Secure Whois Service Agreement

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PLEASE READ THIS SECURE WHOIS SERVICE AGREEMENT ("AGREEMENT") CAREFULLY. BY USING THE SERVICES AND OR WEB SITE OF SECURE WHOIS, INC. ("SWI"), YOU AGREE TO ALL THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET FORTH BOTH HEREIN AND IN THE SWI PRIVACY POLICY, WHICH IS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE.


Secure Whois services are provided by Secure Whois, Inc., hereinafter referred to as "SWI", an Illinois corporation. This Secure Whois Service Agreement ("Agreement") sets forth the terms and conditions agreed to between you (whether directly or through your agent, or as an agent for another person or entity), your heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns (collectively hereinafter referred to as "You" or "Your") and SWI, relating to Your use of SWI services.

You acknowledge that You have read, understand and agree to be bound by all the terms and conditions of this Agreement, and You further agree to be bound by the terms of this Agreement for transactions entered into by: (i) You on Your behalf; (ii) anyone acting as Your agent; (iii) anyone who uses the account You have established with SWI, whether or not the transactions were on Your behalf and/or authorized by You.

You further agree to abide by the terms and conditions promulgated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN") (including the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy ("Dispute Resolution Policy") ( http://www.icann.org/dndr/udrp/policy.htm) and Your ICANN accredited Registrar.


1. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES

Secure Whois is a service that allows You to control a domain name while retaining Your privacy. SWI services allow You to direct SWI to register a domain name on Your behalf from an affiliated Registrar. By utilizing SWI services, SWI will be the Registrant of record and SWI's contact information will appear in the publicly available "Whois" directory as required by ICANN policy. Subject to termination of SWI services as set forth in Section 4 of this Agreement, SWI will keep Your name, postal address, telephone number fax number, and email address confidential.
SWI services are also available for domain names that are transferred to an affiliated Registrar.


2. CONTROL OF THE DOMAIN NAME

While the Agreement is in effect, You shall retain control over each domain name registration as if you were the Registrant. You control all the domain registration information including the ability to:

 
(a) Designate the primary and secondary name servers;
(b) Sell, cancel, transfer or assign each domain name registration;
(c) Renew the domain name registration, subject to Your Registrar's rules and policies;
(d) Cancel Secure Whois services and become the Registrant of record;
(e) Resolve dispute involving Your domain name registration, subject to
SWI's Section 5 rights, which shall in all events supersede any and all of
Your rights as set forth in this Section 2. Your rights as set forth in this Section 2.


3. YOUR INFORMATION OBLIGATIONS

a. Obligation to Provide Accurate Information.

You acknowledge and agree that in order for SWI to provide you Secure Whois services, You must, at all times, provide SWI with the following accurate, current and complete information:

 
  (i) The domain name being registered;
  (ii) Your full name (or the name of the authorized person for contact purposes if the
domain holder is an organization, association, or corporation), postal address, email
address, voice telephone number, and fax number;
  (iii) The full name, postal address, email address, voice telephone number, and where
available, fax number for the administrative contact, technical contact and billing
contact for the domain name;
  (iv) The IP addresses and the names of the primary and secondary name servers to
which each domain name points;
  (v) A valid credit card with a valid expiration date.

You also acknowledge and agree that when You renew a domain name registration, the type of information You are required to provide SWI may have changed. If You do not wish to provide SWI the new required information, Your SWI services will not be renew.

 

b. Failure to Maintain Information Will Result in Cancellation.

You acknowledge and agree that it is Your responsibility to keep Your personal and contact information accurate, current, and complete at all times. Any of the following actions or in-actions shall constitute a material breach of this Agreement and shall be a sufficient basis for cancellation of Your SWI services:

 
  (i) Provision of inaccurate or unreliable personal or contact information
  (ii) Failure to promptly update Your personal or contact information;
  (iii) Failure to respond within five (5) calendar days to our inquires concerning the
accuracy of any personal or contact information You provided upon subscribing to
SWI services; or
  (iv) Failure to respond to email messages forwarded to Your SWI account that involve
the registration of Your domain name.

c. Privacy Policy.

You acknowledge and agree that SWI will maintain all information about You. You can read to the SWI privacy policy by clicking here.

