Hey there!
I'd like to summarize a situation that has recently emerged. My brother and I invested heavily in building a website, with the domain registered under my name as an individual, and my mother holding the development dоcuments as a legal entity. We're expecting to finish developing the site in the next 2-3 months.
Unfortunately, my parents are going through a divorce and my father wants an even split of everything. Our lawyer warned us that if the website is considered my mother's property, my father might be able to lay claim on half of it.
My question is: which dоcuments serve as proof of ownership for the website? Additionally, do we need to register a legal entity to protect our interests or can we operate using a physical entity? We are also hoping to join two affiliate programs from pоkerstrategy.com.
Thanks!
If you and your brother can provide evidence of financing the website, the site's rights should not fall under the common property in the divorce. You own the domain exclusively and it cannot be taken away from you. However, if the father insists on taking half of the site's files, a discussion may be necessary to come to an agreement.
It's important to note that mom cannot be considered a legal entity in this situation.
The website's rights can be broken down into three categories: domain rights, engine rights (including both property and non-property rights to copyright objects), and content rights.
Your question is still unclear as to who has a claim over which rights.
Regarding the domain, I recently obtained a certificate for media registration that confirms my ownership of the domain. The certificate includes my full name and the name of the domain.
To obtain this certificate, I sent in a notarized copy of my passport (including all pages) and a notarized application (using a sample provided by the registrar) to the domain registrar's office. It's possible for anyone to obtain this same certificate by following the proper steps.
Having this certificate can provide peace of mind in regards to ownership of the domain.