This agreement (the “Agreement”) is between the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (“NIRA”) and you (the “Registrant”)
In consideration of the registration by NIRA in the name of the Registrant of the Domain Name Registrations from time to time and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which are hereby acknowledged, NIRA and the Registrant agree as follows:
This Agreement between the Registrant and NIRA applies to all Domain Name Registrations made by the Registrant.
In this Agreement:
“Account Information” means the user account and password (including any supplementary or substitute password issued by NIRA to the Registrant) information provided by NIRA, from time to time, to the Registrant for use in connection with Domain Name Registrations;
“Activation” or “Activated” means the activation of a Domain Name Registration which shall be deemed to occur upon the activation time and date stated in the confirmation email sent by NIRA to the Applicant or Registrant confirming the activation of the Domain Name in the NIRA system;
“Affiliate” means, with respect to any Person, any other Person who directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by, or is under direct or indirect common control with such Person, and includes any Person in like relation to an Affiliate. A Person is deemed to control another Person if such Person possesses, directly or indirectly, the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such other Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise; and the term “controlled” has a corresponding meaning;
“Agreement” means Sections 1-11 of this Agreement as they may be amended or supplemented from time to time;
“Authorized Representative” in the case of a Registrant who is not an individual, means a representative of the Registrant who: is an employee of the Registrant; is a member of the board of directors of the Registrant; is a member of the board of governors of the Registrant; or has the association to bind the Registrant, provided such association is not limited to .ng domain name related matters.
“Business Day” means any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or any day on which banks are generally not open for business in the City of Lagos, Nigeria;
“Domain Name” means a .ng domain name or sub-domain name;
“Fees” means the fees payable to NIRA in connection with an application for a Domain Name and/or any renewal, transfer, and any other fees payable in connection with a Domain Name Registration in accordance with the applicable Registry PRP. The fees which are payable by Registrars to NIRA are set forth in the document entitled Fees Policy as could be amended by NIRA from time to time;
“Meeting” means a meeting of the Members of NIRA, called for any purpose;
“Person” includes an individual, a corporation, a partnership, a trust, an unincorporated organization, association or club, the government of a country or any political subdivision thereof, or any agency or department of any such government, any of the individuals or entities listed in the Nigerian Presence Requirements for Registrants (as defined in the applicable Registry PRP) and the executors, administrators or other legal representatives of an individual in any of such capacities;
“Registrant’s Registrar” means each Registrar which is authorized to apply on behalf of the Registrant, in accordance with the Registry PRP for the registration of a Domain Name and the renewal, transfer, modification and cancellation of, and to effect other requests and transactions with respect to, a Domain Name Registration, including any Registrar which is the Registrar of Record in the Registry for a Domain Name Registration;
“Registrars” means the Persons from time to time certified by NIRA to offer Domain Name Registration services within the .ng Internet Domain Name system in accordance with the Registry PRP; and
“Registry” means the .ng Internet Domain Name registry operated by NIRA.
“Registration Information” means all information which the applicable Registry PRP require the Registrant to submit to NIRA or the Registrant’s Registrar to obtain a Domain Name Registration, any renewal, transfer, cancellation or modification of a Domain Name Registration or any other request or transaction with respect to a Domain Name Registration and all other information concerning the Domain Name Registration which appears in NIRA’s web-based look-up directory system (the “WHOIS”); and
“Registry PRP” means the NIRA policies, rules, and procedures relating to registrants, Registrars, and Domain Name registrations as may be amended or adopted by NIRA from time to time and posted on NIRA’s website, including, without limitation, applications for Domain Name registrations and other transactions relating to Domain Name registrations.
The Registrant acknowledges and agrees that a renewal, transfer, modification or cancellation of, and any other request or transaction with respect to, a Domain Name Registration shall be made either
Notwithstanding Section 2.2 (i) above, the Registrant agrees that Membership Information may be created, modified and cancelled only by sending a request directly to NIRA
The Registration Period of any Domain Name Registration may be renewed for a period of one to five years as selected by the Registrant through the Registrant’s Registrar in accordance with the applicable Registry PRP.
