These Domain Services Terms and Conditions are supplemental to the General Terms and Conditions, including the Acceptable Use Policy and the Data Protection Policy and apply to the provision of any domain related services by MSDL Limited (‘MSDL’). The ordering of Domain services from MSDL constitutes acceptance by the Client of the General Terms and Conditions and these Domain Products Terms and Conditions..
1. General Domain Service Terms
1.1. The Client acknowledges that registration of a Domain is subject to third party terms and conditions including those from the relevant registry for the Domain extension. The Client confirms that it will at all times and in all respects comply with ICANN’s and any relevant registry’s terms and conditions for domain registration and use. Further, the Client indemnifies both MSDL Ltd and the applicable registry for a Domain in respect of the Client’s use of the Domain and in respect of the Client’s failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement or any failure to comply with ICANN or the registry’s terms and conditions.
1.2. The Client acknowledges and accepts that domain registration and renewal services are limited to the forwarding by MSDL Ltd of the Client’s request to register or renew a domain to the relevant registry for that domain. It is at all times the Client’s responsibility to check that a Domain has been registered and/or renewed with the registry as appropriate.
1.3. The Client warrants that the registration of a domain name requested by a Client (‘a Domain’) and the manner in which it is to be used, either directly or indirectly:
1.3.1. will not infringe any third party rights, including third party intellectual property rights;
1.3.2. Is not being made in bad faith or could otherwise be considered to be an abusive registration under the dispute resolution procedures or policies of any relevant registry or of ICANN; and
1.3.3. will at no time be used for an unlawful purpose whatsoever.
1.4. While MSDL shall use reasonable endeavours to register a Domain, the Client accepts that MSDL is not required to accept any request to register a Domain or to continue with any attempt to register a Domain if the Domain is not capable of registration.
1.5. MSDL makes no representations, express of implied, that a particular Domain is available for registration and MSDL Ltd accepts no liability for failure to register a Domain for any reason.
1.6. MSDL may from time to time change the registrar that a Domain is held with, at its discretion and without notice to the Client.
1.7. The Client accepts and consents to MSDL making the Client’s registration details in relation to the Domain available to third parties including ICANN and the applicable registry for the Domain as applicable including to law enforcement and governmental bodies as required by law.
1.8. The Client accepts and consents to MSDL making publicly available certain of the Client’s information, for example by inclusion in the whois database, as required by law or for any other purpose required or permitted by ICANN, a relevant registry or any regulatory body. The Client consents to any and all such disclosures as set out in clauses 1.7 and 1.8 and waives any cause of action it may have against MSDL in this respect.
1.9. In the event that the Client has not purchased the Whois Privacy Service, the Client must ensure that its details on the whois database are accurate and current failing which the Domain may be suspended by MSDL, ICANN or the relevant registry until such time as the Client can prove that the details on the whois database are accurate.
1.10. The Client consents to Domains registered through MSDL having [locks] automatically applied to such Domains.
2. Domain Renewals
2.1. MSDL Ltd shall only endeavour to automatically renew a Domain on a Client’s behalf when it is due for renewal subject to the following:
2.1.1. the Client has requested in writing for the domain to be automatically renewed.
2.1.2. the Client has a valid and up-to-date payment method of its account.
2.2. If either 2.1.1 or 2.1.2. above apply then MSDL shall not automatically renew a Domain and the Client is entirely responsible for any consequences of a Domain not being renewed.
2.3. Domains which are automatically renewed by MSDL will be ordinarily renewed for the same duration as the initial registration period. Clients may select a different renewal period by making the request in writing.
2.4. Where applicable MSDL shall take payment for Domain renewals up to 7 days prior to the Domain renewal date in order to ensure that the Domain is renewed on time.
2.5. MSDL may request direct debit payments up to 15 days prior to the renewal date for a Domain and that payment will be taken 6 days after that initial request.
2.6. Domain renewals shall be charged at MSDL’s prevailing rate at the time of the renewals. MSDL prevailing rates can be located on MSDL website (www.msdl.net).
2.7. If a Domain is not renewed by the applicable renewal date then the Domain shall become an Expired Domain and clause 6 below shall apply.
2.8. Most Domains can be registered and/or renewed for up to ten years, however, certain Domains are subject to restrictions on the length of initial registration or renewal. These restrictions are set by the respective registries.
3. Domain Cancellations
3.1. Domain will automatically cancel on their renewal date unless renewed by any of the methods previously described.
3.2. If the Domain is purchased alongside another MSDL service then the Client must cancel both the Domain and the other MSDL service separately. Cancellation of either the Domain or any other service will not automatically cancel the other.
4. Domain Refunds
4.1. Domain registrations and/or renewals are non-refundable by MSDL in whole or in part.
4.2. Once a Domain has been registered by the applicable registry, MSDL is unable to refund any receipts in respect of that Domain. This is due to the bespoke nature of Domains and the Client accepts this to be a fair apportionment of risk given MSDL’s inability to claim a refund from the relevant registry.
4.3. Any refund on a Domain prior to registration with the relevant registry is entirely at MSDL’s discretion.
4.4. The Client accepts that MSDL is unable to verify or check for errors in Domain registration requests. Accordingly, the Client is solely responsible for ensuring that a Domain has the correct or intended spelling.
