|
Terms and Conditions of the Nominet
Registry
WARNING: by registering a domain name within the .uk Top Level Domain
(a "Domain Name"), you enter into a contract of registration
with Nominet UK ("We", "Our" or "Us")
on the following terms and conditions. This is a separate contract
to any arrangement you may have with any third party for the provision
of internet services.
Nominet is the Registry for all internet Domain Names ending in
.uk and provides a public service for the .uk namespace on behalf
of the Internet community. You can find out more information about
Nominet from our web site at http://www.nominet.org.uk. Nominet
is a not - for - profit company limited by guarantee which is performing
services on a cost recovery basis. This is why we consider it reasonable
to limit our liability in certain respects so that we may continue
to offer our services in the interests of the whole internet community.
This Contract includes our current Rules For The .uk Domain And
Sub-Domains ("Rules") and the Policy and Procedure for
our Domain Name Dispute Resolution Service ("Policy" and
"Procedure" as appropriate). Copies of the Policy, Procedure
and Rules are at http://www.nominet.org.uk/ref/drs-policy.html or
can be obtained from us.
You may have registered a Domain Name through a third party (usually,
but not always, your internet service provider). In these terms
and conditions, the term "Agent" means such a third party.
What we will do 1.1. We will process your application to register
a Domain Name and consider whether or not to accept it in accordance
with the criteria laid down in the Rules;
1.2. If your application is accepted, we will inform you or your
Agent. If your application is rejected, we will inform you or your
Agent as soon as reasonably practicable and return to you or your
Agent (as appropriate) any payments received;
1.3. Unless the current Rules of the relevant sub-domain state to
the contrary, we will register Domain Names on a first come, first
served basis. Until we accept your application, there is no guarantee
that the Domain Name you applied for will be entered in the Register
as such. We therefore recommend that you do not take any action
in respect of a Domain Name until you have received confirmation
from us that your application has been accepted.
1.4. After your application has been accepted, we will enter the
Domain Name and other relevant details (namely the data described
in clause 6 below, together with details of your Agent, if any)
in the Domain Name register database for the requested second level
of the .uk top level domain (the "Register").
1.5. We will use the information in the Register entry for the Domain
Name to enable the resolution of requests for the Domain Name, by
pointing to the authoritative name servers listed in the Register
Entry for the Domain Name. For further information about the technical
requirements for registering a Domain Name, please contact your
Agent.
1.6. After your application has been accepted and we have received
your registration fee, we will issue you with a registration certificate
and a reply form.
1.7. Subject to clause 8 below, we will transfer your Domain Name
and update the Register accordingly on receipt of correctly completed
transfer documentation from you and any relevant transfer fee applicable
at the time of transfer. We will not transfer a Domain Name whilst
it is the subject of legal proceedings or proceedings under our
Dispute Resolution Service.
1.8. Please note that subject to clauses 8.5 and 8.6 we will not
refund any fees after your Domain Name and details have been entered
in the Register.
1.9. Subject to clauses 8.7 and 8.8 below, we will only make changes
to the details contained on the Register (other than the registrant
field), if we receive instructions and approval from you or your
Agent.
1.10. Subject to clauses 8.7 and 8.8, we shall only alter the details
contained in the "registrant" field of the Register if
we receive authorisation directly from you.
What you must do 2.1. You must ensure that we receive the registration
or renewal fee within one month after the issue of our invoice.
For the avoidance of doubt, if you use an Agent it will be your
responsibility to ensure that the Agent has paid the registration
or renewal fee to us within one month of the issue of our invoice.
2.2. You must sign and return to us the reply form which we will
send to you after registration or renewal as appropriate.
2.3. You must inform us promptly of any change in your registered
details, and those of your Agent if applicable. It will be your
responsibility to maintain and update any details you submit to
us and to ensure that your details are up to date, and accurate.
In particular, it is your responsibility directly or by your Agent
to ensure that we have your full and correct postal address.
2.4. You must promptly inform us of any court proceedings brought
in respect of the Domain Name.
2.5. Any name server listed in the Register entry for the Domain
Name must respond authoritatively to requests for the Domain Name
at all reasonable times.
