The following
terms and conditions are specified by Nominet
on their website at: http://www.nic.uk/ReferenceDocuments/TermsAndConditions/.
These conditions apply to all registrations
of domain names finishing .uk, i.e. .co.uk,
.org.uk, .me.uk, etc
Warning:
By registering
a domain name ending in .uk (with some very
limited exceptions), you enter into a contract
of registration with us (Nominet UK) on
the following conditions, which includes
conditions limiting our liability and relating
to our use of your personal information.
This contract is just for the domain name
and separate to any arrangement you may
have with any other organisation for providing
internet services. For an explanation
of the meaning of the endings of .uk names,
see the rules on our website at www.nominet.org.uk
We are a not-for-profit
company limited by guarantee, generally
performing these services on a cost-recovery
basis, and we cannot investigate what rights
you have to register or use the domain
name. So, we think it is reasonable
for us 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
the DRS
policy, the DRS
procedure and the rules.
You can get copies of these from our website
or from us. Other policies we refer to do
not form part of this contract and may change
at any time.
Definitions
1 The following words marked
in bold will have specific
meanings in this contract.
'agent'
- Someone who may act on your behalf to
deal with us, which will be shown in the
WHOIS. Only certain people
qualify, and they are known as 'tag-holders'.
See our website for a list.
'cancel'
- Cancelling this contract and your domain
name are the same thing. The contract
ends. The domain name will be deleted, will
no longer work as part of a website or e-mail,
and will be released to be registered again
under our rules.
'consumer'
- You are a consumer if you
are an individual not registering, using
or planning to use the domain name
as part of a business, trade or profession.
'correct'
- This means that the information must be
good enough to allow us to contact you quickly
at any reasonable time without having to
get information from anywhere else, must
not be deceptive, and (if possible for that
type of information) must clearly identify
you. For your name this also means that
the information must be detailed enough
that we can tell exactly who you are (in
legal terms, exactly which legal entity
we have this contract with).
'domain name'
- An internet domain name ending in .uk
and under one of the second level domains
(such as .co.uk, .me.uk or .org.uk) operated
by us.
'DRS policy',
'DRS procedure' - The policy
and procedure of our dispute resolution
service.
'EEA'
- The European Economic Area, which includes
most European countries. Countries outside
the EEA may not have strict laws to protect
personal information.
'name servers'
- Computers that provide specific translation
information in the domain name system.
'notify'
- Serving notice to you, your agent,
authorised representative, contact (see
condition 5.5) or us (see
condition 36).
'personal data'
- Any information about an identifiable
living person (for example, your name, address
or phone number).
'PRSS'
- A service provided under strict contract
to some people based in the EEA
which allows them to search WHOIS
data differently, but not to use it for
marketing purposes.
'register'
- Our record of domain names and details
about you, your agent (if
you have one) and other information we need.
'registry'
- The single organisation which holds all
records for domain names with the same ending
(we run '.uk') and operates the
name servers for that domain.
'rules'
- Our rules which explain which domain names
can be registered and which cannot.
'special status'
- Various special states your domain
name may be in, such as suspended
or 'detagged'. See our website for details.
This will normally mean that you will remain
listed as the person who has registered
the domain name but the
domain name itself will
not work, and may mean that other actions
with the domain name are
blocked.
'WHOIS'
- A system which provides public information
about domain names. See
our website for details and how to use the
WHOIS.
2 Also in this contract,
the following words have special meanings
but will not be put in bold.
'conditions' - includes
all parts of the contract, not just those
that lawyers call conditions.
'we', 'us', 'our' - Nominet
UK (company number 3203859). See condition
35.
'you', 'your' - The person
who is entering into this contract with
us and who the domain name
will be registered for.
What we will do
3 We are the registry
for the .uk domain and we will carry out
the general duties that we believe (after
wide consultation) a modern, neutral and
not-for-profit .uk registry
should.
This includes (among other
things):
3.1 processing your application
to register or renew a domain name
in the light of our rules,
and your right (see condition 20) to renew;
3.2 maintaining overall
ownership, control and responsibility for
the register;
3.3 if we are listed as
your agent or if it would
be inappropriate for you to ask your agent
to act (see condition 5) making changes
to the register at your
request or providing information about the
.uk domain name system;
3.4 if the domain
name is not in a special
status, entering details about
the domain name into our
name servers; and
3.5 publishing procedures
for you to renew the domain name
and for recording a transfer, surrender
or change of agent for the domain
name.
