Mag. Balazs Esztegar LL.M.
Attorney-at-law Vienna


Piaristengasse 41/10
1080 Vienna, Austria
Tel. +43 1 997 4102
Fax +43 1 997 4102-99
office@esztegar.at

Domain Purchase Agreements

Just because domains are unique, they embody desired asset values and, as such, they can be transferred via legal transactions. In general this is done through the purchase and sale of the domain to another person or company. In case of a domain purchase agreement there are various circumstances to be taken into consideration. On the one hand, it will be needed to fix the purchase price, and, on the other hand, the scope of services shall be specified.

 

Namely, transfer of the domain in itself only occurs in the least of cases; it is in general about the purchase of a complete internet project, i.e. of a well-established website. If the operation of the website is simultaneously the subject of the undertaking of the seller, it will be necessary to mark off whether it is not about the purchase of the undertaking, in which the domain or the web appearance constitute only as part of a whole.

Upon the drafting of the contract attention should be paid to the special features of the internet. Transfer of the domain shall be made via a change in the owner and the reporting thereof to the provider. If in addition to the domain further elements will also be transferred, for instance the commercial website being in operation, the agreement will become increasingly complex and regulations should be foreseen regarding the entry into existing contracts, the information of partners and users etc. The purchaser should not forget to cause potential industrial property rights, access data and any necessary technological know-how to be transferred to himself or herself.

Finally, it is important, to find a safe solution for the flow of payment, possibly via "Treuhandschaft", an escrow agreement, in order to warrant the highest possible level of safety for both purchaser and seller of the domain or website.