Who owns website?

seonew · #1 (**permalink**) 10-26-2006, 07:16 PM

I recently came on board with an established company that had several websites built for them by several different people/firms.

I have been able to get all of the sites transferred to new hosts where I can have total control to update, add content, seo etc.

One design company will not release control of one of the websites. They say that they designed the cart system and cms and that they are their property and refuse to allow me to transfer hosting(which they are charging at least twice what I would expect to pay). I really need to be able to work hands-on through ftp to really get anything I need done, but they also refuse to give me ftp access.

I looked through the contracts and there does not seem to be anything in there that would support their claims. They tell me that they are worried that someone would steal their asp cms and shopping cart design. In my opinion they already sold it to someone who can do as they please with it.

I was curious, has anyone dealt with something like this before? And do you think there is a good way to resolve this without getting a ton of lawyers involved?

nexternal · #2 (**permalink**) 10-26-2006, 07:28 PM

Ouch!

The ownership info should be in the agreement between your client and the developer. If not, it may get ugly. Again, the contract should specify whether your client paid to have this developed (in which case they should own it) or if they paid to lease it.

It also sounds like your host is being childish. Can you just take your data and run?

seonew · #3 (**permalink**) 10-26-2006, 07:49 PM

The contracts, as far as I can see, in no way reflect that any part of the development was leased. In fact there is no mention of hosting charges past the first year which was apparently prepaid.

The problem is, I can't just grab the data and run. I have no ftp or database access and the database is pretty massive.

I really feel like this is almost extortion due to the fact that they are losing monthly revenue for doing updates, seo etc

nexternal · #4 (**permalink**) 10-26-2006, 08:02 PM

Wow, I don't envy your position. I would politely talk to a senior manager and ask again. If they still wont help, mention litigation. Most companies don't want to get into it. I would just be polite and state the obvious, it will be cheaper to lose a client than win a lawsuit...

seonew · #5 (**permalink**) 10-27-2006, 06:35 PM

Thanks for the ideas.

I'd really like to resolve this without getting involved with lawyers or ruffling too many feathers.

I think the other fellow really believes he is right in this, but I believe if you design a site for someone that it is their property once you have finished the design.

seonew · #6 (**permalink**) 11-01-2006, 03:54 AM

Hey, just giving this a bump, I know someone has something more to say about this.

I had never heard of anything like this before I ran into it here, but I'm sure someone else has.

If any mods see this and think it should be in a different area please move it, I am really interested to see if anyone has any thoughts on this

**dharrison** · #7 (**permalink**) 11-01-2006, 06:56 AM

Hi seonew

I think this is the corrct forum to be in. As its an international forum I would say be patient for an answer.

I personally would read through any contracts, terms and conditions or other paperwork that should have been read through and authorised prior to the point of sale.

If there is nothing to support his claim in the small print then he hasn't got a leg to stand on. However, if nothing was signed or agreed in the first place, then neither do you.

If they are charging you monthly then can you stop the payments? Again small print should tell you the procedure to take.

Also do you need the shopping cart? There are plenty of others out there.

HTH

seonew · #8 (**permalink**) 11-01-2006, 07:31 PM

The problem is that the company built an entire cms and shopping solution in asp from the ground up. They will not release it or the datbase to be moved to another host. In fact I get NO access to the site at all except through their interface.

We also have around eight hundred products with two pages of description info on each product so if we just junked them and started over, it would be a huge undertaking.

I have read over and over the contract agreements and there is nothing in there stating that they have any hold over the site ... no mention of intellectual property or anything.

I don't think they expected the client to ever hire anyone who could handle the site and never really considered what would happen if they did and now they are trying force us to continue their services.

Thanks for the response ... I have a fear that this is going to head to court ... but I have other fears due to the fact that the site and db are held on their servers.

swoopster · #9 (**permalink**) 11-09-2006, 02:36 AM

Most ISP's, at least the ones I use, have an option within the control panel to do a backup. Check to see if your providers has the feature and if so. do a backup and see if there is a way to save it to your hard drive.

Also, check to see if they have a database export feature. At least you can get your contents and perhaps be able to port it to another database on a different ISP.

One last thing. You can google for a website snagger type program that will allow you to download your entire site. From here you will have to parse out your product and then put it into something like mysql. This is a tough task for those who are not programmers but it is an option.

Good Luck