Dealer and Distributor Domains: What Changes When Permission Ends?
Review dealer domains through contracts, permission periods, current use and end-of-relationship handover.
What’s in this article?
Direct answer
Ending a dealership does not automatically transfer every associated domain. Examine the agreement, the reason and name under which the domain was registered, current use and statements about the relationship. Permission, trademark questions and contract delivery obligations should not be collapsed into one issue.
Map the relationship
Identify the registrant, payer and account administrator separately. Check provisions on delivery, duration, territory, subdealers, access and termination. Payment by the brand can be relevant without resolving every legal question. Later amendments and campaign permissions may alter the initial picture.
Ask different departments about historic authorisation. An unknown internal record is not proof that no authorisation existed. Complete that enquiry before sending categorical allegations.
Examine current use
Record the products offered, the relationship presented to visitors, the choice of domain and the destination of customer enquiries. Selling genuine products and claiming official representation are different questions. A small disclaimer should not automatically be assumed to correct the overall impression.
Set the requested outcome: content correction, account handover, domain transfer or another remedy. Assess UDRP applicability separately from the contractual dispute. Some cases may require a route capable of examining a broader agreement.
Fictional scenario
A former distributor still collects servicing requests through a branded form. Preserve the dated page and contract records first. Specify the correction or delivery required. Publicly calling the business fraudulent before review is not a substitute for evidence. Customer support continuity needs its own plan.
Checklist
- Are the dates and limits of authorisation clear?
- Are registration and account control documented?
- Have the agreement and current site been reviewed together?
- Were later permissions investigated?
- Is the requested outcome explicit?
- Has the other party's response been preserved?
Acceptance at the end of the relationship
Prepare separate handover entries for the domain, account, redirects, enquiry forms and historical content. Specify whether each item will be transferred, corrected or reviewed separately. Do not request indiscriminate copies without distinguishing the former dealer's personal data from the brand's assets.
Do not leave technical verification solely to marketing staff. A technical owner should assess DNS and email effects while counsel considers the obligation's scope. Record what the parties agreed separately from what was actually implemented. Any incomplete handover should retain an identified reason and follow-up owner.
Questions
Is every unauthorised seller prohibited from selling genuine goods? No such general conclusion should be made; sales, trademark use and relationship claims differ.
Should passwords simply be taken over? Plan authorised access changes; do not access another party's account without permission.
Official sources
Related guides
- Assessing Domain Bad Faith: Registration, Acquisition and Use
- Responding to a Domain Complaint: Preparing the Defence File
- When an Agency Withholds a Domain: Contract and Technical Records
- Are Domain Dispute Proceedings the Same as Commercial Arbitration?
Brand protection and monitoring
General information only. Rights, authority and current procedure require case-specific assessment. Fictional examples are not B10 client cases or claimed successes.