Upperlink Domain Name Registration Agreement

This Domain Name Registration Agreement ("Agreement") is by and between Upperlink Limited and “You” the registrant, and is made effective as of the date of electronic execution. This Agreement sets forth the terms and conditions of your Domain Name Registration and represents the entire agreement between You and Upperlink Limited. By participating in this transaction, You acknowledge that You have read, understand and agree to be bound by all the terms and conditions of this Agreement, along with any new, different or additional terms, conditions or policies. In addition to transactions entered into by You on Your behalf, You also agree to be bound by the terms of this Agreement for transactions entered into on Your behalf by anyone acting as Your Agent, and transactions entered into by anyone who uses the account You've established with Upperlink Limited, whether or not the transactions were in Your behalf. You acknowledge that Upperlink Limited is a Registrar bound by an agreement between Upperlink Limited and Registry Operator. You agree that Upperlink Limited may modify this agreement in order to comply with applicable law and the terms and conditions set forth by Registry Operator as well as any registration rules or policies that may be published from time to time by Upperlink Limited.

1. Fees

In consideration of the services and products ("service") purchased by You and provided to You by Upperlink Limited, You agree to pay Upperlink Limited before the time service is provided. You understand that the Registry Operator requires Upperlink Limited to collect a small registration fee when You purchase Your domain name. Payments are non-refundable exceptions are stated in clause 1a. If for any reason Upperlink Limited is unable to charge Your Payment Method for the full amount owed for the service provided, or if Upperlink Limited is charged a penalty for any fee it previously charged to Your Payment Method, You agree that Upperlink Limited may pursue all available remedies in order to obtain payment. You agree that among the remedies Upperlink Limited may pursue in order to effect payment, shall include but will not be limited to, immediate cancellation without notice to You of any domain names registered or renewed on Your behalf.

• Fees Refund Policy

• Upperlink wants to ensure your satisfaction with your account. If, for any reason, you are not satisfied, please contact us at customerservice@upperlink.com.ng Provide us with a brief explanation of the nature of your dissatisfaction and we will move quickly to process your refund. The following reasons warrant a 100% refund:

  The listed purchase price of the content and the actual amount Upperlink debited varies. Reasons that your account will not be refunded:

  Intention to defraud Upperlink by making a false claim of failed transactions. An excessive request for refunds after a refund has already been made to an account. This may result in future denials of refunds. Computer hardware and/or software failure (e.g., computer crash), including Internet connection, of the Upperlink customer. Upperlink refuses to accept fault for customer hardware/software issues and will not honor refunds associated with these issues.

• You also acknowledge and agree that where refunds are issued to your Payment Method, Upperlink’s issuance of a refund is only confirmation that Upperlink has submitted your refund to the Payment Method charged at the time of the original sale, and that Upperlink has absolutely no control over when the refund will be applied towards your Payment Method’s available balance. You further acknowledge and agree that the payment provider and/or individual issuing bank associated with your Payment Method establish and regulate the time frames for posting your refund, and that such refund posting time frames may range from five (5) business days to a full billing cycle, or longer.
• In the event a refund is issued to your Payment Method and the payment provider, payment processor or individual issuing bank associated with your Payment Method imposes any limitations on refunds, including but not limited to, limitations as to the timing of the refund or the number of refunds allowed, then Upperlink, in its sole and absolute discretion, reserves the right to issue the refund either in the form of an in-store credit; or (ii) via refund to your originating account, through a reversal of the transaction. Upperlink also has the right, but not the obligation, to offer an in-store credit for customers seeking refunds, even if there are no limitations on refunds imposed by the Payment Method. For the avoidance of doubt, any and all refunds processed via the issuance of either in-store credits or a reversal are solely within Upperlink’s discretion and are not available at customer request.

2. Domain Name Renewals

Upperlink Limited will give you adequate notice of one (1) month of the expiration of your domain. If You fail to respond to our notices, Your domain name registration will expire. You can renew your domain name from your control panel or by calling Upperlink Limited and requesting that the domain name be renewed. You agree that Upperlink Limited will not be responsible for cancelled domain names that You fail to renew in the timeframes indicated in this Agreement. In any case, if You fail to renew Your domain name in a timely fashion, additional charges may apply.

