- Last Modified - 09/05/2010
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By checking the "I have read and agree to the Terms of Service" checkbox and clicking the "Complete Order" button on the order form creates a contract between customer and USA Domains, consistng of the order, the applicable plan description, and this Terms of Use ("TOU") and you are agreeing to be bound by the terms of this agreement and all terms and conditions incorporated by reference in this agreement. Your use of the services constitutes acceptance of this agreement. |
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The nature of the TOU is to ensure customers are using USA Domains services with due regard to the rights of other Internet users and in conformity with the requirements of our network environment. The TOU are not exhaustive and USA Domains reserves the right to add, delete, or modify any provision of its TOU at any time without notice, effective upon either the posting of the modified TOU to usadomains.com or notification of the modified TOU. Any complaints about a violation of the TOU should be sent to abuse@usadomains.com.
The TOU supersedes any other agreement with USA Domains, whether written, oral, by conduct, or otherwise. |
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A. Shared Hosting & Reseller Hosting Customer Restrictions
B. Server Cloud & Dedicated Server Customer Policies
C. USA Domains Customer Terms of Use
D. USA Domains Customer Billing Policy
A. Shared/Reseller Hosting Customer Restrictions
The following Terms of Use apply only to USA Domains's Shared Hosting & Reseller Hosting customers, and supplement the terms in sections C and D that apply to all USA Domains customers:
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All services provided by USA Domains may only be used for lawful purposes.
Any web application or script that poses a potential security risk or are deemed to be adversely affecting server performance or degrading network
integrity will be disabled or automatically removed without prior notice. USA Domains does not permit CGI, PHP or Application sharing with domains
not hosted by USA Domains or any Scripts that may be abused for UCE purposes.
Examples of unacceptable material on all Shared and Reseller servers include;
- Sites promoting illegal activities
- Sites promoting hate, racism, or harassment
- Lottery or Gambling sites
- Hacker related sites/forums/programs
- Pirated software/warez sites
- Proxy scripts
- IP or Network scanners
- Spam scripts, Mass Mailing services
- Banner Ad services
- Topsite scripts
- MLM or Pyramid schemes
- IRC scripts/bots
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USA Domains reserves the right to monitor and allocate network and server resources. You may use CGI scripts, PHP, MySQL, in use of our hosting services; however, these processes must use reasonable system resources.
Any customer account that uses a high amount of server resources (such as, but not limited to, CPU time, memory usage, and network resources) will be given the option to either reduce the resources used to an acceptable
level, or upgrade its service to a suitable Server Cloud or Dedicated Server plan. USA Domains will be the sole arbiter of what is considered to be a high server usage level. Any shared Web Hosting account deemed to be
adversely affecting server performance or network integrity may be suspended without prior notice to customer.
In order to provide reliable resources to all, customers may not;
- Use more than 25% of cpu or memory for longer than 90 seconds.
- Use more than a combined total of 5% cpu and memory over 24 hours.
- Send more than 250 emails per domain per hour.
- Use more than 50 concurrent database connections at one time.
- Run cron jobs with intervals of less than 15 minutes.
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Sending unsolicited bulk and/or commercial messages over the Internet (known as "spamming") is
strictly prohibited, regardless of whether or not it overloads a server or disrupts service to USA Domains's
customers. The term "spamming" also includes, but is not limited to, maintaining an open SMTP policy,
engaging in spamming using the service of another ISP or IPP and referencing in the spam a Web site hosted on a
USA Domains server, and selling or distributing software (on a Web site residing on a USA Domains server) that
facilitates spamming, hacking or spoofing mail servers, local or abroad. Violators of this policy will be assessed
a minimum fine of $200 and will face immediate suspension or cancellation. USA Domains reserves the right to
determine, in its sole and absolute discretion, what constitutes a violation of this provision.
Violations of this provision also include but are not limited to;
- Unsolicited promotions, advertising or solicitations (commonly referred to as "spam"), including, without limitation, commercial advertising and informational announcements, except to those who have explicitly requested such e-mails.
- Commercial promotions, advertising, solicitations, or informational announcements that contain false or misleading information in any form.
- Harassing e-mail, whether through language, frequency, or size of messages.
- Chain letters.
- Malicious e-mail, including without limitation "mailbombing" (flooding a user or Web site with very large or numerous pieces of mail) or "trolling" (posting outrageous messages to generate numerous responses).
- E-mails containing forged or falsified information in the header (including sender name and routing information), or any other forged or falsified information.
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USA Domains does not permit the installation of chat room software by any shared Hosting customers. Chat rooms tend to require significant system
resources and therefore cannot be permitted as an account option. However, upon request USA Domains provides Java based chat rooms, powered by Volano
Chat, that meet most users' needs and run without degrading system performance. If you would like a chatroom installed on your account, please submit
a support ticket requesting Volano chatroom setup.
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B. Server Cloud & Dedicated Server Customer Policies
The following Terms of Use apply only to USA Domains's Server Cloud & Dedicated Server
customers, and supplement the terms in sections C and D that apply to all USA Domains
customers:
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 | Server Security Responsibilities |
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Server Cloud and Dedicated server customers are solely responsible for any breaches of security affecting servers under
their control. If a customer's server is involved in an attack on another server or system, it may be shut down and an
immediate investigation will be launched to determine the cause/source of the attack. In such event, the customer is
responsible for the cost to rectify any damage done to the customer's server and any other requirement affected by the
security breach.
It is the responsibility of the customer to ensure that there is a current email address and root password on file for
their server cloud or dedicated server.
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Server Cloud and Dedicated servers are NOT backed up by us and it is the responsibility of the customer to maintain backups or have a solution to in place to create backups.
Dedicated server customers may purchase an additional hard drive for this purpuse the simplest solution. Please contact us if you wish to deploy a backup solution. It is your sole
responsibility to maintain backups.
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C. USA Domains Customer Terms of Use
The following Terms of Use apply to ALL USA Domains customers:
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USA Domains's services include, but are not limited to:
- any act of preparing, setting up, connecting, maintaining, terminating, or reconnecting customers' account (including all billing data and the space on the particular Web server that USA Domains provides to customers);
- any use by customers, or any access provided to customers by USA Domains, of computing, telecommunications, software, information, hardware, and equipment;
- any act, or provision of any service, by USA Domains to customers, related to Web hosting, Email Services, Dialup, and Domain Name Registrations (including usage and technical support), regardless of duration and whether paid for or not;
- any provision by USA Domains to customers, of any space, