Visitors, browsers, Client/Customers and buyers of domain names hosted, managed or owned by Namebuoy, IBOD LLC, STIJL LLC or clients are required to agree and conform to the following terms of service and acceptable use policies. Violations of these Policies and Service Contract may result in loss of service or other disciplinary action. Please direct any and all questions through our contact page. In addition to our Domain Name Policies you will find namebuoy’s policies on: Domain Name Terms of Sale or Lease, Copyright Disputes, Trademark Infringement and our Privay Policy. Read all information carefully and completely as you the client, domain name purchaser/lessee will need to abide to namebuoy’s terms and conditions. We reserve the right to modify these terms of service at anytime without notice.
Terms of Sale
Service Contract/Terms of Sale – This contract governs the agreement between buyers, sellers and the leasing of Domain Names
Individuals purchasing and leasing domain names understands and agrees to the Namebuoy Domain Name Policies which are incorporated herein fully by reference. Purchaser/lessee agrees to pay the Total Price listed for the Domain Name(s) selected for purchase or lease. namebuoy agrees to email purchaser/lessee detailed instructions and transfer status for permanent transferring control of the Domain Name(s) within 24 business hours of cleared payment from escrow.com. If there is a delay in the transfer process for any reason namebuoy will notify buyer/lessee the transfer status situation once confirmed within our office. Purchaser/lessee acknowledges that the transfer process for Domain Name(s) must comply with ICANN accreditation policies and procedures. Information regarding ICANN and registrar policies and procedures can be found at www.icann.org. To the extent allowed by the law, the purchaser/lessee agrees to indemnify and hold Namebuoy, IBOD LLC or STIJL LLC harmless from any and all liability or claims or controversies that may arise due to the sale of the Domain Name(s) or which may arise out of or in connection with this agreement. namebuoy and purchaser/lessee both represent to the other that it has full authority to enter into this agreement and perform its terms. Purchaser/lessee agrees to take full control of the Domain Name(s) within 24 hours of sale completion and Buyer acknowledges it is solely responsible for renewing the Domain Name registration(s) with the registrar of record prior to the expiration date listed in the “WHOIS” database. The registrar of record can be determined by searching a WHOIS lookup portal which can be found at WhoIs.org and various domain name registrars.
» Purchaser/Lessee Conduct
You represent that you do not hold or assert any Trademark or other intellectual property right in or to the Domain Name(s), or any portion thereof, that is the subject of this Agreement. In the alternative, if you do now or intend to in the future hold or assert such rights, you do on your own behalf and on behalf of any person who you represent hereby waive such claims and release namebuoy and its parents, subsidiaries, successors, assigns, attorneys, contractors, agents, employees, officers, directors, shareholders, and affiliates from any and all claims arising from such rights. To the extent that such waiver and release of claims is determined to be invalid in whole or in part for any reason, you agree that your remedy in any dispute with Namebuoy shall be limited to return of the price you paid for the domain name that is the subject of this agreement.
The purchaser/lessee represents that it does not act on behalf of any other person asserting such rights.
Namebuoy reserves the right to rescind and/or make null and void the sale/lease of Domain Name(s) if Buyer fails to take control of the Domain Name(s), in accordance with the instructions provided within 24 business hours of the sale orlease of the Domain Name(s). ALL DOMAIN SALES ARE FINAL and subject to prior sale.
All correspondence to Namebuoy should be addressed through the namebuoy contact page.
Trademark Complaint Procedure
When namebuoy receives a complaint from an intellectual property (“IP”) rights holder, our legal team will conduct an investigation of whether the domain name(s) listed for sale on namebuoy are using terms corresponding to a protected term in the domain name itself. Be advised that namebuoy may access, preserve and disclose to third parties any of your information or data (including personally identifiable information and private communications) related to a written complaint of trademark infringement if, in its sole discretion, namebuoy believes that such access, preservation or disclosure is necessary or useful to respond to or otherwise address such a complaint.
If you are an IP rights holder, or represent a rights holder, and object to a domain owner’s use of a term corresponding to your IP rights in a domain name listed with namebuoy, please send the following information via E-mail to support@namebuoy.com or by mail to the address stated below:
1. Name of Company or Individual
2. Contact information (including E-mail address).
3. List of intellectual property right(s) at issue and corresponding domestic and/or international registrations.
4. The specific domain name(s) at issue.
5. Include the following statement: “I have a good faith belief that use of the trademarks described above with the domain name(s) described above are not authorized by the trademark owner or its agent, nor is such use otherwise permissible under law.