• The Registry Operator, in its sole discretion, shall have the right to reject any application for the registration of a Domain Name and refuse to register any Domain Name for any reason whatsoever with no liability of the Registry Operator whatsoever, Upperlink or any other Person. You acknowledge and agree that applications for the registration of a Domain Name shall be made to the Registry Operator by Upperlink on your behalf in accordance with the applicable Registry PRP.

3. Term of agreement; modifications

   
   

   The term of this Agreement shall continue in full force and effect as long as You have any domain name registered through Upperlink Limited. You agree that You will not transfer any domain name registered through Upperlink Limited to another domain name registrar during the first sixty (60) days from its initial registration date. You further agree that Upperlink Limited may charge You a small fee if You cancel Your domain within the five (5) day grace period after registering. You agree that Upperlink Limited may modify this Agreement from time to time. Upperlink Limited may also discontinue services it provides under this Agreement. You agree to be bound by any changes Upperlink Limited may reasonably make to this Agreement when such changes become effective. Should You elect to cancel Your Agreement with Upperlink Limited, You will not receive a refund for any fees You may have paid to Upperlink Limited.

4. Up to date information; use of information and expiration

   You agree that for each domain name registered by You, the following contact data is required: your full name, postal address, e-mail address, voice telephone number, and fax number if available; name of authorized person for contact purposes in the case of an organization, association, or corporation, primary and secondary name servers. You also agree to provide the name, postal address, e-mail address, voice telephone number, and (where available) fax number of the technical contact for the Registered Name; and the name, postal address, e-mail address, voice telephone number, and (where available) fax number of the administrative contact for the Registered Name.

• You acknowledge and agree that domain name registration requires that this contact information, in whole or in part, be shared with the registry operator.

• As required by the Registry Operator, this information will be made publicly available by means of Whois, and that the registry operator may also be required to make this information publicly available by Whois. You hereby consent and give permission for all such requirements and disclosures. Further, You represent and warrant that, if You are providing information about a third party, You have notified the third party of the disclosure and the purpose for the disclosure and You have obtained the third party's consent to such disclosure. You agree that for each domain name registered by You the following information will be made publicly available in the Whois directory as determined by the Registry Operator Policy:

  
  

  The domain name

  Your name and postal address

  The email address, postal address, voice and fax numbers for technical and administrative contacts

  The Internet protocol numbers for the primary and secondary name servers

  The corresponding names of the name servers; and

  The original date of registration and expiration date

  You agree that, to the extent permitted by the Registry Operator, Upperlink Limited may make use of the publicly available information You provided during the registration process.

• If You engage in the reselling of domain names You agree to provide any individuals whose personal information You've obtained, information about the possible uses of their personal information pursuant to Registry Operator policy. You also agree to obtain consent, and evidence of consent, from those individuals for such use of the personal information they provide. You hereby grant to us the right to disclose to third parties through an interactive publicly accessible registration database the following information that You are required to provide when applying for a domain name:

  The domain or sub-domain name(s) registered by You;

  Your organization name, type and postal address;

  The name(s), position(s), postal address(es), e-mail address(es), voice telephone number(s) and where available the fax number(s) of the technical and administrative contacts for Your domain or sub-domain name(s);

  The full hostnames and Internet protocol (IP) addresses of at least two (2) name server hosts (one primary and at least one secondary) for Your domain which must be on separate networks and in different regions and must be pre-configured on the domains

  The corresponding names of those nameservers;

  The original creation date of the registration; and

  The expiration date of the registration.

• If You transfer any domain name, You agree to provide the information required by, and to abide by, the procedures and conditions set forth in this Agreement.
  In the event that You purchase a domain name on behalf of a third party, using Upperlink Limited's registration services, you agree that they are in fact registering their domain name through Upperlink Limited and that Upperlink Limited is an accredited registrar with the Registry Operator. You agree not to represent that You are a Registry Operator accredited registrar or that You are in any way providing superior access to the Registry Operator.

5. Domain Name Registry.

   You agree that Upperlink Limited is not lending You access to its registrar connections or its registry access, nor will You be deemed to be a registrar in Your own right.
   Furthermore, You agree You will not attempt to gain access to Upperlink Limited’s registrar connections or registry access.
   You agree to provide complete, accurate and current data for each registrant to be added to a registry in accordance with the Registy Operators requirements for inclusion in the Whois database.

