Assuring you hold the legal rights to your domains is important so you can maintain control over your online presence and brand. Today domains are vital assets for most businesses and are used as a main communication channel with customers and suppliers through the Web and e-mail. This requires that you consider domains as important intellectual rights and take proper steps to secure these assets.
One step is making sure you are the registrant because this provides you with important benefits and rights. It is not unusual that another party is listed as the registrant of one or more of your domain names. For example, an agency, a partner, a service provider, or an employee. In this post, I will outline the reasons why you should make sure to be the official registrant of your domains.
What is a domain registrant and a registrar?
A registrant is the person or organization that is listed as the holder of a domain name.
A registrar is a business that registers and manages domain names. They have made a contract with the organizations controlling the different top-level domains (TLDs). E.g., .com, .de, .xyx, etc. When you want to register a domain, you always go through a registrar (with a few rare exceptions).
A contract between a registrant and a registrar is created when a domain name is registered. The terms under which the registrar consents to register and keep the proposed domain are outlined in the contract. Registrants control the settings of their domain through their registrar. A registrant has responsibilities and rights in the capacity as a domain holder. The rights include the right to information about the procedures involved in registering, administering, transferring, renewing, and restoring your domain registration from the registrar. The responsibilities include paying agreed fees and complying with rules and restrictions outlined by the registrar. The registrant of a domain holds control of a domain and has the final saying regarding how the domain is used if the use is not violating the registration terms.
Why should you be the registrant?
It is not uncommon for organizations to outsource domain management to a third party or have partners registering domains on their behalf, but your organization should make contractual agreements to ensure to be listed as the registrant. Do not let employees register domains in their own name. They can be listed as the contact person if required by the registry. Changing the listed domain registrant after registration can be a resource demanding and expensive process.
Control. As the registrant you have the freedom to transfer, renew, and delete the domain. This includes the ability to transfer it to a different registrar or hosting provider, modify the contact information associated with the domain, and make changes to the DNS settings.
Legal responsibility. Registering a domain name in your name establishes legal responsibility of the domain, which can be important if there are any disputes over ownership, trademark infringement, or other disputes.
It is not unusual that employees register domains on behalf of their employer. This can cause some legal headaches and the possibility of losing the domain in case the employee leaves the organization.
Change of legal status. How does the legal status of another party affect your domains? What if the listed registrant of your domains goes bankrupt, or if the ownership of the partner changes? If you are not listed as the registrant, the domains can enter a legal limbo.
End of contract. What will happen to your domains when your contract ends with a given partner listed as the registrant? Will they freely handover the domains, charge a transfer fee, or keep them? In such as case you will be in a stronger position by being listed as the registrant.
Can you use domain privacy services or have the WHOIS info redacted?
Domain privacy service, often referred to as WHOIS privacy, is a common approach to protect the contact information of a domain registrar for TLD’s allowing this. The information is protected by replacing your contact information with the contact information of a third-party privacy provider. Using a domain privacy service, is not a problem if you are the underlaying registrant at the registrar.
Many registrars will offer to redact some or all WHOIS data if the TLD supports this. For example, this is supported by generic TLDs such as .com, .net, and several ccTLDs. This will not be an issue if you are listed as the registrant with your registrar.
When should you not be the domain registrant?
Sometimes legal and practical constraints make it impossible for you to be listed as the registrant. It is not unusual that country code TLDs (ccTLDs) have special rules such as requiring local presence. When you are unable to fulfil local requirements, it can be needed to have another party listed as the registrant. In such cases you should carefully chose a registrant you trust. Often specialized registrars are able to manage the assignment of registrant that applies with the specific requirements.
Conclusion
Rule number 1: Always make sure you are the registrant of your domains. Do not allow other parties to be listed as the registrant.
Rule number 2: Always make sure you are the registrant of your domains. Do not allow other parties to be listed as the registrant.
Rule number 3: Only allow other parties to be listed as the registrant in case the requirements of the registry make it impossible for your organization to be the registrant.