Two-word domains are so hard to come by, that when you see one sold, you can immediately predict that the buyer has spent a lot of money for it. And so this is the case with VU.com, which was sold recently for a staggering $700,000.
According to the terms of the sale, it appears that the seller, Virtual Universe Corporation, will retain all rights to the core contents of the business. The exact wording of the release suggests that the buyer, Mortgage Research Center LLC will only receive rights to the domain and any accompanying trademarks that were built up as a result of its use.
This clause leads to the obvious conclusion that the buyer has really forked out $700,000 for the domain—something which is not farfetched given the inherent value of two-word domains. The only question is how they’ll able to create differentiation in the minds of the users who frequented the site under Virtual Universe Corporation. This will be particularly confusing for those visitors because the seller plans to move the content from the website onto a different domain.
Whatever happens though, it will be interesting for all parties concerned. This perhaps won’t be the first time a domain is sold with the rights to content etc. being retained, but given that the VU domain was very established with users, the transition for users will be one to watch.
Do you think the buyer will have a tough time rebranding the domain? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: http://www.sitetrail.com/2011/11/19/vu.com-domain-sells-for-700000/
According to the terms of the sale, it appears that the seller, Virtual Universe Corporation, will retain all rights to the core contents of the business. The exact wording of the release suggests that the buyer, Mortgage Research Center LLC will only receive rights to the domain and any accompanying trademarks that were built up as a result of its use.This clause leads to the obvious conclusion that the buyer has really forked out $700,000 for the domain—something which is not farfetched given the inherent value of two-word domains. The only question is how they’ll able to create differentiation in the minds of the users who frequented the site under Virtual Universe Corporation. This will be particularly confusing for those visitors because the seller plans to move the content from the website onto a different domain.
Whatever happens though, it will be interesting for all parties concerned. This perhaps won’t be the first time a domain is sold with the rights to content etc. being retained, but given that the VU domain was very established with users, the transition for users will be one to watch.
Do you think the buyer will have a tough time rebranding the domain? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: http://www.sitetrail.com/2011/11/19/vu.com-domain-sells-for-700000/