4.5. As set out in the General Terms and Conditions and above, Domain registrations are a bespoke purchase to the Client’s specification and accordingly the Client, when a consumer, waives any right to a cooling off period that may be applicable. If the Client as a consumer is not willing to waive such right then the Client must make MSDL aware of the same and MSDL will be unable to register a Domain until after the applicable cooling off period has expired.
5. Domain Transfer & Ownership Terms
5.1. MSDL shall determinate the ownership of a registered Domain by reference to the details held on the whois database. If the whois database details are not determinative, then MSDL shall be entitled to request whatever supporting evidence it may require to ascertain ownership.
5.2. In the event that ownership of a registered Domain is disputed then the Client agrees to make all reasonable efforts to resolve such dispute with the third party, including before involving MSDL and at MSDL’s request.
5.3. If a Client wishes to transfer ownership of a registered Domain the Client must:
5.3.1. ensure that all necessary consents and permissions to that transfer have been obtained;
5.3.2. deliver to MSDL documentary evidence of all such relevant consents and permissions;
5.3.3. accept that MSDL Ltd is under no obligation to carry out any transfer request if the Client fails to satisfy MSDL that the documentation provided shows the transfer to be properly requested or authorised or where the Client has not complied with this clause 5.3.
5.4. The transfer service offered by MSDL is supplied on the basis that the Client is solely responsible for changing the tag of the domain to MSDL and to ensure that the transfer completes to the Client’s specifications. If a transfer is cancelled, the Client will be responsible for contacting MSDL to request a refund for the incomplete transfer, if applicable
5.5. The Client accepts that the transfer of a gTLD Domain may require MSDL to carry out a manual transfer. In such event, the Client agrees to pay the applicable manual transfer fee to MSDL as requested by the TLD Registry transfer process.
5.6. On transfer, the Client can select to register the transferred domain for a minimum term of one year up to a maximum term of ten years, on certain domains.
5.7. MSDL will only allow a domain name owned or managed by the Client to be attached to the IPS tag of MSDL if the Client has an active DNS hosting account or agreement with MSDL.
5.8. The Client agrees that on to transferring ownership of a registered Domain to another person or registering a Domain on behalf of another person (the “Transferee”) the Client will confirm and prove that the Transferee agrees in writing to be bound by the terms of the Agreement at MSDL’s request.
5.9. MSDL will not transfer ownership of a Domain until all Fees attributable to the services associated with the account, which are due have been paid by the Client to MSDL.
5.10. In the event that MSDL receives a complaint in regards to trademark / brand infringement, MSDL has the right to place a Domain on hold and move into the MSDL holding account. MSDL shall take this action if in receipt of a decision from a Domain Dispute Resolution and/or a settlement agreement between the parties concerned. Any renewal payments must be paid to MSDL by the Client.
5.11. In the event of receiving documentation which matches the WHOIS details, MSDL reserves the right to move a Domain from the current Domain holder’s account into an MSDL holding account, lock the domain and place a registrar hold on it. MSDL shall not move the Domain from this status until it is satisfied that the dispute has been resolved between the parties concerned, with documentation provided to MSDL by both parties proving the same. This documentation may include a court order, an email/letter/legal document from the current domain holder and the complainant both stipulating the transfer of the domain to the complainant.
5.12. For all applicable gTLDs the Client agrees that MSDL will act as a Designated Agent, in accordance with ICANN’s Transfer Policy, for the Client whenever a request is made to update the registrant contact details associated with a Domain. In that respect, the Client expressly authorises MSDL to approve a change of registrant of any change to the registrant’s details on behalf of the Client.
5.13. The Client acknowledges and accepts that where MSDL takes an action on a Domain as a Designated Agent under clause 5.12 then such Domain will be opted out from any 60-day transfer lock period.
6. Expired Domains
6.1. In the event that a domain name is not renewed by its expiry date it shall cease to operate and shall be deemed to be expired.
6.2. A registered Domain shall expire if MSDL is unable to take payment via the method stored on the Client’s MSDL account, where the Client has set the Domain to expire or where the Client fails to manually renew the Domain by the renewal date.
6.3. It is the Client’s responsibility to ensure that the email address stored on its’ MSDL account is up to date and is able to receive renewal reminders from MSDL.
6.4. Following the expiry date, a domain may enter a grace and/or redemption period but this is solely determined by the individual registrar.
6.5. Domains from registries which do not allow for a grace and/or redemption period may be unrecoverable by the Client or MSDL following the expiry date and in such circumstances MSDL’s agreement with the Client for that Domain will terminate immediately and without liability to MSDL. Further, MSDL is under no duty to attempt to recover such Domain(s).
6.6. The Client acknowledges that three (3) calendar days after the date of expiration of a Domain, MSDL may in its sole discretion carry out the following actions:
6.6.1. renew the Domain
6.6.2. park the Domain on different name servers from those set by the Client including the MSDL name servers.
6.7. Clients acknowledge and agree that MSDL Ltd is not obliged to take any action to renew or recover a Domain in the Redemption Period and will only make such attempts once the Client has paid both the redemption and renewal fees to MSDL Ltd.
6.8. MSDL will make best endeavours to renew Domain(s) on behalf of the Client. However, MSDL Ltd make no guarantee that attempted renewals, including attempts to renew expired domains, will be successful and it is the Client’s responsibility to check the WHOIS database, and any other source, to ensure the Domain name has been renewed.
7. Domain Backordering
7.1. MSDL do not offer a backordering service.