Here is a conversation I had with an author recently:

AUTHOR:

A website design firm designed and managed my website. I really liked it. They recently contacted me, and are willing to turn over the website with all the access codes, including the domain name, for a payment to them of $1,500.00. Is this a good idea and desirable thing to do? Also, is the price worth it?

ME:

It seems odd to me that YOU paid them to register and design your website yet THEY claim to own it? I would check your original contract with them. Seems like a brewing scam to me.

AUTHOR:

The scam part is that I paid to have the web site developed, and now they want me to pay to have it developed a second time so I can possess it. I checked my contract and it doesn’t look good. Here is what it says:

I. Service Provider Rights
The Author acknowledges and agrees that the Publicist retains all property rights to data, files, and
materials that the Publicist prepares for the publication of the Work, including but not limited to
production data, files, and materials, whether or not completed, in the possession of the Publicist.

I’m not a lawyer and I can’t see how this clause would apply to ownership of a domain name. But, I could be wrong. The problem is this author paid someone to purchase something for him (his domain name), and paid that person/firm to develop the website. Now that he wants to update the website himself (or hire someone else to do the job), he has to pay them another $1500 for the privilege. The author should have read that clause, and understood what he was giving up when he signed with that company.

If you need a website, buy the domain name yourself. It’s fine to pay someone to work on your website but always, ALWAYS have them sign a work-for-hire agreement, which will give you ALL rights to what they create for you. That person will still want to work with you. If they don’t, find a more ethical website designer or publicist.

At WritersWeekly Marketplace, all service providers agree to give all rights to the authors we refer to them.

Follow Angela: twitter | facebook | linkedin