Buying or Selling a Website – Relaxation of Domain Name Transfer Regulations

It is a common practice for most businesses to use websites for advertising and operational purposes. The benefit of purchasing a website is the recognisability it will already have on search engines. When starting an online business or creating a website, the first step is registering a domain name. A domain name is a web address used to access a particular website. The Australian Domain Administrator (auDA) is a government endorsed self regulatory body for the .au domain that develops and implements policies to ensure a secure system for Australia. There are a list of auDa accredited registrars who handle domain name applications and renewals.

There are no proprietary rights or intellectual property rights in a domain name as you do not actually ‘own’ it. When registering a domain name, there is a contractual right by being granted a licence for a specified amount of time. There is the option available for a registrant to transfer the domain name to another entity or person. Earlier policies had made this difficult by only allowing transfers in limited circumstances where there had to have been a sale of a business or where settling a dispute.The current policies allow for a domain name licence to be transferred to another person or eligible entity for any given reason.

Although the current policies are far more relaxed than previously, there are still restrictions. A registrant is not permitted to register a domain name solely for the purpose of reselling or transferring to another individual or entity. An Australian Domain Name cannot be sold or transferred until six months after the date of registration. This restriction does not apply to renewed or previously transferred domain names. There is an option available to apply to the auDA for authorisation in special circumstances to have a domain name transferred within the six months.
The revised regulations allow for a secondary market for Australian Domain Names and may create an increase in the commercial value.
Transferring a domain name licence from a current registrant to a new registrant requires the following steps of:-
a) completing an auDA approved transfer form
b) confirming that the proposed new registrant is an eligible entity; and
c) confirming the request for the transfer from the current registrant contact.

Once the transfer has been processed, the new registrant will receive a new two year domain name licence. The previous
process was lengthier and required a completion of many different forms. The benefit of transferring domain names is the broadened availability of names that may have already been registered and are not utilised anymore.
Australian Domain Names can be listed for sale on the owner’s website, a brokerage website, in a Alternatively an owner can employ a firm that specialises in marketing or the registrar may offer a domain listing service.
Buying or Selling a Website – Relaxation of Domain Name Transfer Regulations