NIRA is entitled at any time during the Term (as defined in Section 5.1) to verify the accuracy and completeness of any information provided by the Registrant to NIRA, whether directly, through any of the Registrant’s Registrars or otherwise, including without limitation, the information provided by the Registrant him or herself or through any of the Registrant’s Registrars in any application to NIRA for the registration of a Domain Name or in connection with the transfer, renewal, modification, maintenance or cancellation of a Domain Name Registration and any other request or transaction with respect to a Domain Name Registration (collectively, the “Applications”) and, the compliance by the Registrant with the provisions of the Agreement including, without limitation, the applicable Registry PRP, and the terms and conditions of use of NIRA’s web site as set out in the Legal Notice (as defined in Section 3.1(o)). The Registrant shall cooperate with NIRA in connection with such verification which shall be conducted in such manner as is deemed reasonable by NIRA and in accordance with the applicable Registry PRP, and shall give and shall cause the Registrant’s Registrar to give NIRA and its agents and representatives such assistance and access to and copies of such information and documents in any or all media regarding, and access to the premises of, the Registrant as NIRA may reasonably request in order to enable NIRA to complete such verification. NIRA shall be responsible for its own expenses incurred in connection with any such verification and the Registrant shall be responsible for any expenses the Registrant incurs in complying with this Section 2.4. The Registrant agrees to promptly execute and deliver to NIRA any authorizations required to permit the verifications of NIRA under this Section 2.4. If NIRA decides to verify and/or confirm information and/or compliance, NIRA may proceed as follows:
In addition to, or as an alternative to, asking for the Requested Information, NIRA may at any time, in its discretion, also request that the Registrant attend in person at NIRA’s offices, or elsewhere as reasonably determined by NIRA, for an interview in order to verify the accuracy and completeness of information. If the Registrant fails or refuses to attend such an interview or attends but fails or refuses to provide satisfactory answers to NIRA’s request for information, or provides inaccurate information in response to such a request, NIRA may, upon reasonable notice to the Registrant and Registrant’s Registrar, suspend the Registrant’s Domain Name Registration(s) or cancel the Registrant’s Domain Name Registration(s) and terminates the Registrant Agreement, as NIRA deems appropriate in its sole discretion.
NIRA will issue Account Information from time to time to the email address in the Registration Information for the Registrant or for the person identified in the Registration Information as the Administrative Contact for the Registrant’s Domain Name Registration(s) (the “Administrative Contact”). The Account Information shall be used only by the Registrant, or the Administrative Contact, to confirm the identity of the Registrant to NIRA and for other purposes as permitted pursuant to the applicable Registry PRP. The Registrant acknowledges and agrees that until the Registrant notifies NIRA that the Account Information may have fallen in to the hands of an unauthorized user, the use of the Account Information by any Person is deemed use by the Registrant.
The Registrant acknowledges and agrees that the Registrant’s Registrar is deemed to be authorized to act as the Registrant’s agent in connection with Domain Name Registrations, but not the Registrant’s NIRA Membership. Further, the Registrant acknowledges and agrees that the Registrant’s Registrar may, in accordance with the applicable Registry PRP:
Except as provided in sections 2.10 to 2.12 below, the Registrant acknowledges and agrees that the Administrative Contact and any person who uses the Account Information or who sends or receives emails from the Administrative Contact’s email address as identified in the Registration Information for a Registrant and Domain Name Registration(s), is authorized by the Registrant to be NIRA’s only contact for the Registrant and the Domain Name Registration(s) and is recognized by NIRA and authorized by the Registrant to take any and all actions in connection with the Domain Name Registration(s) including, without limitation, transferring it to another Person or obtaining the Account Information for the Registrant or replacement of the Account Information.
The Registrant acknowledges and agrees that all NIRA notices to the Registrant, other than as provided in sections 2.10 and 2.11 below, (in this Agreement, the Registry PRP, and NIRA’s constitution) will be sent by email to the Registrant’s Administrative Contact email address as listed in the Registration Information only. The Registrant further acknowledges and agrees that any reference to notices sent to the “Registrant(s),” or “Applicant(s),” in this Agreement, the applicable Registry PRP, and NIRA’s constitution shall mean that the notices will only be sent to the Registrant’s Administrative Contact. It is the responsibility of the Registrant to ensure that the Administrative Contact’s email address is at all times functional and accurate and to make arrangements with its Administrative Contact to receive any and all notices sent by NIRA to the Registrant’s Administrative Contact.
