After a 22-year pursuit, Rick Brewster, the creator of the free image editing software Paint.NET, has successfully acquired the domain paint.net. The acquisition was finalized following a trademark infringement case against the domain's previous owner.
Brewster announced the long-awaited victory on social media platform Bluesky, expressing his excitement. He had been attempting to obtain the domain since Paint.NET's launch in 2004, but the previous owners were unwilling to sell or demanded excessive sums of money. The software has historically been hosted on getpaint.net.
The situation escalated in December when the latest domain owner began hosting content designed to impersonate the official Paint.NET website, featuring deceptive links and advertisements. This tactic aimed to profit from Brewster's registered trademark, creating what he described as a clear case of trademark infringement and domain squatting.
With legal assistance, Brewster pursued the case, which ultimately resulted in him gaining ownership of the domain. While the paint.net website currently redirects users to getpaint.net, Brewster plans to migrate content and implement redirects from the old site soon.
Paint.NET is a widely used free alternative to professional photo editing software like Adobe Photoshop, known for its balance of robust functionality and user-friendly interface, differentiating it from similar free options like GIMP.