QLD Verbal Partnership Agreement and Domain Names - Is It Valid?

[Delstar]

A friend came to me last year with an idea for a website. She told me that she needed someone to help her because she didn't have the skills but she thought I did. I believe we have a verbal agreement to start a website - I registered the domain names and commissioned artwork for a logo. These have been in my name as we are just starting out.

I arranged some software developments to meet to discuss what we wanted to do and they agreed and minutes of the meeting were constructed and distributed to which she acknowledge that it was all steam ahead. They started preliminary work including specifying the system, created a landing page and hosting arrangements.

Two days later, she phoned to say she didn't think she could work with me as a business partner. I asked her to advise me in writing and she did. She told me that she wanted to "pull out" and wanted to do it on her own and told me she would pay me for the balance of the cost of the domains and she wants me to transfer the domains to her. She believes she is entitled to take the domain names because she originally had the idea, however, I had completed the business plan, financial plans, arranged the domain names and recruited the software engineers.

I believe we have a verbal partnership agreement and therefore, I should be entitled to the domains just as much as her. Incidentally, as the project is now terminated, the software guys want to send me an invoice for $2,500 as they had started work and believed that they had an agreement with us to go ahead.

Any help?

 

[Rod]

Messy.

Much will depend on who said what. In the first paragraph, she said she needed help (ie you are possibly a contractor). Later in your post you said you believed you had a partnership.

What do you want to happen?

 

[Delstar]

Ideally, I want to continue with it because after doing the analysis, it could be a great business if done the right way. To date, I am the one who has spent money setting things up, which she has copies of. I have emails between us where we talk about equal shares. I have thought about signing over the domains and doing it myself under another entity but that I wonder if that could end up causing more headaches especially if it does make money.

 

[Rod]

Think you need to have a sit down meeting with her. Explain your side, and find out why she can't work with you. It may be she now wants 100% of the business.

As 50/50 owners you'd both be equally liable for expenses, though if you keep the results of all the work then you might need to pay all the cost.