The Registrant acknowledges and agrees that:
The Registrant acknowledges that all notices sent to the Registrant by NIRA in relation to Membership in NIRA, (pursuant to this Agreement, the Registry PRP and NIRA’s constitution) will be sent by email to the Registrant’s Member email address (for individual Registrants) or to the Registrant’s Membership Representative email address (for non-individual Registrants ). It is the responsibility of the Registrant to ensure that the Member email address or Membership Representative’s email address, as the case may be, is at all times functional and accurate.
Throughout the Term of this Agreement, the Registrant shall:
The Registrant acknowledges that the Registrant’s Registrar is obligated to pay Fees. The Registrant acknowledges and agrees that, should there be insufficient funds prepaid by any Registrant’s Registrar in the NIRA deposit account to be applied in payment of any Fees, NIRA may in its sole discretion stop accepting applications for Domain Name Registrations from such Registrant’s Registrar, stop effecting registrations of Domain Names and transfers, renewals, modifications and cancellations of Domain Name Registrations requested by such Registrant’s Registrar and stop performing other billable transactions requested by such Registrant's Registrar not paid in full and NIRA may:
The Registrant shall not enter into any agreement with any Registrar or any other Person that is inconsistent with, or in any way, modifies, affects, overrides, limits, contradicts or cancels the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the applicable Registry PRP. To the extent that the provisions of any such agreement with the Registrant’s Registrar contravene the provisions of this Agreement and the applicable Registry PRP, the Registrant hereby agrees that the provisions of this Agreement and the applicable Registry PRP shall prevail and be binding on the Registrant for the benefit of NIRA
The Registrant hereby grants to NIRA the right to disclose to third parties through the Registry the following information:
Except as set forth in this Agreement or the applicable Registry PRP, personal information pertaining to the Registrant belongs to the Registrant and shall not be collected or used by NIRA except for the reasonable purposes of the operation of the Registry and the implementation, execution, and enforcement of the applicable Registry PRP or in accordance with Applicable Laws or the terms of an order, ruling, decision or judgment of a court, tribunal, board, administrative body or commission.
The Registrant acknowledges and agrees that NIRA has no control over how any member of the public uses the information disclosed by NIRA through the WHOIS database whether or not the information is subject to domestic or foreign privacy laws.
The term of this Agreement (the “Term”) shall commence effective upon the date that the Registrant enters into this Agreement with NIRA and shall continue in force unless terminated as set out herein.
NIRA may, in accordance with the applicable Registry PRP or if it deems it necessary, in its sole discretion and at its sole option, restrict the Registrant’s ability to renew or transfer any or all of the Registrant’s Domain Name Registrations. NIRA may also restrict the Registrant’s ability to merge the Registrant’s Domain Name Registrations or Registration Information with any other Domain Name Registrations or Registrant, at any time and for any reason whatsoever.
NIRA may, upon the Registrant’s Registrar’s request, acting on behalf of the Registrant and in accordance with applicable Registry PRP, cancel the Domain Name Registration within seven (7) Days of Activation without the Registrant’s consent and for any reason whatsoever. NIRA shall notify the Registrant if a Domain Name Registration has been cancelled pursuant to this provision.
NIRA may, in its sole discretion and its sole option, cancel a Domain Name Registration for any reason whatsoever within 30 days after the date the Domain Name Registration is Activated with no liability of NIRA to the Registrant, the Registrant’s Registrar or any other Person by giving notice to the Registrant and the Registrant’s Registrar.
NIRA may, in accordance with the applicable Registry PRP, cancel a Domain Name Registration if the Registrant fails or failed to pay to the Registrant’s Registrar or former Registrant’s Registrars, when due, any fees for registration, transfer, and/or renewal of Domain Name Registrations.