 


4. RENEWAL OF SERVICES

a. Automatic Renew of SWI Services.   You may elect to automatically renew SWI's services by entering Your SWI account at www.securewhois.com and selecting the automatic renew option. Your credit card will be charged the then applicable renewal fee and once charged, will be non-refundable. It is Your responsibility to keep Your credit card information current, accurate, and complete, including the expiration date.

b. SWI Renewal Notice and Fees.  If you chose not to utilize the automatic renewal of SWI services, then You will be notified via email that SWI renewal fees are due at least thirty (30) days prior to the expiration date of SWI services. You will receive additional notifications as the expiration date approaches.

All emails will be sent to the email address You provide to SWI pursuant to Section 3 of this Agreement. We are not responsible for the loss or misdirection of the email expiration notices, including but not limited to, emails lost due to an invalid email address in our system, a spam filter on the mail server, or any other impediment to delivery. Emails are sent as a courtesy only, the responsibility of renewing SWI services lies solely with the SWI account holder. Any renewal of SWI services is subject to SWI's then current terms and conditions, the payment of all applicable service fees at the time of renewal, and, if applicable, the domain name registry's acceptance of the renewal of Your domain name registration.

c. Failure to Renew SWI Services.   You agree that if You fail to renew Your SWI services, upon expiration of SWI services, You will become the Registrant of the domain name registration. This means that the information You supplied SWI pursuant to Section 3 of this Agreement will appear in the publicly available "Whois" directory as determined by ICANN policy.


5. TERMINATION OF SERVICES

a. SWI's Absolute Right to Terminate Services

 
YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT SWI HAS THE ABSOLUTE RIGHT AND POWER, IN ITS SOLE AND ABSOLUTE DISCRETION AND WITHOUT ANY LIABILITY TO YOU WHATSOEVER, TO TERMINATE YOUR SWI SERVICES AND TO DISCLOSE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION, FOR ANY REASON AND AT ANY TIME.

 
You further understand and agree that if SWI elects to terminate Your SWI services, SWI will (i) close Your account, (ii) You will become the Registrant of the domain name registration, and (iii) Your name and personal information that You provided to SWI will appear in the publicly available Whois directory.

 
Listed below are some, but not all, of the situations when SWI will terminate Your SWI services:

 
  (i) SWI subjectively believes You have breached any provision of this Agreement;
  (ii) SWI subjectively believes You are using a domain name to email, transmit or
otherwise make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional
materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," or any other
form of solicitation. (Please read our complete Spam Policy);
  (iii) SWI subjectively believes termination of Your SWI services is required in order for
SWI to comply with any applicable laws, government rules or regulations, court
orders, subpoenas, or requests of law enforcement;
  (iv) SWI subjectively believes termination of Your SWI services is required in order to
protect the integrity and stability of the applicable domain name Registry;
  (v) SWI subjectively believes termination of Your SWI services is required to resolve
third party claims, whether threatened or made, arising out of Your use of a domain
name registered by SWI on Your behalf;
  (vi) SWI subjectively believes termination of Your SWI services is required to comply
with ICANN's Dispute Resolution Policy;
  (vii) SWI subjectively believes termination of Your SWI services is required to avoid any
financial loss or legal liability (civil or criminal) on the part of SWI, its affiliates,
shareholders, agents, officers, directors and employees;
  (viii) SWI subjectively believes that the domain name SWI registered on Your behalf
violates or infringes a third party's trademark, trade name, service mark, or other
legal rights;
  (ix) SWI subjectively believes that You are using SWI's services for purposes of
engaging in, participating in, sponsoring or hiding Your involvement in, illegal or
morally objectionable activities, including but not limited to, activities which are
designed, intended to or otherwise:


 
  A. appeal purely to the prurient interests of third parties;
  B. defame, embarrass, harm, abuse, threaten, or harass third parties;
  C. violate state or federal laws of the United States and/or foreign territories;
  D. involve hate crimes, terrorism, or child pornography;
  E. are tortious, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of a third party's privacy,
racially, ethnically, or otherwise objectionable;
  F. impersonate the identity of a person or entity or otherwise misrepresent Your
affiliation with a person or entity;
  G. harm minors in any way; or
  H. email, transmit or otherwise make available any material that contains
software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to
interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or
hardware or telecommunications equipment;
  I. SWI is named as a defendant in, or investigated in anticipation of, any legal
or administrative proceeding arising out of Your domain
name registration or Your use of SWI's services

b. Fees are Non-Refundable

 
In the event SWI terminates Your SWI services or You elect to cancel SWI's services for any reason, SWI will not refund any fees paid by You.
 


