If you negotiate about a domain name via a chatting app, such as WhatsApp, and agree to a sale or acquisition, that is a binding agreement.
An active lawsuit involving the domain 420.com demonstrates that no explicit signatures are required, when two parties, a buyer and a seller, have demonstrated their agreement to exchange a domain for money.
In the lawsuit, the Plaintiff is domain investor Merlin Kauffman. The Defendant is Trans High Corporation, publishers of High Times and operators of the domain name 420.com.
According to evidence provided in the lawsuit, the two parties agreed via SMS chat and WhatsApp chat to exchange 420.com for the sum of $307,500 dollars.
The Plaintiff presented Jeff Gabriel of SAW.com as an expert witness on how common it is these days for agreements on domain sales to initiate and close completely via chat programs.
The lawsuit seeks the transfer of the domain 420.com to the Plaintiff plus additional remedy if the Court so decides.
More details at this link shared by attorney John Berryhill.
Q- were they smoking during the negotiation? and what were they smoking?
seems like a low price for a random 3N dotcom much less 420. never negotiate drunk.
Everyone should negotiate drunk always.
Except me.