Friend as official contact but still controlled by me?

[Kellerkind]

Hi,
I recently got slapped with a fine from a lawyer in Germany because I did not write all the right information in the imprint of one of my websites. Germany has stupid rules for things like that and because I currently live in another country, I would like to transfer some domains to my girlfriend who is a local here.

This would make things easier and protect me from getting annoyed by some greedy lawyers. The laws for websites over here are pretty relaxed. Is there any way that I can still maintain some sort of control over these domains while my girlfriend shows up as the person who registered it?

Do I have to transfer the domains for that? Any advice would be great!

 

[evertonian7uk]

i live in Germany, what rules are you talking about, ive never had any issues here.

a little more infomation on hwat you didnt write, or do may help.

 

[jberryhill]

Makes less sense each time I read it....

 

[maximum]

I recently got slapped with a fine from a lawyer in Germany because.....

If the lawyer slapped you with the fine, slap him right back :kickass: Courts can issue fines (only after proper procedure), but lawyers can't.

... I did not write all the right information in the imprint of one of my websites. Germany has stupid rules for things like that.....

I don't live in Germany, and know nothing of German law. But, like evertonian7uk stated, more information would be helpful, in order to help you.

..because I currently live in another country, I would like to transfer some domains to my girlfriend who is a local here.

1) Is the name a .de domain?
2) Is it registered with a Germany-based registrar?
3) Is it hosted by a Germany-based hosting service?
4) You say you live in another country, but girlfriend "is a local here". Is she in Germany, thereby subject to German law?
5) IF #1-3 are all answered with "no", then why worry about it?
6) IF any of #1-3 are answered with "yes", then transferring it to her won't help, unless you want her harrassed, right?

Answer those questions, plus tell us what laws/complaints the lawyer had, and we can possibly help you more :]

Makes less sense each time I read it....

When one of the most respected domain/internet/intellectual-property-rights lawyers known to the domaining world (yes, I'm kissing-up, Mr. Berryhill ) is confused by a question in the legal section of the forums, what does that tell you about how you asked the question?

Please explain in more detail :red:

 

[Kellerkind]

The domains are not .de they are .com and why they slapped me with a fine doesn't really matter but for those who want to know, there are strict laws for how to write the imprint for commercial sites in Germany and I didn't stick to that. I forgot a couple of things and that's why I got fined.

I'm just looking for a way to transfer my domains to my girlfriend but keeping something in hand to control them and in the worst case transfer them back to me.

 

[Marck]

The domains are not .de they are .com and why they slapped me with a fine doesn't really matter but for those who want to know, there are strict laws for how to write the imprint for commercial sites in Germany and I didn't stick to that. I forgot a couple of things and that's why I got fined.

I'm just looking for a way to transfer my domains to my girlfriend but keeping something in hand to control them and in the worst case transfer them back to me.

Use her contact information except for the email address. Use your email address.

 

[evertonian7uk]

there are strict laws for how to write the imprint for commercial sites in Germany and I didn't stick to that. I forgot a couple of things and that's why I got fined

im still lost, what imprint are you talking about?? if its a .com, how did the Germans fine you? is it regged with a German host, are you hosting in Germany, more details will definatly help us help you.

 

[maximum]

To once again quote Mr. Berryhill........

Makes less sense each time I read it....

.......still the same problem

 

[jberryhill]

yes, I'm kissing-up

It won't help.

how to write the imprint for commercial sites in Germany

Are you using Google translator or something?

I'm going to take a stab at this....

1. You were penalized for violating some sort of regulation in Germany, because of ignorance or error on your part.

2. You want to put "some domains" into the name of your girlfriend.

Starting from there, I'm trying to figure out what 1 and 2 have to do with each other.

Are you and your girlfriend both in Germany? You refer to places as "Germany" and "here", but it's not clear to me whether "Germany" and "here" are the same place, as my view of your location through this screen, at least, is not very good.

The apparent reason you want to do this is to disguise your relationship with these domains. The mystery is... why? Do these domains correspond to websites which are also missing this "imprint" of some kind? And if it is a correctable error, then why not correct it?

On the assumption that you and your girlfriend are both in Germany, another mystery is why you'd want her to be the identified party in the event of some sort of liability arising under German laws. Are she or you planning on her not being your girlfriend some time in the future?

In any event, perhaps you might shed some light on how your motivation to do thing 2 relates in some logical manner to the event described as thing 1, above.

 

[Marck]

I don't understand why everyone is giving the OP such a hard time here. If you don't understand, the problem is with you.

He's just asking if there's a way for him to put his domains in someone else's name so they appear to be owned by some one outside of Germany, so that he can avoid getting in trouble if he has a mistake with his imprint.

