Slipknot, the band, have dismissed a lawsuit they filed against the owner of Slipknot.com, a website not affiliated with the band that they claimed had been selling bootleg merch. Lawyers for the group, aka Slipknot, Inc., said the group “voluntarily dismisses this action without prejudice” in paperwork, obtained by Rolling Stone, filed Wednesday. The band had accused the domain owner, who is anonymous, of “cybersquatting.” By dismissing “without prejudice,” the band could revive the suit in the future.
The group had filed the suit “in rem,” meaning the action was against the domain name itself as opposed to whoever registered it in 2001. Domain Name Wire reports that domain owners often don’t appear in court to defend domains with “in rem” suits.
But in November, lawyer Jeffrey Neuman, filed a notice on behalf of the owner, listed as Slipknot Online Services, Ltd., according to Domain Name Wire, claiming that the company had been unaware of the suit. The company, Neuman said, had owned the domain for the previous 24 years. The owner registered it in February 2001 and is still anonymous; the site is linked to a post office box in the Grand Caymans.
In January, the company’s lawyer filed a motion to dismiss, claiming the band, which released its first record in 1999, waited too long to sue. Then on Wednesday, Slipknot’s lawyers filed their own dismissal.
Reps for Slipknot, whose website remains Slipknot1.com, declined to comment on the news. Lawyers for Slipknot Online Services, Ltd. did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment.
In October, the band alleged in its filing that Slipknot.com had begun selling “cheap promo products” and “costume masks,” unofficial merch, that it felt was cheating fans. The group cited the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act in its suit.
“A fan of plaintiff or someone who otherwise wanted to purchase authorized Slipknot merchandise would undoubtedly visit the slipknot.com website assuming it belonged to plaintiff and then purchase the Slipknot merchandise linked to on the site, causing damages to plaintiff,” the band claimed.
At the time of publication, Slipknot.com remains functional, though with no content on it. “No valid delivery channels available for this domain,” reads a message on the website. It’s copyrighted 2025.
Slipknot1.com is also active, though the band doesn’t have any current tour dates planned.