6. COMMUNICATIONS FORWARDING

a. Email Forwarding.  The Whois directory requires an email address for every domain name registration. When You register a domain through a SWI affiliated Registrar, SWI creates a dynamic email address for that domain. Thereafter, when messages are sent to Your dynamic email address, SWI will forward all messages to the email address you supplied SWI in Section 3(a)(ii) of this Agreement. SWI will not review any of Your email. You agree to waive any and all claims arising from Your failure to receive emails directed or forwarded to Your email address but not received by You
 

b. Snail Mail Forwarding.  Since SWI's postal address will be listed in the Whois directory, SWI will receive all communications addressed to Your domain name. You hereby authorize and direct SWI to forward all legal notices or communications received via certified or traceable courier mail (such as UPS, FedEx, or DHL) to You. All communications that are forwarded to You will be sent via traceable courier mail at Your expense and charged to Your credit card supplied in Section 3 of this Agreement.

You acknowledge that SWI will not forward first class postal mail (other than legal notices), "junk" mail or other unsolicited communications (whether delivered through fax, postal mail or telephone), and You authorize and direct SWI to either discard all such communications or return all such communications to sender unopened. You agree to waive any and all claims arising from Your failure to receive communications directed to Your domain name but not forwarded to You by SWI.

You specifically acknowledge and accept these terms and conditions and understand that this action is taken to insure that SWI will not become involved in any matters, legal or otherwise, between You and third parties.

 

c. Fees.  All costs associated with forwarding any legal notices, certified mail, or traceable courier mail that is received by SWI will be borne by You, and charged to the credit card provided in Section 3 of this Agreement.

There is no charge to forward email.
 


7. REPRESENTATIONS & WARRANTIES

You represent and warranty to us that (i) all information provided by You to SWI is truthful, current, complete and accurate, and that any future changes to this information will be provided to us in a timely manner; (ii) to Your knowledge, neither the registration of the domain name for which You have registered, renewed, or transferred nor the manner in which You intend to use the domain name You registered, renewed, or transferred, directly or indirectly infringes upon or otherwise violates the legal or equitable rights of any third party; (iii) You have no knowledge of Your domain name infringing upon or conflicting with a third party's trademark or trade name; iv) it is Your responsibility to determine whether Your domain name infringes or violates someone else's rights; (v) that the domain name being registered by SWI on Your behalf will not be used in connection with any illegal or morally objectionable activity (as defined in Section 5 of this Agreement), or, in connection with the transmission of Spam (vi) You are not registering, renewing, or transferring the domain name for an unlawful purpose and You will not knowingly use the domain name in violation of any applicable laws or regulations; (vii) You are of legal age to enter into this Agreement; (viii) You agree to comply with all applicable laws and regulations and (ix) You agree that Your use of our service(s) is solely at your own risk and that all of our services are provided on an "as is," and "as available" basis.

 


8. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

You agree that SWI's entire liability, and Your exclusive remedy, with respect to any SWI services provided under this Agreement and/or for any breach of this Agreement is solely limited to the amount You paid for such service(s).

YOU FURTHER UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT, REGARDLESS OF CIRCUMSTANCES OR FORM OF ACTION, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY, OR ANY OTHER BASIS, SWI SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOST PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF SWI HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR SUCH DAMAGES WERE REASONABLY FORESEEABLE), RESULTING FROM: (i) YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE ANY OF SWI'S SERVICES; (ii) YOUR COST OF PROCURING SUBSTITUTE SERVICES; (iii) YOUR PROVISION OF ANY PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION TO SWI OR ANY THIRD PARTY; and (iv) ANY OTHER REASON RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT

If a jurisdiction does not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, then SWI's liability for consequential or incidental damages in such jurisdiction is excluded or limited to the smallest amount permitted by law.

 


9. INDEMNITY

You agree to release, indemnify, defend and hold harmless SWI its directors, officers, employees, agents, and affiliates from and against any and all claims, loss, damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees and expenses) arising out of any and all third party claims, actions, suits, or demands that are related to or arise out of (i) this Agreement or the breach of Your warranties, representations and obligations under this Agreement; (ii) the SWI services or Your use of such services; (iii) Your use of Your domain name registration and/or dispute arising in connection with the Dispute Resolution Policy (http://www.icann.org/dndr/udrp/policy.htm); or (iv) any intellectual property or other proprietary right of any person or entity. When we are threatened with suit or sued by a third party, we may seek written assurances from you concerning your promise to indemnify us; your failure to provide those assurances may be considered by us to be a material breach of this Agreement.

