buckworks - 3:06 pm on May 12, 2009 (gmt 0)

My friend gets upset to find out that I got such a great domain name for the product and proclaims he would have registered it if I hadn't.

Yeesh! He dropped the ball about securing a domain name so he should be celebrating, not complaining, that you got a good one!

Anyone on the planet could have come along and registered the domain. It is folly for him to assume that it would have remained available for him to register at his leisure if you hadn't registered it.

Clearly you would bring knowledge to the partnership which they don't have for themselves. However, it doesn't sound as though they understand that or put much value on it.

I'd be extremely hesitant to invest much energy with these guys because they don't seem to have a clear vision about what they want, how to get there, or the value your knowledge could add to the enterprise.

Get legal advice. You acquired an asset with the good of the partnership in mind, so if they want to relieve you of that asset they should pay a fair price. You should be compensated for your time and expertise, not just the cost of registration. Expect them not to understand that, though.

Get legal advice.

Final thought: going into business with friends can work, but only if everyone is totally businesslike.