6. Suspension of services; breach of agreement

   You agree that, in addition to other events set forth in this Agreement:
   Your ability to use any of the services provided by Upperlink Limited is subject to cancellation or suspension in the event that there is an unresolved breach of this Agreement and/or suspension or cancellation is required by any policy now in effect or adopted later by the Registry Operator;
   • Your registration of any domain names shall be subject to suspension, cancellation or transfer pursuant to any Registry Operator adopted specification or policy, or pursuant to any Upperlink Limited procedure not inconsistent with an Registry Operator adopted specification or policy;
   • To correct mistakes by Upperlink Limited or the Registry Operator in registering any domain name; or for the resolution of disputes concerning any domain name.
   You agree that Your failure to comply completely with the terms and conditions of this Agreement and any Upperlink Limited rule or policy may be considered by Upperlink Limited to be a material breach of this Agreement and Upperlink Limited may provide You with notice of such breach either in writing or electronically (i.e. email).
   • In the event You do not provide Upperlink Limited with material evidence that You have not breached Your obligations to Upperlink Limited within ten (10) working days, Upperlink Limited may terminate its relationship with You and take any remedial action available to Upperlink Limited under the applicable laws.

7. Privacy Policy

   
   

   We take your privacy seriously and will take all measures to protect your personal information. Any personal information received will only be used to fill your order. We will not sell or redistribute your information to anyone. Rules Specific to .NG Top Level Domain registration Irrespective of the above, the Registry Operator shall reserve the right to maintain the following list of domains that SHALL NOT be available for registration or will be withdrawn if registered already

   Offensive Names: This list shall contain words as determined by the Registry Operator board to be offensive first to the Nigerian community and then to the global community. ALL requests for domains under this list would be rejected.

   Restricted Names: This shall be a list of domains that may give a wrong impression if used. This could pertain to military, government or other related words. ALL applications for these domains would be rejected.

   Premium Names: These are domains with generic words ONLY but command premium value. Brand names cannot also be registered by anyone but the licensed registrars with name rights (copyright/trademarks) to such names. Where brand names are registered such names can be retrieved and transferred to the lawful owner. Premium domains would however be made available to registrants though a competitive bidding and auction process. Premium names are limited to the names listed in Registry Operator’s list as ‘premium’. This list shall contain words as determined by the Registry Operator board to be premium.

   
   SLDs (second level domains)

8. Domain SLD purpose

   
   

   com.ng Commercial entities and purposes (Open)

   edu.ng Higher and further education and research institution (Closed)

   name.ng Personal names (Open)

   net.ng Internet Service / Telecoms Providers' infrastructure (Closed)

   org.ng Not-for-profit entities (Open)

   sch.ng Other Academic institutions (Closed and at regional level)

   gov.ng National, regional, and local government bodies and agencies (Closed)

   mil.ng Military and related purposes (Closed)

   mobi.ng For mobile devices meeting .mobi.ng TLD standards (Open)

   • Specific Rules for registration in the .com.ng SLD
     These are the specific rules for the .com.ng SLD, administered directly by us. They form part of and, in the case of conflict, take precedence over the Policy.
     

     SLD Charter

     
     Domain Names registered in the .com.ng SLD are intended to be used for commercial purposes, and the 3LD are intended to reflect and be related to these purposes. This SLD would be fully open from July 5, 2008, before then only entities with Nigerian presence may register on this SLD.
   • Specific Rules for registration in the .org.ng SLD
     These are the specific rules for the .org.ng SLD, administered directly by us. They form part of and, in the case of conflict, take precedence over the Policy.

     SLD Charter

     
     Registrants in .org.ng are intended to be not-for-profit or public service enterprises, and a 3LD within this SLD is intended to be related to these enterprises and their activities. These may include, as non-exhaustive examples, charities, trades unions, political parties, community groups, educational councils, and professional institutions.
   • Specific rules for the .name.ng SLD
     These are the specific rules for the .name.ng SLD, administered directly by us. They form part of and, in the case of conflict, take precedence over the Policy.

