General Terms and Conditions

of nic.at Internet Verwaltungs und Betriebsgesellschaft m.b.H. ("nic.at")/AGB 2000/Version 1.0 of June 1st, 2000

These General Terms and Conditions shall apply to any and all services provided by nic.at to its contractual partners, even if no specific reference is made hereto.

1. Conditions for Registration

1.1 Obtaining a Domain Below the Top-level Domain ".at"

In order to obtain a globally distinctive domain name on the Internet (delegation), the relevant domain must be registered (entry into and maintenance of the domain data base): The rules set forth herein shall apply exclusively to the registration by nic.at of domains below the top-level domain ".at" and the second-level domains ".co.at" and ".or.at". Rules for entering names in other second-level domains shall be determined autonomously by the administrators of such domains. The current version, which shall be binding on the domain-holder from time to time, shall be filed under www.nic.at/agb. The original german-language version shall be the authentic version, all other versions are of a purely informative nature.

1.2 Transmission of Declarations of Intent by E-mail

In view of the service requested by the applicant (delegation of a domain), the consent to the transmission of declarations of intent by e-mail is recognized as customary and necessary by both parties, who are aware of the risks connected with the e-mail transmission. In addition, the applicant expressly agrees that as soon as the legal and factual conditions have been met, nic.at may request declarations bearing a validly certified, safe electronic signature.

1.3 Domain-holder

Domain-holder means such authorized party (natural person or legal entity) as is solely entitled to claim use of the domain vis-Ю-vis nic.at. In the application form, the holder shall be designated by its full and correct name and address. By filing the application, the applicant represents that he is of age and has legal capacity.

If these conditions are not met, nic.at may deny and/or revoke the delegation of the domain.

1.4 Technical Requirements

1.4.1 Choice of the Domain Name

A domain name must comply with the technical standards of the Internet and may only contain letters ("a ... z"), figures ("0 ... 9") and a hyphen ("-"). No distinction shall be made between capital and small letters. The name must contain at least one letter, may not commence or end with a hyphen, may not include an "Umlaut", i.e. mutated vowels, and not more than 63 characters. Domains made up of fewer than three characters, or other top-level names valid at the time of filing the application (e.g. ".com", ".edu") shall not be allocated below ".at".

1.4.2 Domain - Name Servers

The applicant shall designate a minimum of two but not more than five, correctly set-up name servers. The data supplied in the application form shall correspond exactly to the technical configuration. The domain-holder shall ensure that all designated name servers are constantly available.

1.5 Data Processing

All data supplied in the application form or resulting from the ensuing business relationship shall be processed by nic.at for administrative and invoicing purposes.

The applicant expressly consents to the name and address of the domain-holder being published on the Internet or in the databases of common documentation centers.

1.6 General Requirements and Conditions

In registering a domain, nic.at acts in good faith, relying on the legality of the claim. The applicant undertakes to comply with the relevant legal provisions and, in particular, not to infringe other parties' rights to a trademark or to other signs or rights under the law on competition (laws on the right to a name, trademark law, [Austrian] ("UWG") (Unfair Trade Practices Act), etc.). It is understood that nic.at will not carry out an examination concerning the domain applied for, but nic.at reserves the right to deny applications in case of a blatant infringement of a right or in case unauthorized use is made of the services of nic.at. The applicant undertakes to indemnify and hold nic.at harmless from and against any claims of third parties whose rights have been infringed upon, if such infringement results from the delegation of the domain applied for by the applicant.

The applicant is not entitled to delegation of a particular domain but is merely entitled to delegation of a distinctive domain name.

No additional rights may be inferred from the delegation of the domain. The contractual relationship with nic.at cannot be construed to have protective effects in favor of third parties.

2. Disputes Concerning Domains

If differences concerning a domain arise between several parties, such parties shall come to an agreement separately; nic.at shall not serve as a conciliation body. In case of disputes, the contact information provided by the holder of a domain will be passed on.

