Rick Brewster, the original creator of the image editing software Paint.NET, has officially acquired the paint.net domain name. The acquisition marks the conclusion of a two-decade effort to secure the web address, which had been held by a third party since the software's inception.
Brewster first launched Paint.NET in 2004 as an undergraduate senior design project at Washington State University. Originally intended as a more robust alternative to Microsoft’s basic Paint application, the project quickly gained a dedicated user base. Because the paint.net domain was already registered by another entity at the time, Brewster was forced to host the software at getpaint.net, a URL that served as the project's home for the next 20 years.
According to a report by PC Gamer, the transition of ownership was finalized following a successful trademark infringement case. Brewster characterized the legal action as a "slam dunk case," noting that the evidence of infringement was clear enough to finally force the transfer of the domain. While Brewster did not disclose the specific legal costs or the identity of the previous domain holder, he confirmed that the resolution was the result of a long-standing pursuit.
Reflecting on the milestone, Brewster stated, "I've been trying to get it for 20 years." For the developer, the acquisition is more than a administrative change; it resolves a persistent identity issue that has defined the project since its early days as a university utility.
For the software’s community, the shift to paint.net is expected to provide a more intuitive experience for users who have long associated the brand with the getpaint.net address. By consolidating the project's online presence under its namesake domain, Brewster aims to eliminate the confusion that has historically surrounded the software's official web portal. The transition effectively ends the era of the project operating under a secondary URL, cementing the software's long-term identity in the open-source and freeware space.