What you must do
4 You have various responsibilities
set out generally in this contract. You
must also:
4.1 give and keep us notified
of your correct name, postal
address and any phone, fax or e-mail information
and those of your contacts (if you appoint
any, see condition 5.2). This duty includes
responding quickly and correctly to any
request from us to confirm or correct the
information on the register;
4.2 notify
us at once about any court proceedings which
involve the domain name;
and
4.3 notify
us of the details of name servers
for the domain name which
you are allowed to use and which respond
promptly and correctly about the domain
name at all reasonable times.
Agents, representatives
and security
5 For the security of your domain
name we have the following procedures
to try to make sure that our instructions
come from you or someone allowed to act
on your behalf.
5.1 We do not have to take
any action, or make any change to the register,
until we are satisfied that we have received
a valid request from the right person.
5.2 You will help us with
our security checks, provide any identification
or documentary evidence we reasonably ask
for, and allow us to keep copies of those
documents for our files.
5.3 If you have an identifier
(for example, a password, a token, personal
information or a code) to use with us or
our systems, you must keep it secret and
safe because we will be allowed to assume
that any action done or asked for using
that identifier or a product of it was done
or asked for by you or by someone authorised
to act for you. We will be entitled to enforce
procedures for dealing with lost, cancelled
or insecure identifiers.
5.4 Your agent
acts on your behalf in registering and maintaining
the registration of the domain name
so that, unless the matter relates to something
covered by condition 5.6 below, any communication
to or from your agent is
taken as being to or from you. You should
always contact your agent
first with any request or question about
your domain name or changes
to it, as we will only act if we are satisfied
that your agent cannot or will not. Be aware
that your agent may be
entitled to discounts on our
fees so it may be cheaper for you to go
through them.
5.5 We may also specify
other types of authorised representative
or contact whose instructions we will accept
in certain cases, what types of instructions
they can give us, and whether they can take
your place if we need to notify
you. If you notify us that
you want someone to represent you, you are
giving them power to act and us power to
act on their instructions and (if this applies)
notify them instead of
or as well as you.
5.6 We will publish on
our website from time to time certain activities
which your agent is not
allowed to do on your behalf or where we
want to deal with you directly (or both).
Fees and payment
6 We are a not-for-profit organisation so
our fees (see our website) reflect the cost
of the work we do. To make sure that every
person who registers a domain name pays
their fair share of the costs of running
the central registry, we:
6.1 may make a charge for
any of the services we provide under this
contract, as long as (where only we can
provide the service) we believe the fee
is set at a not-for-profit cost-recovery
level only;
6.2 do not have to start
any process, including any change to the
register, until we (not
just your agent) have received (within any
time limit) any fee for that action and
any other fees that have not been paid for
the domain name or things
done with it - it is your duty to make sure
that we are paid and that there is enough
information with the payment to make sure
that we know which domain name
it relates to;
6.3 may cancel the domain
name without further notice if
any debt relating to the domain
name remains unpaid after the deadline
we have set; and
6.4 unless condition 24
or 34 applies, or we have made a significant
mistake, will not provide credit notes or
refunds.
Your promises and
indemnity
7 By entering into this contract
you promise that:
7.1 you (or your agent)
have the permission of any person whose
personal data is to be
held on the register in
line with condition 11;
7.2 any identity and contact
information you (either yourself or through
your agent) send us must
be correct;
7.3 you will send us the
information needed under condition 7.2 as
soon as possible, through your agent
if possible, and you will keep them up to
date;
7.4 by registering or using
the domain name in any
way, you will not infringe the intellectual
property rights (for example, trademarks)
of anyone else;
7.5 you are entitled to
register the domain name;
and
7.6 you have not registered
the domain name in a way
that fails to meet with any legal duty you
have.
8 Unless you are a consumer,
you will pay us (including the current or
past members of our Board of Directors)
any and all reasonable costs, claims and
expenses (whether direct or indirect) arising
out of any claim that you have broken any
of the promises in condition 7.
9 Our right to rely on
the promises in condition 7 and indemnity
in condition 8 will continue to be available
after the domain name has
been registered and will not be affected
by the cancellation or transfer of the domain
name.
Nature of domain
names and the register
10 A domain name is not an item of property
and has no 'owner'. It is an entry on our
register database reflected
by our nameservers which
we provide as part of this contract. As
a result:
10.1 we will not be bound
by, or record on the register,
any mortgage-related obligations;
10.2 we own and keep all
copyright and database rights in the register;
and
10.3 you should not rely
on the registration or continued registration
of the domain name until
we confirm that any application you make
has completed and you confirm that your
correct name is recorded
in the register for the
domain name.
Personal data
11 We will make your personal data
available in the following ways, but not
release it for any other purpose to any
other person. We may:
11.1 include it on the
register;
11.2 include it on the
WHOIS (which is also available
outside the EEA) and PRSS.