2.1 Blocking "Transfer of a Domain" - "Wait" Status

2.1.1 "Wait 1", No Lawsuit Pending

To allow differences between the holder of a domain and third parties to be settled out of court, nic.at offers to set the status of such domain to "wait". This procedure shall be conditional on the third party furnishing prima-facie evidence of its claims and requesting nic.at in writing or by telefax to effect the "wait" setting. As soon as the prima-facie evidence has been examined and the domain-holder has been requested to disclose the lawfulness of its claim to nic.at, the status of the domain may be set to "wait" for one month. "Wait 1" allows the holder to either go on using the domain or have it deleted, but the domain cannot be transferred to third parties other than the parties involved in such dispute. A "wait" status may be canceled at any time upon joint application by the parties to the dispute.

2.1.2 "Wait 1" - Prolongation

If the differences continue, the restriction on transfer may be extended at the request by either party to the dispute for a term not exceeding one month, in the aggregate. After the expiration or cancellation of "wait 1", "wait 1" cannot again be set in the same dispute.

2.2 "Wait 2"- Lawsuit Pending

If a lawsuit regarding the domain is pending and proof thereof has been supplied to nic.at by any of the parties to the dispute, the transfer of the domain to third parties other than the parties to the dispute shall, upon request by either party to the dispute, be suspended for an indefinite period of time, but at least for as long as such lawsuit is pending.

As long as the domain is set to "Wait", the current holder may continue to use the domain, unless use is prohibited by means of an enforceable court decision (e.g. legally effective preliminary injunction).

3. Administration Process

3.1.1 Application for Domain Registration

Application for domain registration shall be made by the applicant completing the online application form supplied by nic.at and sending it by e-mail to at-dom@nic.at. Applications for the delegation of a domain will be processed by machine, and only one domain will be delegated per e-mail. If the applicant does not have an e-mail system, application by telefax or by letter will also be accepted. Applications received by e-mail will be processed on a first come, first served basis; for administrative reasons, applications made via telefax or letter will be deemed to have been received at 0.00 hours of the workday following the day of their receipt; in case of doubt, the date and time of actual receipt shall be determinative. Applications will not be deemed made until received free from errors as to contents or form. nic.at does not examine the information given (nic.at checks the operativeness of the name servers, though), nevertheless nic.at reserves the right to deny applications containing errors. nic.at cannot be held liable by third parties on account of the delegation of a domain made on the basis of an application containing errors. Upon receipt of the error-free application, notice will be given to the e-mail address designated by the applicant for notifications.

3.1.2 Registration through Authorized Agent (Registrar)

An applicant may apply for the registration of a domain or changes to entries either directly or through an agent authorized thereto by such applicant. If a person requests the delegation of a domain or a change to entries in the name of someone else, nic.at may rely on such person having the necessary authorizations. Should it turn out at a later date that such authorization has not been granted and/or that the authorization granted has been exceeded, the agent without authority shall be liable to reimburse nic.at for any and all disadvantages resulting therefrom. Such liability for damages shall include any third-party claims which are successfully enforced against nic.at because of such entry effected without authority.

3.2 Registration

After a valid application has been filed, nic.at shall delegate the domain and charge the registration fee. Registration of the domain in the domain name server renders the delegation active and the domain is deemed "delegated". Upon delegation, the applicant undertakes to check the correctness of the registered data without delay; applicants who are consumers within the meaning of the (Austrian) "KSchG" (Consumer Protection Act) shall effect such checking within the warranty period. Notices of defect which are received late shall be treated as requests for change and carried out subject to the relevant conditions.

nic.at expressly reserves the right to alternatively effect registration only after the registration fee has been received. As a rule, registration will be made for an indefinite period of time.

3.3 Invoice

The person or entity designated in the application form ("billing address") shall be the recipient of the invoice. The applicant shall determine the recipient of the invoice, who may be a person or entity other than the holder. As a rule, invoices will be delivered exclusively to the designated recipient of the invoice.

