however, i am the owner of the domain name they operate under. i do not want to seem like i am holding their name for ransom, and i do want to be fair. it seems to be a common practice to lease domain names, and thats what i am interested in.
i have searched the forums and found threads on this topic, but only from the lessee's point of view - someone wantng to rent a taken name.
so my question is about the legal issues. since i bought the name as part of the development process, am i still the official "owner"?
i would just as soon hand the name over as face any legal crap.
and since it is a .org, the name would never bring much money if sold, but i think its acceptable to charge a modest monthly fee for its lease.
background info- this isnt a charitable organization, and they screwed over the webmaster before me. my dealings with them have been less than model, late payments, etc. so loyalty is questionable.
thanks for any shared experiences or info!
From what you state here, the only value in the domain in question was created by th owner of the website. The domain in and of itself has little to no value.
Trying to charge a modest monthly fee for the use of the domain name when they created all of the value that is associated with the domain name is holding them for ransom. You should simply sell the domain name to them for a very modest fee and learn from this expierence.
If the later, then I think they own the domain. It like when a scientist creates a patent, the company that is contracted under owns the patent...not the scientist.
Leasing a domain from someone or leasing a domain to someone is one of the stupidest things I've heard of.
A domain is an asset just as anything else is. I can lease you my 'real estate' or 'virtual estate' for a price we agree on based on location location location. How is a domain any different then anything else?
The point of this thread though is if del can lease something he owns under the circumstances he's in.
If you registered the name in association with your clients project then ethically and possibly legally you have no rights to the domain. Give it back / transfer it over to them and move on - its a karma thing.
Leasing domains for a small fee is just not worth the hassle. YOU as the owner in the WHOIS are responsible for everthing on that domain!
Sure one could lease a domain; I'm simply saying it is an incredibly stupid thing to do -- especially from the stance of the lessee.
If you registered the name in association with your clients project then ethically and possibly legally you have no rights to the domain. Give it back / transfer it over to them and move on - its a karma thing.Leasing domains for a small fee is just not worth the hassle. YOU as the owner in the WHOIS are responsible for everything on that domain!
For the website owner the risks of leasing a domain are too great. Unlike a bricks and mortar business on real estate, a website can't just move to a new location and keep most of its "customer base". Also unlike land where much of the value comes from the location of the land (e.g. near an interstate exit) a domain has no real baseline value, rather that value it built up over time via the links that a website generates. What happens to the website if you decide the domain name has become too valuable to continue leasing? Everything the owner of the website will have worked on will have been lost.
this is my first post to the forum, and i really appreciate the feedback, positive or negative.
...and since it is a .org, the name would never bring much money if sold...
Why not? I always find it amazing how many domainers and webmasters wrongly believe org's are not valuable.
Here are some recent org sales courtesy of dnjournal.com:
Medicine.org $80,000 11/05
Lottery.org $66,667 xx/05
Boats.org $50,249 9/5/06
Refinance.org $34,980 8/8/06
Ohio.org $30,000 4/11/06
Broadband.org $27,500 3/28/06
PHD.org $25,000 6/27/06
AECLP.org $18,050 8/8/06
MO.org $18,000 3/14/06
many other sales between these 2
Zipper.org $3,300 9/10/06
In "the old days", when domains registration was free, you had to fill-out an email template just so, and had to have DNS already set-up when you sent in the form. This was undecipherable to the average person. It was common to reg names for a client. I've done it, and later simply changed the owner info and handed it over to them at no charge.
Did you have some explicit understanding with them that the domain name was yours? If so: bizarre. (Is it in writing?) If not, let them take it over, at no cost.
...It was common to reg names for a client.
Leasing or your webmaster being in control can be dangerous. Some valuable names have been lost by companies who built up the site with hard work and money because someone else reg'd the name and maintained control even after they broke the relationship, especially if they disliked each other as often happens.
I recall those days well circa 95/96 when I paid some guy $200 to register a free domain name. A short time later NetSol started charging for new registrations and invoiced due in 60 days, all by postal mail. They never even used email at the time for billing. Back then few people knew how to reg a name or even the website to use. The ones who did know charged a $150 to $300 service charge per name and had a nice little business going for a while and they tried to keep the registrar url secret. I asked the guy who charged me the $200 fee for the url so I could do it myself next time but he refused to give it. Later on the info on how to do it was in the media.
Many non-profit organizations have amongst their supporters some legal folks who strongly support the mission of the organization. Sometimes, that support includes addressing matters without charge, or encouraging an attorney friend to represent the interests of the nfp org.
Unless your claim on the domain name is crystal pure, or unless you likewise have counsel that is unlikely to invoice you, the karma suggestion made earlier may just have a tad more sheen on it upon further reflection.
