Top Reasons to Use Escrow for Domain sales
Escrow serves as a legal arrangement whereby a third party temporarily holds onto money and /or assets until the conditions in the underlying agreement have been met. The contract is most typically a purchase agreement but could also be a settlement (in or out of court), a lease or even a loan agreement. Over the last twenty years, escrow accounts have been used more and more for virtual assets and intellectual property (hereinafter “IP”), including domain names, patents, trademarks, copyrights, social media handles, cryptocurrency and more. Escrow accounts’ value to buyers and sellers continues to increase as the aforementioned types of assets become more and more entrenched in regular business transactions and everyday life.
The Value of Escrow Services for Domain Names
Preparing to buy or sell IP means deciding to handle the transaction independently or to use an established escrow service. Attempts to facilitate domain name purchases or other IP – on your own – can leave you susceptible to risks or scams. Research shows that in the domain name industry, the value of escrow services rests primarily in its security and client protection, both of which reduce vulnerability to risks and scams.
Current research confirms that the use of online escrow services provides a trusted service to protect clients from internet fraud and being cheated out of their money. This form of security reduces risk for clients by enabling a third party to safely store money or IP until the agreement is complete. It also creates the possibility for anonymity between the parties and assurance that third parties associated with the agreement will receive the expected remuneration.
With third-party escrow services, financial details are never in a vulnerable position or exposed, thanks to both a high level of encryption when using the online platform and data protection controlled by the escrow agent both online and during custom transactions. In the case of EscrowDomains, the escrow agent is a law firm that has the added benefits of attorney–client privilege, greater flexibility to the types of escrow, and legal assistance as required.
Escrow services for the domain name industry provide the parties with a third-party contact who is able to facilitate communication, if requested is able verify ownership, review and opine on agreement terms (assuming in a jurisdiction the attorney is licensed), and much more prior to the transmission of funds and completing the transaction.
Professional escrow services require both Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Client (KYC) measures which are followed to ensure your money and assets are safe as well as not being used for an unlawful purpose.
The escrow agent is available to answer questions you might have about the process – including how to move domain names even from the most obscure registrar and how money can be moved and tracked the most easily.
Relying on a third-party escrow service that has experience with domain names make the entire process much easier and ensures, that if something does not go as planned, that the escrow agent has – more likely than not – seen the issue previously and knows what to do.
Why Use EscrowDomains
EscrowDomains is a trusted leader in intellectual property services and escrow domain services. With years of experience dealing with virtual assets and intellectual property law, our team can reduce your risk, answer questions, and work to make the process smoother.
We provide online escrow and custom escrow for any asset that is not physical. Not only do we facilitate multiple payment methods and offer varying levels of service to meet your needs as a client, but our customer service will ensure you know what’s going on and that your money is protected throughout the transaction.
Security
What is escrow domain security? It means ensuring all avenues of transactions remain secure, including our webpage, client information, and all financial transactions.
With EscrowDomains, we take your financial safety seriously.
- Our website is secure and can’t be hacked.
- All transactions rely on encryption, so when you register, you can rest easy knowing your usernames, passwords, tax, and banking information are encrypted during transmission.
These two aspects of safety and security are interdependent. Keeping our website secure means protection against hackers at any point. Using encryption means protection against fraudulent activity while transactions are taking place.
This level of security enables our team to provide certified delivery of digital goods associated with our services and ensures evidence-backed accountability for all parties involved in transactions.
EscrowDomains – which is an integral part of Greenberg & Lieberman – has both Errors and Omissions insurance of two million dollars, one million per incident, as well as a ten-million-dollar crime policy. Higher levels of spot insurance are available for an additional fee.
Legal Advice
As a law firm, we are here to give you qualified legal advice on your purchase terms and related escrow questions. We have provided domain name escrow services for a quarter century, handling complicated transactions including multi-party domain name swaps, three or more party-financed transactions, with payments coming in and going out in 13 different currencies as well as crypto currencies.
Different Levels of Escrow Services
At EscrowDomains, we provide three service levels, each with varying escrow domain holding fee requirements.
Basic
Our basic service means we hold the finances for the transaction and the parties transfer the assets among themselves.
Premium
Our premium service is what is generally considered true escrow where we hold both the assets and the financials and the swap between the parties once the terms of the parties’ agreement has been completed.
Financed
Our financed transactions are very similar to premium except the payments are made over time.
Payment Options
Keeping with the changing world of online financial transactions, Escrow Domains enables our clients to pay and be paid through multiple third-party online platforms and cryptocurrency. Where crypto transactions are involved, we provide heightened accountability for our clients by checking that crypto is either not from or being sent to an illegal source.
We make it easy to find a payment structure that works for you. Whether you are the buyer or seller, we can help you find a level of service that makes it easy to use escrow domain protections and to secure your business profitability today.
- We can accept funds via wire transfer, credit card, check, and cryptocurrency.
- We can send out funds in checks, cryptocurrency, or wire transfers. We can facilitate escrow domain using PayPal, Bitcoin escrow domain names, and Payoneer escrow domain names.
For wire transfers, credit cards, checks, or PayPal escrow domain transfers, we do AML/KYC on all clients. We provide options for complicated multi-payment requirements too.
Our team can help you use escrow to buy domain name pages and content domestically or internationally with payout options available.
Transparency
Our automated system helps you see all non-confidential email traffic related to your agreement. You can upload a base contract you design yourself or use contract templates when managing the escrow domain transaction. If you have questions about the terms you should use, we can offer legal advice.
Protection
With EscrowDomains, we not only protect parties until the transaction is complete and terms of the escrow agreement have been met, but we also provide legal advice on the terms of your agreement.
If disagreements arise, our Escrow Agent holds the money and/or domain names until resolved.
Trust
Our team of attorneys and agents have deep roots within the world of intellectual property law and domain names in particular. With over 20 years of experience, we have the knowledge and expertise to ensure your transaction goes smoothly.
Who Manages an Escrow Domain Account?
With EscrowDomains, we provide true and one-sided escrow services. Our attorneys hold all money in national banks, including Chase Manhattan and Morgan Stanley. Assets are held in the appropriate registrar as required by the client or in our own registrar for a longer-term contract.
Our team works with buyers and sellers in the transaction, so we hold onto the money and domain name assets in a secure account until all aspects of the transaction have been verified, and payment can be rendered.
Our team can help you learn more about which level of service is best for your situation and how our additional protection, customer service, and transparency can facilitate better marketing and potential success for your business.