Is my website I bought considered intellectual property?

When you say that you "bought a website" it's not a complete statement of the transaction that you entered into. There are a lot of aspects to a "website," particularly if it's more than just an online billboard, as you say elsewhere that it's an "online business." Let me suggest an analogy that might make this clear. If you want to buy a used car from someone, would give someone a bunch of cash in exchange for the car keys, and then drive away expecting to be the "owner" of the used car thereafter? Or would you make sure that the registration with PennDOT gets transferred to you, that there aren't any liens on the car in favor of a lender, and that you can get the vehicle insured in your name? Yes, every business involves some form of intellectual property, in that the name of the business and possibly a logo involve trademark law, and the printed or online materials and graphics implicate copyright. If there's a website, then there would be an Internet domain registration to be transferred, and an agreement with a Web hosting company, which is the issue you have expressly raised. The purchase of a business that has a bricks-and-mortar storefront would involve a transfer of the real estate or lease. Expect that a "virtual" business on the Internet has counterpart aspects to be dealt with. If there was a "meeting of the minds" between buyer and seller as to what was sold and what conditions would apply, then the deal was consummated smoothly. Your question implies that this didn't take place in your situation. The next step for you would be to consult an attorney with some expertise in the kind of business you've just bought, to help you resolve the open questions.

If you used a website service such as GoDaddy.com that offers templates that you customize as your own website, there may be limitations and copyright issues and it may be difficult to move it, although depending on the inner workings, not necessarily impossible. If these are your facts then you will be subject to the click-wrap agreement that you entered into with the service company prior to using their service. If you hired a web designer, the proper way to conduct the transaction is to enter into a work-for-hire agreement granting you the ownership rights in the website designed and demanding that they deliver you a copy of the final product backed up on a disc. You should consult with an intellectual property attorney.

The releavant question is whether you agreed to not move it to another hosting site. Just because you do not have a written agreement (which is unfortunate) does not mean you do not have an agreement. Your focus on the definition of intellectual property does nothing to answer the relevant questions. Contact a local business attorney and get advice. Also, I strongly recommend that you have written agreements for everything to avoid problems like this.

It is unclear what you mean by "I bought." If you have no documents, then you almost certainly don't own the copyrights, if any, in the website. A transfer of ownership of copyrights must be in writing. What then did you buy and how did you do it? Are you sure there were no written documents at all involved in the purchase? If there are some that you missed, read them and they will almost certainly tell you what you can do. Unfortunately, I don't think there is much you can do about moving the site without getting some sort of copyright transfer agreement. If you did buy something, then that should likely include the trademarks and goodwill of the online business. I don't know how much you paid for the site, but would it be cost prohibitive to have another developer re-create the site and then point the old domain to the new site? That would enable you to button up your intellectual property on the new site. Also, I think someone mentioned getting a "work-for-hire" agreement so you would own the copyrights at creation. Unfortunately, there are a select few instances where a work-for-hire agreement is possible, and I don't think software development is one of them. In other words, your agreement must obligate the developer to assign the copyright. Good luck.

It is not clear that you "bought" the website if you have no documents. What kind of foolishness is that to think you "bought" when you have no documents to define what you got in return for what you paid. It sounds like maybe you got scammed and just bought an empty promise. I do not accept your premise that "I have signed no documents but do have sole ownership over the online business", as that is not how you get sole ownership. You wouldn't buy a house without getting at least a quitclaim deed and probably not without a warranty deed in fee simple absolute. What possibly possessed you to pay money and not get a document transferring title to you? What you have is like a real estate transaction with no closing. Also, the important part of a sale is not whether you, the BUYER, signed any documents. The important part is whether the SELLER signed any documents, specifically any documents transferring ownership to you. What you appear to have is an incomplete (i.e. "unclosed") sale, namely a sale with no "closing." So, what do you do? You are in Pennsylvania, so you hire a Pennsylvania intellectual patent attorney to prepare closing documents for the seller to sign transferring title to you and go back to the seller and insist he sign them or return your money. You cannot be satisfied with just paying the money, you need to get what you paid for, namely title. Bottom line: You screwed this up, so now you need to pay someone to "unscrew" it so you don't end up getting screwed.