Company change of ownership - website issues!!

ChicoMendez

I created a website for a company a few years back (was a handy few quid in college ) . There was no contract involved but i hosted it on some of my server space. He then redirected the site my space (or rather i did!)

Problem:
Now the company has been sold. A friend of the new owner is now going to look after the site!! I got a mail informing me of the change of ownership of the company. Then another mail saying:

HI, was wondering if the above website could be downloaded or sent to me urgently as I need to transfer the domain name.

Usually web design companys state in a contract that the site remains intl property of the designers? do they not?

its rather cheeky to assume the new owner can just download it is it not?

what do you guys make of the situation?

nahdoic

Isn't he asking you for your permission right now? I would find that quite polite and the right thing to do, not cheeky at all.

seamus

Goodwill and all that, it's safe to assume it's your site.

What have you to gain by holding onto the site?
What have they to lose by simply pointing the new domain at your webspace?

Karoma

agreed: in the interest of goodwill, just give him a copy ...
try get on their good side - offer to maintain/update the site (this time with a contract )

Victor

Just be careful who you sold the website rights to - the individual or the company.

The website architecture is presumably yours, the content is theirs.* You are entitled to the rights for the original parts of the website (which you merely licenced to them, even if they paid for it).

One way to do this is to charge them a licence / transfer fee for the parts that are yours.

* Does it say copyright anywhere on the website? e.g. on boards.ie it says

Copyright ©2000 - 2002, Jelsoft Enterprises Limited.
© boards.ie Ltd. (Ireland) - About this site

Jelsoft own the VBB features, Boards.ie Ltd owns the rest (or has (un)licenced use from original authors).

Karoma

presumable TradeMark'ed materials would be theirs: so theoretically: to keep the site you'd just remove all references the TMs / (C) -- which make the site useless... just give it to them and keep in their good books

p

Everything you created for the company would be assumed to be theirs, unless otherwise stated in a contract or some such.

If you sold it to the company then they still own it all.

Source files is a different issue again, but you were paid to create a website for them, therefore they own the website.

Karoma

not quite: intellectual rights..

if one designed and created something from one's imagination: it's theirs. unless they sign it over to the company.
Is any artist's works (DaVinci,et al) known by their patron's names?



one day i shall structure an arguement, and spell properly: then you will be learned! muhaha!

MrNuked

Karoma:

not quite: intellectual rights..

if one designed and created something from one's imagination: it's theirs. unless they sign it over to the company.
Is any artist's works (DaVinci,et al) known by their patron's names?

I think intellectual rights just mean that you have to be identified as the author, not that you own the copyright.