6. Include the statement: “I represent that the information in this notification is true and correct and that I am authorized to act on behalf of the trademark owner.”
7. Your Signature.
» Please send written correspondence with the above information to the following address:
Namebuoy
Attn: Legal Department
5020 Clark Road Suite 320
Sarasota Fl, 34233
Copyright Disputes
Our policy for copyright disputes involving our customers virtual assets
Namebuoy is a global Website Hosting and Content Delivery service. However, with the exception of our own business and administrative websites namebuoy does not provide or edit content of those who use our hosting or delivery services.
From time to time, and without any participation from Namebuoy, a customer’s site may include content which another person believes to be their intellectual property. If you believe that one of namebuoy’s customers has published on their website text, data, music, or an image to which you believe you have a copyright we offer the following options to you.
• Try to work it out. Contact the site owner and explain your concern and request that they voluntarily remove your intellectual property from their site or negotiate a royalty or payment for its continued use. Communicate, it really can be resolved quickly this way.
• If negotiations fail, you can retain legal counsel initiate a legal claim in court to resolve the dispute.
• If you believe very strongly that your intellectual property rights are being violated by namebuoy’s customer, and you want namebuoy to take action on your behalf, you must carefully follow the procedures established under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (hereafter referred to as the “DMCA”), which is a statute passed by the United States Congress and which can be found at Title 17 of the United States Code.
Namebuoy did not write the law, and we understand the mechanism it provides for such situations is awkward and the time frame may seem arbitrary. However, if you want Namebuoy to take action you must follow the procedures fully and completely. Similarly, the customer whose use of the disputed material is being challenged must also carefully follow these procedures. Both the complaining party and Namebuoy’s customer are advised to read all four steps as detailed below.
Step One: The complaining person sends to DMCA@namebuoy.com a “Notification of Alleged Copyright Infringement” which contains all of the following information:
(a) Complete e-mail, telephone, fax, actual address (if different from the mailing address), and ordinary mail contact information so we can reach you, or if you prefer your legal representative, to respond to the Notification.
(b) Clear identification of the material in question by description and location on the website. If there are multiple pages then let us know that so we can see for ourselves what the dispute involves. Links to the offending pages or screen captures can also be helpful. But you need to be as specific as you can.
(c) A brief explanation of the basis for your ownership claim. For example, “I wrote that,” or “I took that photograph.”
(d) The following statements:
“I declare that I have a good faith belief that the use of the disputed content is not authorized by the copyright owner or their authorized agent. I further attest under penalty of perjury that the information I have provided in this Notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or have been expressly authorized by the copyright owner to act on their behalf.”
(e) An actual or electronic signature for the complaining party or their authorized agent.
If you prefer to send the Notification in paper form then it should be mailed or delivered to:
Namebuoy – DMCA Notification
5020 Clark Road Suite 320
Sarasota, FL 34233
WARNING – Should your Notification contain false information there may be severe criminal and civil penalties brought upon you. This is a serious legal process.
Step Two: Once we receive a Notification, and assuming it contains all of the information required, Namebuoy will immediately notify its customer and forward a copy of the Notification to them with a request that the specific disputed content be immediately deleted from the website(s). This allows the customer to continue operating the website while discontinuing use of the disputed content. If the customer fails to voluntarily edit their Web site then, following the procedures of the DMCA, Namebuoy, will take action (which may at Namebuoy’s discretion include disabling the customer’s entire website) pending receipt of a Counter-Notification (as explained below), court order, or notice from the parties that they have resolved their differences.
Step Three: If you, as the customer, challenge the claims of the complaining party then the customer may send to Namebuoy a “Counter-Notification” seeking to have their web site reactivated or any deleted or blocked content restored. Such a Counter-Notification must contain all of the following information:
(a) Full identification of the customer with e-mail, telephone, fax, physical address for service of legal papers (if different from your mailing address) and ordinary mail contact information. If you prefer, your legal representative can provide their contact information.
(b) A clear identification of the material or web site which has been disabled, blocked, or removed.
(c) A brief explaination of the basis for your ownership claim. For example, “I wrote that,” or “I took that photograph.”
(d) The following statement:
“I hereby consent to the jurisdiction of the United States Federal Court where I am located, or if I am located outside of the United States then in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (where pair Networks, Inc. is located), I also agree to accept service of process from the party which filed the Notification of Alleged Copyright Infringement, or their authorized agent, through the address provided with this Counter-Notification. I further attest under penalty of perjury that I have a good faith belief that the disputed web site or content was disabled, blocked or deleted as the result of a mistake or misidentification of the material in question.”