Renewal of your Domain Name Registration 3.1. The registration period
is two years from the date of entry into the Register of your Domain
Name registration. Provided you pay us your renewal fee and subject
to clause 8 below, you will have the right to renew the Domain Name
registration by entering into a new Contract with us for further
periods of two years.
3.2. Subject to clause 3.3 below, when the Domain Name registration
falls due for renewal, we will contact your Agent (at the Agent's
address appearing in the Register) to request payment of the relevant
renewal fee.
3.3. If no Agent is listed on the Register entry for the Domain
Name, or if the Register entry for the Domain Name indicates that
you wish to be invoiced direct, we will request payment of the relevant
renewal fee direct from you at the registrant address appearing
in the Register.
3.4. If we fail to receive the renewal fee within thirty (30) days
of our making a request for the renewal fee, we will suspend your
registration for at least 6 weeks and if we do not receive payment
within the suspension period we will cancel your registration without
further notice to you. During any period of suspension, we will
not point to any name servers listed in the Register entry for the
Domain Name, and you will be unable to use or transfer the Domain
Name.
Exclusions and Limitations of Liability 4.1. Nominet does not carry
out any investigation as to whether you are entitled to register
or have any rights in the Domain Name. By registering the Domain
Name we are not acknowledging that you have any rights in the name
comprised in the Domain Name, and we are not authorising you to
use the Domain Name in the course of trade.
4.2. Nothing in these terms and conditions limits or excludes our
liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence
or for fraudulent misrepresentation.
4.3. We shall not be liable to you whether in contract, tort (including
negligence) or otherwise for:
4.3.1. any loss of profit, revenue or other type of economic loss
(whether direct or indirect);
4.3.2. loss of business or contracts;
4.3.3. loss of anticipated savings or goodwill; or
4.3.4. any losses which a court holds to be consequential, or indirect
losses; arising out of or in connection with the Contract, including
but not limited to:
4.3.5. any error or omission in entries to the Register; and
4.3.6. loss of registration and/or use (for whatever reason and
whether temporary or otherwise) of the Domain Name.
4.4. All conditions and warranties which may be implied by law into
any Contract with you are excluded to the fullest extent permissible
by law.
4.5. Our aggregate liability to you whether under these terms and
conditions or otherwise (including liability for negligence) shall
not exceed £5,000.
4.6. If you are a consumer (ie you are not registering or intending
to use the Domain Name in the course of a business, trade or profession)
(a "Consumer"), the provisions of clauses 4.3 4.4 and
4.5 above will not apply to you.
4.7. Nothing in these terms and conditions will reduce your statutory
rights relating to faulty or misdescribed goods. For further information
about your statutory rights contact your local authority Trading
Standards Department or Citizens Advice Bureau.
Warranties
By entering into this agreement you consent to and warrant the following:
5.1 That you (or your Agent) have obtained the consent of any individual
whose personal data is to be held on the Register in accordance
with clause 6;
5.2 That the details and information submitted by you to us are
true and correct, and that any future additions or alterations to
your details and information will be true and correct, and that
you will submit them in a timely manner. Unless you are a Consumer,
you shall pay us (including the current or past members of Nominet
UK's Council of Management) any and all reasonable costs, claims
and expenses (whether direct or indirect) arising out of any claim
resulting from your breach of this warranty; and
5.3 That by registering or using the Domain Name (in whatever manner)
you will not knowingly infringe the intellectual property rights
of a third party, that you are entitled to register the Domain Name,
and that you have not registered the Domain Name in breach of trust.
Our right to rely upon this warranty will continue to be available
after completion of the registration process and will not be affected
by any surrender, cancellation or transfer of the Domain Name. Unless
you are a Consumer, you shall pay us (including the current or past
members of Nominet UK's Council of Management) any and all reasonable
costs, claims and expenses (whether direct or indirect) arising
out of any claim that your registration or use of the Domain Name
directly or indirectly infringes the intellectual property rights
of a third party.
Personal Data 6.1 The Register is a public register for the purposes
of data protection legislation. The Register will include your name
and postal address, telephone and fax number and email address together
with any other relevant details. This information (if it refers
to individuals) is 'personal data' for the purposes of data protection
legislation.