The registration fee shall be due four weeks from the date of invoice. The subsequent annual fees shall be due on the effective date of the domain, at the latest. For purposes hereof, "effective date" means the registration date of the domain. If due invoices are not settled in full, nic.at is entitled to revoke the registration of the respective domain and delegate the domain anew. nic.at reserves the right to demand payment of the pro-rata user fee as well as of the registration fee and any other costs actually incurred.

3.4 Fees/Prices

The prices applicable from time to time will be published under www.nic.at/preise. In case of price increases, the domain-holder is, however, entitled to terminate the contractual relationship with immediate effect (termination of the domain). In addition to claiming the general fees, nic.at is entitled to claim any dunning charges actually incurred and necessary for properly enforcing its rights as well as interest and transfer charges. In the event of arrears in payment, incoming payments shall first be credited to costs and interest, then to the earliest claim outstanding, and the annual fees shall only be deemed to have been paid in a legally effective manner when all arrears are covered.

Offsetting against claims outstanding against nic.at or retention of payments because of alleged defects not honored by nic.at is not permitted, except in case of consumer transactions within the meaning of the Austrian Consumer Protection Act.

3.5 Notice of Changes

Any change of application-related data shall be promptly notified to nic.at and implemented by means of a new, fully completed application. In case of changes, nic.at may request a written confirmation by the holder of the domain. The holder of a domain shall be liable for the correctness of the data supplied by them.

3.6 Transfer of a Domain

When passing on the domain to another holder, a written confirmation or a legally effective court decision shall be required in addition to the new, fully completed online application. Such confirmation shall be drawn up using the forms supplied by nic.at, with the previous holder and the new holder confirming delivery and acceptance, respectively. The requisite forms may be obtained from nic.at free of charge at any time.

The old debtor and the new debtor shall be jointly and severally liable for any outstanding liabilities vis-Ю-vis nic.at until the complete delivery of the domain. The new holder shall take over the domain with all rights and obligations pertaining thereto.

3.7 Cancellation of a Domain

A paid-for domain may be cancelled by means of a written notice of the holder of the domain, using the forms supplied by nic.at, at any time, but not later than four weeks before commencement of the following service period (effective date of the domain). There is no claim to reimbursement of unexhausted fees. If the delegation of the domain is a consumer transaction within the meaning of the Austrian Consumer Protection Act, reimbursement of unexhausted fees may only be claimed if and when the contract is cancelled subject to a notice period of one month, with cancellation to take effect at the end of the first year or, subsequently, at the end of each six-month period (sec. 15 para. 1 of the Austrian Consumer Protection Act). If the contract has been concluded via e-mail or by online application and if more than seven days have elapsed between the application and the delegation, consumers are entitled to rescind the contract with nic.at within seven workdays (excluding Saturday) as from delegation of the domain. Consumers are entitled to rescind the contract within seven days as from receipt of the information pursuant to sec. 5(d) of the Consumer Protection Act; if they do not receive such information, they may exert such right of rescission within three months as from the delegation of the domain.

3.8 Revocation of Registration

nic.at may revoke the registration on the following conditions: in case of recurring technical problems with the domain (e.g. name servers are inoperable) which persist in spite of the holder having been requested to remedy the defects, non-payment of the fees, insufficient data on the domain-holder (see 1.3), a legally effective court decision, or upon official order.

4. Liability and Courts of Law:

4.1 Limitation on Liability

nic.at shall not be liable for damage (personal injury excepted) which is attributable to a slightly negligent conduct of nic.at or persons employed by nic.at in the performance of its obligations. Except in case of consumer transactions, nic.at's liability for grossly negligent or willful conduct in any given case is limited to ten times the amount of the annual fees.

4.2 Choice of Law and Jurisdiction

The contractual relationship between nic.at and the domain-holder shall be governed by Austrian law.

All disputes arising from the contractual relationship shall be settled by the Commercial Court of Vienna or, in case of proceedings at district-court level, the Vienna District Court for Commercial Matters, as the case may be; if the relevant contractual relationship is a consumer transaction within the meaning of the Austrian Consumer Protection Act, such disputes shall be settled by the competent court having general jurisdiction over the consumer.

State: 1.6.2000