     SLD Charter

     
     The .name.ng SLD is intended to provide a personal namespace within the .ng Top Level Domain. Domain names must be, and remain at all times, natural persons (a “qualifying person”), and shall not be recorded on the register as being the agent, trustee, proxy or representative for any person or entity (whether having an individual legal personality or not) which is not a qualifying person. No registration, transfer, renewal or change may be requested to a .name.ng domain name which would be in breach of Rule 8.2, and any such request may be rejected. If, despite the previous sentence, such an action is requested and does occur, Registry Operator may reverse that action at any time in addition to any other rights Registry Operator may have by contract or otherwise. Charter Where, as the result of the DRS or judicial proceedings (of relevant jurisdiction) a .name.ng domain name is to be transferred to a person who would not qualify (the “transferee”), the transfer to, and continued registration by, the transferee shall be permitted provided that no use is made of that .name.ng domain name for any purpose, for so long as the transferee holds the domain name.
   • Specific rules for the .edu.ng SLDs
     These are the specific rules for the .edu.ng SLDs, administered directly by us. They form part of and, in the case of conflict, take precedence over the Policy.

     SLD Charter

     
     The .edu.ng SLD is a closed one and reserved for ONLY tertiary academic institutions as approved and accredited by the relevant authorities like Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), NCCE and any other body as recognized by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. All registrations on the .edu.ng SLD would be at the 3LD. Various department or institutions under the qualifying institution may then be sub domains and NOT full domains. Requirements
     

     Registrants in the .edu.ng SLD are required to be approved and accredited Degree Awarding Tertiary Institutions. Notwithstanding the Policy, no Domain Name shall be registered in this SLD unless, in our reasonable opinion, the applicant is an approved/registered Degree awarding institution and the Domain Name registered is the same as or a similar variant of the applicant's name. Without prejudice to any other test that we may apply, the applicant shall only be deemed to be an Approved/Registered School if the applicant is either:

     Duly registered or incorporated under the relevant laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;

     AND the applicant:

     
     Has a provisional or full approval by the relevant accreditation body and government for the provision of Degree awarding institutions. For example for a university it must have an NUC approval. Any Domain Name registered in .edu.ng may only be used in the manner set out in this Clause, and we may suspend or cancel the registration if we believe it is not being so used, in accordance with the termination provisions set out in our Registrant Agreement. Each approved/registered tertiary institution may apply for multiple domains ONLY if it relates to the academic institution and NOT a department or unit of the academic institution

   • Specific rules for the .net.ng SLD
     These are the specific rules for the .net.ng SLD, administered directly by us. They form part of and, in the case of conflict, take precedence over the Rules.

     Charter

     
     This SLD is reserved for the computers of network providers, that is the network information centre (NIC) and network operation centre (NOC) computers, the administrative computers, and the network node computers. Requirements
     

     Registrants in the .net.ng SLD are required to be Licensed Internet Service or Telecoms Providers. Notwithstanding the Policy, no Domain Name shall be registered in this SLD unless, in our reasonable opinion, the applicant is a Licensed Internet Service / Telecoms Provider and the Domain Name registered is the same as or a similar variant of the applicant's name. Without prejudice to any other test that we may apply, the applicant shall only be deemed to be a Licensed Internet Service / Telecoms Provider if the applicant is either:

     
     

     a company registered with the Corporate Affairs commission of Nigeria; or

     a partnership as defined by the Partnership laws of Nigeria or

     a sole trader;

     AND the applicant is:

     
     Licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission for the provision of Internet and Telecoms services Any Domain Name registered in .net.ng may only be used in the manner set out in this Clause, and we may suspend or cancel the registration if we believe it is not being so used, in accordance with the termination provisions set out in our Registrant Agreement. The Domain Name must not be used in connection with any service provided by the registrant on behalf of any other entity. For example, the Domain Name must not be used as part of another entity's e-mail address or URL.

   • Specific rules for the .sch.ng SLD
     These are the specific rules for the .sch.ng SLD, administered directly by us. They form part of and, in the case of conflict, take precedence over the Policy.