Personal data submitted by you will be:
Posted onto the Register;
Posted onto the WHOIS database by us. The WHOIS database is provided
on our web site at http://www.nominet.org.uk. Other Agents which
provide an online Domain Name registration service may point to
our WHOIS database. We will publish your name and address but will
not publish your telephone or fax number or email address as part
of the WHOIS database; and
Used as part of the Public Register Subscription Service ("PRSS"),
under which we provide a compressed form of the Register to subscribers.
We provide the PRSS only to trusted third parties, based within
the European Economic Area, under strict contractual terms which
prohibit the use of PRSS data for the purposes of direct marketing.
The PRSS enables subscribers to perform WHOIS queries and reverse
look-ups. We will publish your name and address but not your telephone
or fax number or email address as part of the PRSS;
We may provide your personal data to governmental or law enforcement
agencies at their written request in connection with the conducting
of any investigation of criminal activities; and
We will provide your personal data to third parties only if required
to do so by a court order.
You may write to us to request a copy of the personal data held
by us about you. We may charge a reasonable fee for the provision
of such data. As required by the Data Protection Act 1998, we will
adopt appropriate security procedures in relation to the storage
and disclosure of information provided by you in order to prevent
unauthorised access. Our security procedures mean that we may occasionally
request proof of your identity before we are able to disclose personal
information to you. Other than the uses identified above, we will
not disclose your personal information to others.
You should be aware that personal data posted on the WHOIS database
may be accessible to countries outside the European Economic Area.
By registering a Domain Name you consent to your personal data being
transferred out of the European Economic Area and to our use of
your personal data for the purposes specified above.
Domain Name Dispute Resolution Service 7.1. You will be bound by
the Policy and Procedure of our Dispute Resolution Service which
are incorporated into these terms and conditions and made a part
of the Contract by reference. The current version of the Policy
and Procedure can be found at our web site: http://www.nominet.org.uk/drs.html
7.2. If a dispute arises, you agree to be bound by the Policy and
Procedure which are current at the time that proceedings under the
Dispute Resolution Service are commenced until the dispute is over.
7.3. Neither we nor our directors, officers, employees or servants
nor any expert shall be liable to a party for anything done or omitted
in connection with any proceedings under the Dispute Resolution
Service unless the act or omission is shown to have been in bad
faith.
Termination/Cancellation, Suspension and Amendment of the Register
8.1. You or your Agent may surrender registration of the Domain
Name by notice in writing to us at any time prior to our receiving
payment.
8.2. After we have received payment for a Domain Name, only you
(and not your Agent) may surrender the Domain Name.
8.3. After payment has been received but prior to the issue of a
registration certificate you may surrender the registration by writing
to us on headed notepaper which corresponds to the registrant address
field of the Register entry for the Domain Name.
8.4. If a registration certificate has been issued, you may surrender
the Domain Name by correctly completing the surrender of registration
form (on the reverse of the registration certificate).
8.5. If you are a Consumer, then you may cancel the Contract by
giving notice to us by any of the means set out in clause 10.4 below
at any time up to and including 7 working days following the day
on which the Contract is concluded, i.e. the date on which we give
notice to you or your Agent that we have accepted your application
to register a Domain Name. If you register or use the Domain Name
in the course of a business, trade or profession, you will not have
this right to cancel the Contract.
8.6. If you cancel the Contract in accordance with clause 8.5 then
we will provide you or your Agent (as appropriate) with a full refund
of our registration fee within 30 days from the day on which we
receive notice of your cancellation. If we refund your Agent, you
may have to seek direct from your Agent any further component of
the fees which you have paid.
8.7. We may cancel or suspend the registration of a Domain Name
by providing you with notice in writing in the event of the following:
8.7.1. if we do not receive your registration or renewal fees in
accordance with clause 2.1 above;
8.7.2. if you are in breach of the terms of this Contract (including
the Rules) and in the case of a breach which is capable of remedy
you fail to remedy this within 30 days of receiving written notice
from us to do so;
8.7.3. if we receive independent verification that you have provided
grossly inaccurate, unreliable or false registrant contact details,
or failed to keep such contact details up to date;
8.7.4. if you are in breach of the warranties contained in clauses
5.1 and 5.3 of the Contract; or
8.7.5. if the Domain Name is being administered in a way likely
to endanger the operation of the Domain Name System.
