Which digital assets can be transferred at term?

Chiefly the domain name, a site's editorial content, source code and databases. Each asset has its own regime — copyright, contract law, the database producer's sui generis right — and the transfer agreement sets it out in writing.

Is a rights transfer automatic with Archivum?

No. It is an end-of-period option, decided by the successors named in the contract, alongside extension or deletion. It is never automatic, and its terms are set in the contract rather than imposed by default.

What about GDPR in a transfer?

If the transfer concerns personal data, the assignee becomes the data controller and takes on the matching obligations. Any asset transfer involving personal data remains governed by GDPR, regardless of what happens to the original company.

How do you transfer a domain name before registry removal?

You unlock the domain at the registrar, retrieve the transfer authorisation code and confirm the contact address, then sign a transfer agreement. These steps require still-active admin access: once the company is struck off and the accounts suspended, the transfer becomes very hard to complete.

Glossary — Digital rights transfer

What is a digital rights transfer?

Contractual transfer to a third party of all or part of the rights on digital assets: domain name, website content, source code, database, access, trade mark. The transfer is governed by the regimes applicable to each asset type (intellectual property, contract law, GDPR).

What it is

Digital rights transfer covers several legal regimes depending on the nature of the assets concerned.

The domain name is transferred by transfer of the registration at the registrar, accompanied by a transfer agreement.
A website's content (text, images, design) is transferred under copyright, by a written contract specifying the scope (reproduction, representation, adaptation) and the duration.
The source code is transferred under articles L. 113-9 and L. 122-7 of the French Intellectual Property Code.
A database enjoys a sui generis producer's right, transferable under article L. 342-1 of the same code.

Any transfer concerning personal data remains subject to GDPR: the assignee becomes the data controller.

Why it matters

Many digital assets carry a residual value that exceeds their storage cost: a well-ranked domain name, a blog with traffic, a qualified database. Without a transfer agreement, those assets fall into a legally murky zone after cessation. With one, they can be valorised (sold, integrated into another project) or simply maintained as estate elements.

How Archivum approaches it

The Archivum template contract provides, at end-of-period arbitration, the option of transferring rights — domain name, content, mail subscriber base, source code — to Archivum. The terms under which Archivum may then operate them are set out in the individual contract and are not standardised in public copy. It is a contractual option, never an automatic outcome.

In practice

A clean transfer is prepared upstream, while the company still exists. A few points to secure:

Asset inventory: list the domain name, code repositories, hosting accounts, databases, mail accounts, and identify the actual holder of each (the company, a director personally, a provider).
Chain of title: check the company actually holds the rights it intends to transfer — a site built by an agency without a copyright assignment cannot be validly passed on.
Domain name: unlock the domain at the registrar, retrieve the transfer authorisation code and confirm the contact address, without which the transfer becomes technically impossible after removal from the register.
Personal data: map the files containing personal data, since transferring them triggers a notice to the data subjects and the shift of obligations to the assignee.

Gathering these before closure avoids the most common situation: valuable assets lost because no one holds the credentials once the company has been struck off.

Frequently asked questions

Which digital assets can be transferred at term?: Chiefly the domain name, a site's editorial content, source code and databases. Each asset has its own regime — copyright, contract law, the database producer's sui generis right — and the transfer agreement sets it out in writing.
Is a rights transfer automatic with Archivum?: No. It is an end-of-period option, decided by the successors named in the contract, alongside extension or deletion. It is never automatic, and its terms are set in the contract rather than imposed by default.
What about GDPR in a transfer?: If the transfer concerns personal data, the assignee becomes the data controller and takes on the matching obligations. Any asset transfer involving personal data remains governed by GDPR, regardless of what happens to the original company.
How do you transfer a domain name before registry removal?: You unlock the domain at the registrar, retrieve the transfer authorisation code and confirm the contact address, then sign a transfer agreement. These steps require still-active admin access: once the company is struck off and the accounts suspended, the transfer becomes very hard to complete.

Related terms

← See all glossary