NIRA may, in its sole discretion and at its sole option, in accordance with the applicable Registry PRP, immediately cancel or transfer a Domain Name Registration or suspend a Domain Name Registration, for such time period as NIRA may determine in its sole discretion, in the following circumstances, by giving notice to the Registrant and the Registrant’s Registrar:
NIRA may, in its sole discretion following procedures NIRA deems appropriate from time to time, suspend a Domain Name Registration for such period of time as NIRA may determine in the event that NIRA, acting reasonably, considers that such suspension is necessary to preserve and protect the integrity and the rights and interests of any of the Registry, the Registrant, the Registrant’s Registrar, other registrants or Registrars and/or third parties.
Prior to canceling any Domain Name Registration pursuant to Section 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, or 6.6, NIRA may, in its sole discretion, first suspend the Domain Name Registration for such period as NIRA may determine in its sole discretion. NIRA shall give notice of the suspension to the Registrant and the Registrant’s Registrar in accordance with the respective Section and the applicable Registry PRP. The time period of the suspension may be extended at any time by NIRA in its sole discretion.
A Domain Name Registration shall be cancelled by NIRA for failure to renew the Domain Name Registration in accordance with the applicable Registry PRP. The Domain Name Registration shall first be suspended for failure to renew in accordance with the applicable Registry PRP. NIRA shall give notice of the suspension to the Registrant and the Registrant’s Registrar in accordance with the applicable Registry PRP. During the period of suspension as prescribed by the applicable Registry PRP, the Registrant may at any time renew the suspended Domain Name Registration by complying with the applicable Registry PRP with respect to renewals. The Domain Name Registration shall be cancelled by NIRA in accordance with the applicable Registry PRP if the Registrant fails to renew such Domain Name Registration during the period of suspension.
NIRA may in its sole discretion and at its sole option immediately suspend a Domain Name Registration for failure by the Registrant or the Registrant’s Registrar to confirm the accuracy and completeness of Registration Information which NIRA requests be confirmed in accordance with the applicable Registry PRP. During the period of suspension as prescribed by the applicable Registry PRP, the Registrant may at any time reactivate the suspended Domain Name Registration by confirming the Registration Information in accordance with the applicable Registry PRP. If a Registrant fails to confirm the Registration Information in accordance with the applicable Registry PRP within the period of suspension prescribed by the applicable Registry PRP, NIRA may, in its sole discretion, cancel the Domain Name Registration in accordance with the applicable Registry PRP on no less than thirty (30) days’ notice to the Registrant and the Registrant’s Registrar.
The Registrant may at any time, through the Registrant’s Registrar, request NIRA to suspend or cancel a Domain Name Registration, and NIRA shall comply with such request, in accordance with the applicable Registry PRP. The Registrant’s Registrar shall not be entitled to any refund of any Fees in such event. A Domain Name Registration which the Registrant requested be suspended may be reactivated at any time by the Registrant in accordance with the applicable Registry PRP.
The Registrant shall be entitled (through the Registrant’s Registrar) to terminate this Agreement at any time by giving thirty (30) days notice to NIRA.
The Registrant acknowledges and agrees that in the event of the termination of this Agreement or the cancellation of any Domain Name Registrations by NIRA or the Registrant pursuant to this Agreement, NIRA shall have the right to allow any other Person to register the Domain Name that was the subject of the Domain Name Registration without any liability of NIRA to the Registrant, any of the Registrant’s Registrars or any other Person.
The termination of this Agreement pursuant to Section 6.15, Section 6.16 or Section 6.17 shall result in the automatic cancellation of all Domain Name Registrations in the name of the Registrant.
NIRA makes no representation, warranty or condition, whether oral or written, express or implied, statutory or otherwise, including, without limitation, any warranty or condition of quality or fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement or that the registry will be available at all times during the term or with respect to functionality, freedom from bugs or viruses, compatibility or interoperability of the registry or the systems accessed by the registrant’s registrar (s) and/or the registrant or with respect to the security of the registry or any systems accessed by the registrant’s registrar (s) and/or the registrant, including without limitation, those provided by third party software, hardware, internet and/or telecommunications or other service providers or otherwise with respect to the services provided hereunder.