8.8. We may transfer, suspend, cancel or amend the Domain Name registration
in the following circumstances:
8.8.1. upon receiving written instructions from you to take such
action together with any relevant fee;
8.8.2. upon receiving a copy of a perfected order of a court of
competent jurisdiction requiring such action, or where the retention
of a Domain Name by you would be inconsistent with the terms of
a perfected court order received by us or any other legal requirements;
8.8.3. if such changes are necessary in order to correct an error
relating to the Domain Name registration; or
8.8.4. following a Decision requiring such action or an agreement
reached between the parties and approved by us relating to proceedings
under the Dispute Resolution Service.
8.9. If a name server listed for the Domain Name registration does
not respond authoritatively to requests for the Domain Name, we
may remove the name server from the Register entry for the Domain
Name.
Change of Agent 9.1. If you wish to change your Agent, you should
first approach your current Agent to arrange this. If your approach
is unsuccessful, we may at your request record a change of Agent
directly onto the Register entry for your Domain Name registration.
On receipt of your request, we will approach your Agent (unless
exceptional circumstances apply). We will only comply with your
request if:
9.2. we are satisfied that you have first approached your Agent,
and that the approach has been unsuccessful; and
9.3. we are not informed by your Agent that there is an express
term in your contract with your Agent which can prevent us from
recording such a change.
General 10.1. If any clause of these terms and conditions is held
to be unenforceable in whole or in part the other terms and the
rest of the provisions shall continue to be valid and enforceable.
10.2. We may transfer our rights and obligations under the Contract
to any third party. You may transfer the Contract, only on the transfer
of the Domain Name, in accordance with clauses 1.7 and subject to
clause 8 above.
10.3. The internet is an emerging and evolving medium and the regulatory
and administrative framework under which we operate is constantly
developing. For these reasons we reserve the right to make reasonable
modifications to the terms and conditions of this Contract (including
the Policy, Procedure and Rules) at any time during the term. We
will only do so when we have good reason. No change will have the
effect of requiring an increase in fees from you in advance of the
next renewal of the Domain Name. Except where we are acting in pursuance
of a statutory requirement or a court order, changes will be implemented
across the board in all of our Domain Name contracts following a
process of open public consultation. Each such change will be published
in advance (where practicable, 30 days in advance) on our web site:
http://www.nominet.org.uk/ and will become binding and effective
upon the date specified therein. You should review our web site
regularly in order to be aware of all such changes. If you do not
agree with any change or proposed change to these terms and conditions
you are entitled to terminate the Contract by providing us with
thirty (30) days notice in writing, in which case you will receive
a pro-rata refund of your registration fee in respect of any unexpired
portion of the term.
10.4. If you wish to contact us our postal address is Nominet UK,
Sandford Gate, Sandy Lane West, Oxford, OX4 6LB, England and our
telephone number is +44(0) 1865 332211. Our offices are open from
9.00a.m. to 5.30pm (UK local time) Monday to Friday, except for
public holidays. Except as set out in the Policy and Procedure any
notice to be given under the Contract shall only be deemed to be
served if delivered by hand or sent by pre-paid post, by fax or
e-mail, to the party to whom it is given at its last known postal
or e-mail address or fax number. Except as otherwise set out in
the Policy and Procedure the notice will be effective: if delivered,
on delivery; if sent by fax or email, on the date of sending; and
if by post, on the date of posting. For the avoidance of doubt,
any notice sent to you will be deemed served if sent to the address
appearing in your Registrant's address field.
10.5. This contract is a binding document. Consumers should read
it carefully and ensure that it contains everything you want and
nothing you are not prepared to agree to. These terms and conditions,
together with the Rules Policy and Procedure, constitute the entire
agreement between you and us for the registration of the Domain
Name, and supersedes all prior agreements, understandings and representations
whether oral or written.
10.6. These terms and conditions shall be governed by the relevant
United Kingdom law, and by agreeing to be bound by them you agree
to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the relevant courts of
the United Kingdom.
|
|