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Terms
and Conditions of the NOMINET UK Registry
updated
July 2002
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. ou 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/drs.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.
1.
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 authorization directly from you.
2.
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.
3.
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.
4.
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 authorizing 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.
5.
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.
6.
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:
a.
Posted onto the Register;
b. 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
c.
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;
d.
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
e.
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.
7.
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.
8.
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.
9.
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.
10.
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.
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