For those of you that don't know what a web-imprint is, here's an example of one: http://www.orbcomm.de/Style/View.php?v=Disclaimer&c=orbeu&l=en

Also, you can google for "webimpressum"

It won't help.



Are you using Google translator or something?

I'm going to take a stab at this....

1. You were penalized for violating some sort of regulation in Germany, because of ignorance or error on your part.

2. You want to put "some domains" into the name of your girlfriend.

Starting from there, I'm trying to figure out what 1 and 2 have to do with each other.

Are you and your girlfriend both in Germany? You refer to places as "Germany" and "here", but it's not clear to me whether "Germany" and "here" are the same place, as my view of your location through this screen, at least, is not very good.

The apparent reason you want to do this is to disguise your relationship with these domains. The mystery is... why? Do these domains correspond to websites which are also missing this "imprint" of some kind? And if it is a correctable error, then why not correct it?

On the assumption that you and your girlfriend are both in Germany, another mystery is why you'd want her to be the identified party in the event of some sort of liability arising under German laws. Are she or you planning on her not being your girlfriend some time in the future?

In any event, perhaps you might shed some light on how your motivation to do thing 2 relates in some logical manner to the event described as thing 1, above.

The OP quite clearly says he's living in another country outside of Germany, with his girlfriend, and that his girlfriend is not German. She wouldn't be required to have an imprint, while he still will regardless of where he lives, because he is German.

 

[jberryhill]

Germany has stupid rules for things like that and because I currently live in another country, I would like to transfer some domains to my girlfriend who is a local here.

I'm going to try this again....

Germany has stupid rules. This is probably a reference to German regulations: § 6 TDG, § 10 MDStV requiring websites to identify the party responsible for its content. This is similar to certain aspects of the US DMCA, but somewhat more focused.

But you are not in Germany... you are in "another country" and your girlfriend is "a local here", which in context seems to indicate that neither you nor your girlfriend are in Germany.

And here I'll make a personal confession. I too was "slapped by a fine by a German lawyer" about 20 years ago. I had a dispute with a hotel in Munich over the bill, paid with a personal check in order to get them to release my luggage, and then I cancelled payment on the check and left the country. Some months later I received a letter from their lawyer and I sent them what I believed was rightfully theirs. They sued me in a Munich court, I of course defaulted, and I've never paid the judgment.

I don't know if those things expire, but just to be on the safe side, I've stayed out of Germany since then.

So one nifty suggestion - since you aren't in Germany, don't go there.

The OP quite clearly says he's living in another country outside of Germany, with his girlfriend, and that his girlfriend is not German. She wouldn't be required to have an imprint, while he still will regardless of where he lives, because he is German.

Oh he's German? Okay, I didn't catch that.

Very simple.

Marry the girl and apply for citizenship there.

That's how my mother stopped being Austrian.

I don't understand why everyone is giving the OP such a hard time here.

Nobody here slapped him with a fine.

He's just asking if there's a way for him to put his domains in someone else's name so they appear to be owned by some one outside of Germany

Okay, but in his OP, he identifies himself as "some one outside of Germany". From that, you inferred he was German, but it's not stated in the facts. There are many people living outside of Germany who are, in fact, not German. Probably most. (failure to recognize this fact led to some profound misunderstandings back in about 1939)

And, presuming that he's not sleeping on the sidewalk, I'd venture a guess that he has an address at this place not in Germany where he resides.

 

[Stix]

Hi,
I recently got slapped with a fine from a lawyer in Germany because I did not write all the right information in the imprint of one of my websites. Germany has stupid rules for things like that and because I currently live in another country, I would like to transfer some domains to my girlfriend who is a local here.

This would make things easier and protect me from getting annoyed by some greedy lawyers. The laws for websites over here are pretty relaxed. Is there any way that I can still maintain some sort of control over these domains while my girlfriend shows up as the person who registered it?

Do I have to transfer the domains for that? Any advice would be great!

check out denic
http://www.denic.de/en/faqs/domaininhaber/index.html#section_202

and here is something about the imprint
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impressumspflicht

Keine Impressumspflicht .. maybe that will fit your site .... since you didn't tell us what kinda site you run ...dunno.....

 

[lawyerevolved]

I'm not very familiar with German law, but couldn't you create a business entity (GmbH) that lists your girlfriend as the contact information? Then you could have a local attorney create an operating agreement that outlines the relationship of control--i.e. you would control the operations of the business and she would be the contact person. I'm not sure if Germany has the same liberal operating agreement rules with their GmbHs, so you'd have to check your local jurisdiction.