For these purposes we will publish your
name and (unless you are a consumer
and choose to opt out) your address, but
not your phone or fax number or e-mail address;
11.3 if they ask in writing,
give your personal data
to people with a legitimate reason for asking
for it (based on the exemptions in the Data
Protection Act 1998 or similar laws that
replace or follow it), including government
or law enforcement agencies;
11.4 give your personal
data to your current or proposed
agent (or both); and
11.5 use it as set out
in the DRS policy and
DRS procedure.
12 You may write to us
to ask for a copy of the personal
data we hold about you, or you
can look at the WHOIS,
or you can ask your agent.
Please note that if, at any point, we discover
that you are not a consumer,
we may automatically cancel your opt-out
(see condition 11.2) without notifying
you.
13 By registering a domain
name you agree to us using your personal
data as explained in conditions
11 and 12.
The dispute resolution
service
14 You agree to be bound by:
14.1 the DRS policy
and DRS procedure; and
14.2 if there is a dispute,
the version of the DRS policy
and DRS procedure (available
on our website) which applies at the time
that proceedings under the dispute resolution
service start, until the dispute is over.
15 We (including in this
case our directors, officers, staff of all
types and any expert) will not:
15.1 be liable to you or
anyone else for anything done or not done
in connection with any proceedings under
the dispute resolution service, unless the
act or lack of action is shown to have been
in bad faith; and
15.2 be asked or forced
to reveal information or materials which
we gained as a result of the informal mediation
stage of the dispute resolution service,
unless ordered by a court with relevant
jurisdiction.
Cancelling or altering
the domain name
16 We may cancel or put
the domain name into a
special status by notifying
you if:
16.1 we receive independent
proof that you have provided significantly
inaccurate, not correct,
unreliable or false contact details (including
names), failed to keep your contact details
up to date, or failed to give us those details
at all;
16.2 you have broken any
part of condition 7 or 8;
16.3 the domain
name is being used in a way that
is likely to endanger any part of the domain
name system or our systems and
internet connections; or
16.4 you have broken any
of the conditions (including the rules,
DRS policy and DRS
procedure) and (in the case of
a matter which it is possible to put right
and which is not covered by condition 6.3,
16.1 to 16.3 or 17) you do not put it right
within 30 days of us notifying
you.
17 We may (but do not have
to) transfer, cancel, alter or amend the
domain name, put it in
a special status or prevent
its renewal:
17.1 on your instructions
(including the absence of instructions to
renew - see condition 20), or by someone
apparently acting for you (see condition
5);
17.2 if we reasonably believe
that the contact details on the register
for you are so inaccurate or false that
we would not be able to notify
you of the change;
17.3 if we reasonably believe
that the changes to update the register
or to correct any error, ambiguity or inaccuracy
relating to the domain name
registration (including any error in making
the domain name available
for registration or an error in a previous
cancellation of the domain name)
would make it more accurate;
17.4 if you withdraw your
permission to having your personal
data displayed on the WHOIS
or PRSS (not including
cases where a consumer
is using the opt-out);
17.5 to carry out the decision
an expert has made under our dispute resolution
service; or
17.6 if we
receive a complete and valid court order
which we or you (or both) must obey, or
if not making the changes the court orders
would be a contempt of court by us or you.
18 If you are an individual,
this contract will end if you die and the
person legally appointed to deal with your
assets after you die does not transfer the
domain name (either to themselves or someone
else) within a year of your death (or the
end of their appointment, whichever comes
first).
19 If you are not an individual,
this contract will end if you complete a
liquidation or disbandment process or otherwise
no longer exist, even if (where possible)
you are later restored by an official or
court order or decision.
Duration, renewal
and transfer
20 Unless ended earlier under this
contract, we will enter
your domain name on the
register for two years.
If we receive your renewal request and fee
in the standard format by the deadline we
set, and in line with the conditions of
this contract generally, you will have the
right to enter into a new contract with
us on the same standard conditions that
we are then offering to people registering
new domain names. The specific procedure
which applies to renewals is set out on
our website, or you can ask your agent.
21 We may transfer our
rights and responsibilities under this contract
to anyone else.
22 If you want to transfer
your domain name to someone
else, you must, as well as any general requirements
in this contract:
22.1 use our current published
transfer process; and
22.2 make sure that the
person taking over the domain name
accepts what remains of this contract in
full.
23 If you do not transfer
your domain name (as needed
by condition 22) there will be no valid
transfer of this contract and domain
name, and no document or agreement
attempting or claiming to transfer the domain
name or this contract (or both)
will have any effect.
