name. They wanted to own it outright. It's too easy to find a substitute domain name with an alternative top level domain. Or, if you're a heavy hitter with money, just hire lawyers and claim trademark infringement. People don't "try on" domains. Thanks.