The registrant agrees that NIRA shall not be responsible for the use of or right to use any domain name registered in the registry and that NIRA shall not be responsible in any way whatsoever for any conflict or dispute with or any claim against the registrant or a registrant’s registrar including one relating to a registered or unregistered trade-mark, a corporate, business or other trade name, rights relating to a name or other identifying indicium of an individual or any other intellectual property rights of a third party, or relating to defamation of or unlawful discrimination with respect to any other person. the registrant acknowledges and agrees that the registration of a domain name does not create any proprietary right for the registrant, a registrant's registrar or any other person in any name used as a domain name or in any domain name registration, and the entry of a domain name in the registry in the “whois” database shall not be construed as evidence of ownership of the domain name registered as a domain name. the registrant shall not in any way transfer or purport to transfer a proprietary right in any domain name registration or grant or purport to grant as security or in any other manner encumber or purport to encumber any domain name registration.
NIRA’s aggregate liability to the registrant, including, without limitation, for all breaches by NIRA of this agreement, shall be limited to the amount of fees relating to the registrant’s domain name registrations paid by the registrant’s registrar(s) to NIRA.
The Registrant agrees to indemnify and save NIRA and its contractors, agents, employees, officers, directors, members, affiliates and assigns harmless from and against any and all damages, liabilities, obligations, losses, claims, demands, actions, causes of action, lawsuits, penalties, costs, and expenses (including, without limitation, reasonable legal and other related costs) arising out of or in any way connected with:
Where the Registrant is a corporation, the Registrant covenants, represents and warrants to NIRA as follows:
Where the Registrant is a partnership or a trust, the Registrant covenants, represents and warrants as follows:
Where the Registrant is not a corporation, a partnership or a trust, the Registrant covenants, represents and warrants to NIRA as follows:
The legal relationship between NIRA and the Registrant and NIRA and each Registrant’s Registrar is that of independent contractors. Under no circumstances shall this Agreement be construed to create a partnership, agency or joint venture between NIRA and the Registrant or NIRA and any of the Registrant’s Registrar(s).
Except as provided in Section 9.3, neither party shall have any right, power nor association to act on behalf of the other party and neither party shall create any express or implied obligations or financial commitments on behalf of the other party.
The Registrant constitutes and appoints NIRA and any officer or agent of NIRA, with full power of substitution, as the Registrant’s true and lawful attorney-in-fact with full power and association in the place of the Registrant and in the name of the Registrant or in its own name, from time to time in NIRA’s discretion after the occurrence of any event listed in Sections 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, 6.10, 6.11,6.15, 6.16, and 6.17 to take any and all appropriate action and to execute any and all documents and instruments as, in the opinion of such attorney acting reasonably, may be necessary or desirable to accomplish the purposes of this Agreement including, without limitation, to preserve the rights of other registrants of the Registry and the integrity of the Registry. These powers are coupled with an interest and are irrevocable until this Agreement is terminated.
Nothing in this Agreement confers or shall be deemed to confer, Membership or any rights of Membership on the Registrant. The Registrant acknowledges that the Registrant may become and continue as a Member of NIRA only in accordance with NIRA’s constitution, and applicable Registry PRP. Copies of NIRA’s articles of incorporation and constitution are set out on NIRA’s website.
Nothing in this Agreement limits or shall be deemed to limit NIRA’s rights pursuant to its Letters Patent, Constitution and Registry PRP.
The Registrant agrees that the Registrant is bound as a principal by all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, and the applicable Registry PRP, notwithstanding that the Registrant’s Registrar and/or an agent of the Registrant applied for the registration of the Registrant’s selected Domain Name(s) on behalf of the Registrant. The continued registration of the Registrant’s Domain Name Registrations shall ratify any unauthorized actions of the Registrant’s Registrar and any such agent. In addition, the Registrant is responsible for any errors made by the Registrant’s Registrar or any such agent.
The division of this Agreement into Articles and Sections and the insertion of headings are for convenience of reference only and will not affect the construction or interpretation of this Agreement.
Unless the context requires otherwise, words importing the singular include the plural and vice versa and words importing gender include all genders.