 


10. SWI WARRANTY DISCLAIMER

SWI, ITS PARENT COMPANIES, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, SHAREHOLDERS, AGENTS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, AND EMPLOYEES EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT, THE SERVICES PROVIDED HEREUNDER, THE SWI WEB SITE OR ANY WEB SITES LINKED TO THE SWI WEB SITE, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE DISCLAIMER OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, IN WHICH EVENT THE FOREGOING DISCLAIMER MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

ALL SWI SERVICES, AS WELL AS THE SWI WEB SITE, ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. YOUR SUBSCRIPTION TO AND USE OF SWI'S SERVICES AND ITS WEB SITE ARE ENTIRELY AT YOUR RISK.

SWI MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT (i) THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, (ii) THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, (iii) THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF SWI SERVICES WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE, (iv) THE QUALITY OF ANY SWI SERVICES OBTAINED BY YOU WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS, AND (v) ANY ERRORS IN THE SERVICES OR SOFTWARE WILL BE CORRECTED.

 


11. CHANGES TO THIS AGREEMENT

You acknowledge and agree that the domain name system and the practice of registering and administering domain names are evolving, and therefore you agree that SWI, in its sole discretion, may modify this Agreement, from time to time, to comply with any additional rules or policies that may be required by an affiliated Registrar, ICANN, or to adjust to changing business circumstances.

We will post any modifications to this Agreement on our Web site at least thirty (30) calendar days before it becomes effective. You agree to periodically review our Web site to be aware of any such modifications. No employee, agent or representative of SWI is authorized to alter or amend the terms and conditions of this Agreement. Your continued use of SWI services after modification(s) to this Agreement becomes effective, shall constitute your acceptance of the modification(s). If you do not agree to such a modification, you may request in writing that your SWI services be cancelled (in which case You become the Registrant of the domain name registration), the domain name be cancelled, or the domain name be transferred to another Registrar. No refunds, in whole or in part, will be provided by SWI if You cancel SWI services, cancel the domain name registration, or transfer the domain name registration to a non-affiliated Registrar. No provision of this Agreement may be amended or modified by you except by means of a written document signed by SWI.

 


12. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Entire Agreement
You agree that this Agreement and the rules and policies incorporated by reference in this Agreement are the entire, complete and exclusive agreement between You and us regarding our services and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings, whether written or oral, or whether established by custom, practice, policy or precedent, with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement.

 

Relationship of the Parties
Nothing in this Agreement may be construed as creating the relationship of agency partnership or joint venture between the parties.

 

Waiver
No waiver of any provision of this Agreement shall be effective unless it is in writing and signed by an authorized representative of SWI. The remedies of SWI under this Agreement shall be cumulative and not alternative, and the election of one remedy for a breach shall not preclude pursuit of other remedies. The failure of a party, at any time or from time to time, to require performance of any obligations of the other party hereunder shall not affect its right to enforce any provision of this Agreement at a subsequent time, and the waiver of any rights arising out of any breach shall not be construed as a waiver of any rights arising out of any prior or subsequent breach.

 

Notice
Except as otherwise specifically stated herein, any notices required to be given by SWI to You under this Agreement will be deemed to have been given if delivered by email or facsimile, sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by traceable courier in accordance with the most current contact information you have provided to us. All notices from You to SWI shall be sent via certified mail, return receipt requested, or by traceable courier in accordance with the contact information for us that is posted on the SWI Web site. All notices shall be effective upon receipt, except that email and fax notices shall be effective upon transmission.

 

Governing Law
Except as otherwise set forth in the Dispute Policy with respect to any dispute over your domain name registration, you agree that this Agreement and your rights, obligation, duties, and actions contemplated by this Agreement shall be governed in all respects by, and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois, United States of America, without reference to rules governing choice of laws. Any action relating to this Agreement and your rights, obligation, duties, and actions contemplated by this Agreement must be brought in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois or in the circuit court of Cook County, Illinois. Both parties irrevocably consent to the personal jurisdiction, subject matter jurisdiction, and venue of such courts.

 

Severability
Registrant agrees that the terms of this Service Agreement are severable. If any term or provision is declared invalid, it shall not affect the remaining terms or provisions, which shall continue to be binding.

 

Survival
Sections 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 shall survive any termination or expiration of this Agreement.

 

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO BE BOUND BY OR IF YOU OBJECT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT, AND ANY AMENDMENTS HERETO, DO NOT USE OR ACCESS OUR SERVICES.

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