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Who has the right to claim the domain name?
Anonymous5 views3 answers
When we started our start up (50-50 joint company), my cofounder, initially bought the domain name, but after that, it was paid by the company credit card.
It was not stipulated in our operating and founders' agreements who owns the domain name.
Because we're splitting up, he's claiming that his company (that he owns 100%) owns the domain name.
1) Without proper documentation, who can claim the domain name?
2) Can the company uses the bill statements as proof that it has paid for it for over a year and claim it?
Sounds like you are headed for court here. Unless there were documents in your corporation that specified that he contributed domain name to your corporation you are really in trouble.
He should have assigned his interest to the corporation. It sounds like there will be a litigation going unless you can agree. What does the shareholder agreement say?
Inna Fershteyn
www.BrooklynTrustandWill.com
I agree with my colleague that you may be headed to litigation over this issue. While you may be able to use the fact that the company paid for it on an ongoing basis to try to prove it was a corporate asset, your cofounder will probably point to the fact that he initially purchased it himself to prove that it was not. Instead of messy, expensive and drawn out litigation, I would suggest you ask whether he would be wiling to sell it to you or to the corporation (if that is what you are seeking). If you can negotiate a purchase and sale that you can live with you might save lots of grief and money.
I agree with my colleagues. Hopefully this issue was addressed in your initial minutes of the LLC or in your organizational documents. However, it sounds as if it was not. I urge you to have all of your entity agreements and paperwork reviewed by counsel to address your options, costs associated with each option, as well as the chances of success when addressing each option.