Any reference in this Agreement to any statute or any section thereof will, unless otherwise expressly stated, be deemed to be a reference to such statute or section as re-enacted from time to time.
Time will be of the essence of this Agreement in all respects.
Each party will promptly do, execute, deliver or cause to be done, executed and delivered all further acts, documents and things in connection with this Agreement that the other party may reasonably require, for the purposes of giving effect to this Agreement. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Registrant agrees from time to time at NIRA’s request to execute and deliver to NIRA a paper version of the then current version of this Agreement; and to confirm the Registrant’s agreement and acceptance of the then current version of this Agreement (including the applicable Registry PRP) in accordance with the applicable Registry PRP.
This Agreement will enure to the benefit of, and be binding on, the parties and their respective administrators, executors or other legal representatives, successors and permitted and qualified assigns. NIRA may assign or transfer all or any part of its rights and obligations under this Agreement to any Person. NIRA shall provide the Registrant and the Registrant’s Registrars with 30 days prior notice of any such assignment or transfer. The Registrant shall not assign or transfer, whether absolutely, by way of security or otherwise, all or any part of its rights or obligations under this Agreement without the prior written consent of NIRA, which consent may not be arbitrarily and unreasonably withheld and any such purported assignment or transfer, or attempt to so assign and transfer without NIRA’s prior written consent, shall be of no force and effect. In no event shall the Registrant or the Registrant’s administrators, executors or legal representatives are permitted to assign or transfer the rights or obligations of the Registrant under this Agreement to any Person who does not meet the Nigerian Presence Requirements for Registrants for the closed SLDs.
This Agreement (including the applicable Registry PRP and the Legal Notice which are incorporated by reference herein) constitutes the entire agreement between the parties pertaining to the subject matter of this Agreement and supersedes all prior agreements, understandings, negotiations and discussions, whether oral or written. There are no conditions, warranties, representations or other agreements between the parties in connection with the subject matter of this Agreement (whether oral or written, express or implied, statutory or otherwise) except as specifically set out in this Agreement.
A waiver of any default, breach or non-compliance under this Agreement is not effective unless in writing and signed by the party to be bound by the waiver. No waiver will be inferred from or implied by any failure to act or delay in acting by a party in respect of any default, breach or non-observance or by anything done or omitted to be done by the other party. The waiver by a party of any default, breach or non-compliance under this Agreement will not operate as a waiver of that party’s rights under this Agreement in respect of any continuing or subsequent default, breach or non-observance (whether of the same or any other nature).
Any provision of this Agreement which is prohibited or unenforceable in any jurisdiction will, as to that jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or unenforceability and will be severed from the balance of this Agreement, all without affecting the remaining provisions of this Agreement or affecting the validity or enforceability of such provision in any other jurisdiction.
This Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the laws of Nigeria applicable in that State and will be treated, in all respects, as a State contract. However, should the Consumer Protection Act (Nigeria) (the “Act”) apply to this Agreement, where the Registrant is a consumer pursuant to the Act and is domiciled in the State at the time he/she enters into this Agreement, this Agreement will, in such circumstances only, be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State and the laws of Nigeria applicable in that State.
The rights and remedies of NIRA under this Agreement are cumulative and no exercise or enforcement by NIRA of any right or remedy hereunder shall preclude the exercise or enforcement by NIRA of any other right or remedy hereunder or to which it is otherwise entitled by law to enforce.
The parties to this Agreement have required that this Agreement and all deeds, documents and notices relating to this Agreement, be drawn up in the English language.
The parties to this Agreement agree that, for electronic versions of the Registry PRPs and electronic versions of this Registrant Agreement (the “Electronic Documents”), only Portable Document Format (“PDF”) formatted, NIRA authored or approved, Electronic Documents, are acknowledged by NIRA as authoritative Electronic Documents with the sole exception of the Hypertext Markup Language (“HTML”) formatted Electronic Documents used during the confirmation process for creating a Registrant profile and the HTML format used for the Legal Notice and the Privacy Notice on NIRA’s website.
The Registrant acknowledges having downloaded, a copy of this Agreement and the applicable Registry PRP and the Legal Notice for the Registrant’s own records.