     SLD Charter

     
     The .sch.ng SLD is a closed one and reserved for both primary and secondary schools as designated and approved by various levels of government. Also schools accredited and approved by other agencies like the CPN are eligible for registration under this domain. Rules All registrations on the .sch.ng SLD would be ONLY at the 4LD. This is due to the large number of schools and the similarities of the names. Also approving authorities for schools are at the local and state government levels. With all these considered sch.ng SLD would have a qualifying 3LD based on the listed states in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. For examples Mary Don School located in Surulere, Lagos state can register marydon.lagos.sch.ng. While Pillars school in Zaria can register as pillars.kaduna.sch.ng SLD Requirements

     Registrants in the .sch.ng SLD are required to be approved Primary, Secondary or other non degree awarding institutions. Notwithstanding the Policy, no Domain Name shall be registered in this SLD unless, in our reasonable opinion, the applicant is an approved/registered non degree awarding institution and the Domain Name registered is the same as or a similar variant of the applicant's name. Without prejudice to any other test that we may apply, the applicant shall only be deemed to be an Approved/Registered School if the applicant is either:

     a company registered with the Corporate Affairs commission of Nigeria; or

     a partnership as defined by the Partnership laws of Nigeria or

     a sole trader/registered business name;

     AND the applicant is:

     Approved and registered by the relevant accreditation body and government for the provision of Non Degree awarding institutions.

     Any Domain Name registered in .sch.ng may only be used in the manner set out in this Clause, and we may suspend or cancel the registration if we believe it is not being so used, in accordance with the termination provisions set out in our Registrant Agreement.

     Each approved/registered school is only allowed a single registration under the .sch.ng SLD.

   • Specific Rules for registration in the .mobi.ng SLD
     These are the specific rules for the .mobi.ng SLD, administered directly by us. They form part of and, in the case of conflict, take precedence over the Policy.

     SLD Charter

     
     Domain Names registered in the .mobi.ng SLD are intended to be used for access by mobile phones, and the 3LD are intended to reflect and be related to these purposes. Also published content on this SLD are expected to meet the specification as released from time to time of the Mobile Top Level domain corporation and as adopted by Registry Operator.
   • Specific rules for the .gov.ng SLD
     These are the specific rules for the .gov.ng SLD, administered directly by NIRA and they form part of and, in the case of conflict, take precedence over the Policy.

     SLD Charter

     The .gov.ng SLD is a closed and limited only to the following
     

     Governments at all levels and Ministries, Department and Parastatals at all levels as well.

     Rules Registrations on the .gov.ng SLD would be both on the 3LD and the 4LD. Registration at the 3LD is ONLY permitted for the following
     

     The Federal government

     The State government

     Federal Ministries, Departments, Parastatals and Institutions

     
     For example justice.gov.ng, npc.gov.ng, ogunstate.gov.ng, nigeria.gov.ng, etc. For registrations on the 4LD this is available for the following
     

     State Ministries, Departments, Parastatals and Institutions Local governments

     
     For example justice.lagos.gov.ng would be for the Lagos state Ministry of Justice. Also surulere.lagos.gov.ng and surulere.oyo.gov.ng would relate to surulere local government in Lagos and Oyo states respectively. The 3LD to be used by the 4LD would be the state names as derived from the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

     SLD Requirements

     
     Registrants in the .gov.ng SLD are required to be full government agencies and also have the approval of each tier of government.

     For Federal government registration, applicants are expected to also obtain clearance from the federal government entity setup for such approval, and present same during registration. For example, NITDA.

     For State government registration, applicants are expected to also obtain clearance from the state government entity setup or designated for such approval, and present same during registration.

     For Local government registration, applicants are expected to attach a valid authorization from the local government, and present same during registration:

     
     You agree that the necessary documentation of .gov.ng SLD shall be provided at the point of registration. Registration or transfer of .gov.ng domain shall not be done where the necessary documentation is not provided not withstanding payment of fees for the transaction.
     

     Specific Rules for registration in the .mil.ng SLD

     
     These are the specific rules for the .mil.ng SLD, administered directly by us. They form part of and, in the case of conflict, take precedence over the Policy.

     SLD Charter

     
     Domain Names registered in the .mil.ng SLD are intended to be used ONLY for military purposes and as approved by the Nigerian military High command.

9. Dispute Resolution

   
   In the event of a dispute, Dispute Resolution is Mandatory for registrants as first option to resolve disputes. Registry Operator’s full blown dispute resolution process will be in place as from August 1st, 2009. I agree to NIRA Dispute Registration Policy

10. Registrant Agreement

    
    I agree to the NIRA Registrant Agreement Policy