(e) The Customer’s (or their authorized agent’s) physical or electronic signature.
This Counter-Notification is best sent as an e-mail reply to the notice provided by Namebuoy to the customer who included the original Notice of Alleged Copyright Infringement. However it can also be sent in writing to:
Namebuoy – DMCA Notification
5020 Clark Road Suite 320
Sarasota FL, 34233
WARNING – Should a Counter-Notification contain false information there may be severe criminal and civil penalties brought upon you. This is a serious legal process.
Step Four: Upon receipt of the proper Counter-Notification Namebuoy will forward the Counter-Notification to the complaining party and Namebuoy will reactivate the website, unblock, or restore any blocked content, no sooner than twenty (20) business days and no later than twenty five (25) business days after the date Namebuoy receives the complete Counter-Notification – unless Namebuoy is notified that the complaining party has actually filed a claim seeking to block the customer’s use of the disputed material in the United States District Court where the customer is located, or in the United States District Court for the County of Sarasota Florida (if the customer is not located in the United States). Should Namebuoy receive actual notice of the filing of court action before reactivating the website or otherwise restoring or unblocking the disputed content, then Namebuoy will take no further action until it receives a court order or the joint notice of the customer and complaining party that they have amicably resolved their differences and joint instructions regarding the website and material at issue.
Questions: Please direct any questions regarding this procedure to: DMCA@namebuoy.com
Trademark Infringement
Policy and process for known or suspected trademark infringement
Trademarks are a legal construct that protects the right of an organization or person to use a distinctive sign, name, etc. to identify its products and services to customers. The idea behind this is to prevent confusion within the marketplace between one product and another or dilution of that particular trademark. Trademarks usually govern the use of names of products or services, but are also sometimes associated with phrases, logos, symbols, etc.
All customers of Namebuoy and our Network must ensure that they are not infringing upon anyone’s trademark.
We do not allow our customers to engage in trademark infringement. That does not mean that you can’t use trademarked terms at all, but rather that you cannot use them in a manner that could reasonably confuse the marketplace. Nominative use of trademarked terms – such as for criticism or analysis – is generally protected under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
Trademark law is rather complicated – moreso than copyright law – and Namebuoy is not at liberty to give prior approval to or otherwise pre-judge whether or not your own intended purpose would be considered legal under the law. We handle each complaint on a case-by-case basis in cooperation with our own legal counsel and do reserve the right to disable any site/account if we have reason to believe that infringement is indeed occurring. Clear cases of willful infringement – such as that associated with fraudulent phishing sites – will result in immediate disablement.
As such, if you plan to use a trademark in a manner that you believe may not be approved of by the trademark holder, we highly recommend that you seek the guidance of qualified intellectual property counsel before proceeding.
If you believe that your trademark is being infringed upon by an IBOD customer, you may contact us and let us know. We have often seen trademark complaints used as a cudgel to silence valid and legally protected criticism, however, so we do ask that you please read the following before submitting your complaint.
Many trademark complaints are clearly intended to silence a critic who is engaging in Constitutionally-protected free speech. In absence of a cogent explanation as to how the use of a trademark in such cases violates trademark law (referencing any supporting case law), it is very unlikely that we would act to remove such a site from our service.
One common example: “companysucks.com” type sites, created with the intent to speak out against perceived shoddy products or services from a given company. Typically, the use of trademarks in such domain names is protected under fair use (cite: Taubman Co. v Webfeats, Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals).
Namebuoy is a domain name and website portal for domain names that are in development or for sale, partnered with Media Hosting (webhosting) company IBOD LLC and design studio STIJL LLC. If the infringement you have identified is in the form of a domain registered by a certain registrar, you will need to file a formal UDRP (Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy) complaint with ICANN.
If you believe that trademark infringement is occurring in conjunction with a website hosted on th IBOD Network, we ask that you contact us and let us know. We do ask that you provide us with any applicable trademark registration numbers, as well as a reasonable explanation of where the infringing usage can be found and why you believe it constitutes trademark infringement (and does not fall under trademark fair use doctrine). Except in the most egregious of cases – such as fraudulent phishing sites.
You may send your complaint (not as attachment) to the following email address: support@namebuoy.com
Questions
If you have any questions about this Policy or the practices of this site contact us:
Namebuoy
5020 Clark Road Suite 320
Sarasota, FL
34233
Efective 01/01/2010 – Today