Is my web designer going to get in the way of selling my domain name?

Question

I had my site designed professionally in 2004. I now want to sell this website... but... there are things on my web design contract that I totally missed and I think might get in the way.

Here is what is says:

All web page design/graphic content, other than "The Client's" provided information/images, remain the property of "The Vendor"

This design, in whole or in part, may be placed or duplicated elsewhere only by "The Vendor". Any other use, in whole or in part, constitutes a contract for the services of "The Vendor" and a fee for design services will be due and payable accordingly.

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Does this mean I can't profit from his design without tipping him off? Or I can't sell the domain as is because he owns the design and I have to tip him off or something? I don't know I'm really confused.

Answer 1

It sounds like you've been stung a little in the terms and conditions as that would certainly suggest to me that he owns all the rights to the website.

I'm a professional web designer whilst I've never actually included anything over who owns the rights to the site within a contract, I've always expected that come the end of the project, the customer pays me and receives his website with all rights of the website passing to them.

I think in most cases a web designer is charging you for his services and for the delivered project so it looks like you've been stung by a bit of a cowboy as I rarely come across these types of contracts in the industry, especially from the side of the designer.

More often it's likely that a client will demand that it's written into the contract that they'll own all the rights to the site whilst some big clients will even go to the extent of ensuring that code isn't reused for other projects.

I certainly wouldn't recommend using Geocities in future though as this will neglect web standards and accessibility.

Next time, read up on web standards, code validation, browser compatibility and accessibility or higher a consultant who can create some requirements for you. As has already been said, it's easy to create a website but difficult to create a good one which meets todays web standards.

Answer 2

Your Domain is just that the address that you type in to access the site. You can try to sell it but I fear you are in a pickle, You will have to do the transaction for the domain name from the vendor that you purchased it from. Generally as a rule these are paid for yearly. And, if you deside you no longer want or fail to pay for the renewel it goes back into the pool of unused Domains to be re-sold again.
As far as your web developer is concerned he is telling you that if by chance you can sell everything you have right now then that would include the Web site he or she designed and if you do anything other than use it he wants more money.
That is the reason I recommend users to use Yahoo's Geocities and there software and make you own web site most of these clowns think they are rembrants and it's all a money deal. Anyone can design and maintain there own site it's not that big a deal.
When you had someone else design it you should have read the fine print and you should own propritory rights to the site period , not just the Pictures and any script you added. What a Rip.
Don

Answer 3

No, you legally cannot sell of your website with the design to anybody else but keep in mind that if you've personally purchased the domain name, the domain is yours to keep and sell. If you've procured goodwill over time, then you can sell the domain for a good price.

Companies are looking for customers, not necessarily the design. Web design and development are getting pretty cheap these days but retaining a good customer base isn't.

So basically, look to sell your domain name, not your web design, in this case. You can return the design to its rightful owner.


Personally, I think the guy's conned you! Seeking professional legal help if you can afford it might so

Answer 4

Hey, I read your situation
The truth is when you have the same person design your site and provide you with domain or and hosting you become bound by their terms. They become both the owner of your site and domain name, basically they copyrighted it for themselves. Its major business!!! Losts of designers are also host because they know that if they provide you with the domain and the design you are stuck with them! and when you leave they keep everything and sell it off to someone else who might want to start a similar site using your old domain.
They basically just recycle your page elements like old parts at a chop shop claiming they design new sites from scratch but really recycle old styles, page elements and layouts form previous customers who quit.
Its always best to design your site yourself and purchase your domain name seperately at godaddy.com or any of the other domain purchasing sites. Then find a whole seperate host. That way the domain is your property, the site design is your property and you can host it or remove it form any server you want at your descretion while keeping the same domain name. If the whole idea of your site was copyrighted in a business plan and the name itself was included in that plan, you may have a case but not a strong one.

Answer 5

The idea behind this is as follows: everything that you gave to the designer (i.e. text images, scripts.... whatever) in order to "help" make the site is yours and you can do whatever you want with it.
But anything that the designer made from scratch is his, so obviously you can't sell it.

Now I'm a bit confused here. If you paid for his services, normally you paid for the extra bits that have come with it as well (coding, graphic design)... but apparently the contract says otherwise.

I suggest you ask a lawyer as well though. I have no legal education.

Answer 6

The domain is just the website address Eg : www.google.com
www.yahoo.com
www.wikipedia.org

It is not actually part of the website design, so you will be able to sell the domain, but not the actual website design, and files.

Answer 7

You can sell the domain itself, but you can't sell the content without the consent of the web designer. If you absolutely must pass on the design/layout, contact your designer and they may charge the buyer for it.