24 If you are a consumer,
you may have a right to cancel this contract
under the Consumer Protection (Distance
Selling) Regulations 2000 or similar laws
amending or replacing it. The right must
be claimed within seven working days of
the start of the services (which include
security-check work). If this happens, we
will cancel this domain name
and provide you or your agent
(depending on who paid us) a full refund
within 30 days. If we pay your agent,
you may still have to get a refund from
them.
Exclusions and
limitations of liability
25 Please note the explanation about liability
at the beginning of this contract. However,
nothing in these terms limits or excludes
our liability for fraudulent misrepresentation
or death or personal injury caused by our
negligence.
26 By registering the domain
name, we are not acknowledging
that you have any rights in any words within
the domain name, and we
are not authorising you to use the domain
name as part of a business.
27 We will not be liable
to you whether under contract law, the legal
rules about duties to other people (known
as the law of 'tort') including negligence
or otherwise, for:
27.1 any loss of profit,
revenue or other type of economic loss (whether
direct or indirect);
27.2 loss of business or
contracts;
27.3 loss of expected savings
or goodwill; or
27.4 any losses which a
court categorises as 'consequential', or
'indirect' arising out of or in connection
with the contract, including but not limited
to:
27.4.1 any mistake or missing
information in the register;
and
27.4.2 loss of registration
or use, or both (for whatever reason and
whether temporary or otherwise), of the
domain name.
28 The law normally implies
terms into contracts, but you and we agree
that, as far as the law allows, they do
not apply to this contract.
29 Our total liability
to you, whether under these conditions or
otherwise (including liability for negligence),
will be no more than £5,000.
30 If you are a consumer,
conditions 27, 28 and 29 do not apply to
you. Your statutory rights are not affected
- for information contact your local authority
Trading Standards . Department or your citizens
advice bureau.
31 Conditions 11.1, 18,
19 and 25 to 39 will continue to apply after
this contract has ended, even if that happens
because we or you end this contract wrongfully.
General
32 If a court rules that any of these conditions
is not valid or cannot be enforced, the
other conditions will continue to be valid
and enforceable.
33 This contract does not
give you any legal rights against other
people who have registered .uk domain names
or give other people rights against us for
any reason.
34 The internet is constantly
changing and developing. As a result of
this, we reserve the right to make reasonable
changes to the terms of this contract (including
the DRS policy, DRS
procedure and rules)
at any time during the term of the contract.
We will only do so when we have good reason.
Unless we are acting because of a legal
requirement or a court order, the change
will only be made after we have consulted
publicly. We will publish a notice in advance
(ideally, 30 days in advance) on our website
and provide a link from the main page. The
changes will apply from the date shown in
the notice. You should visit our website
regularly to find out about any changes.
If you do not agree with any change to the
conditions, you may notify
us that you want to end the contract in
at least 30 days' time. In this case, we
will give you a proportionate refund of
the registration for the remaining period.
35 Our address is Nominet
UK, Sandford Gate, Sandy Lane West, Oxford,
OX4 6LB, England (phone +44(0)1865 332211,
fax +44(0)1865 332299,
e-mail: nominet@nominet.org.uk).
Our offices are open from 9am to 5.30pm
(UK local time) Monday to Friday, except
for public holidays.
36 Except as set out in
condition 5.4, or in the DRS policy
and DRS procedure, any
notice to be given under the contract will:
36.1 be considered to have
been served if hand-delivered, or sent by
prepaid post, fax or e-mail, to you, your
agent or representative
(see condition 5.5) at any postal or e-mail
address or fax number on the appropriate
register entry (if to us,
at any of the addresses above); and
36.2 apply from the date
it was delivered, or if not delivered the
date it was sent or posted.
37 This contract is a legally
binding document. You should read it carefully
and make sure that it contains everything
you want and nothing you are not prepared
to agree to. These conditions, together
with the rules, DRS
policy and DRS procedure,
are the entire contract between you and
us for the domain name,
and replace all previous contracts, understandings
and representations about this domain
name, whether spoken or written.
38 We deal with a large
number of domain names
and we rely on you or other people to tell
us about any changes to your personal information
or status. This means that sometimes we
continue to list a domain name
or accept instructions even after this contract
has ended, or should have been ended. Nothing
we do, or do not do, during that period
stops the contract from ending, stops us
from ending it, or acts to create a new
contract.
39 This contract is made
under the law of England and any court proceedings
must be in the English courts. If you are
a consumer in Scotland,
Wales or Northern Ireland, we will accept
your local law and courts. Enforcement of
a court order may be done in any law or
court system that is relevant. |
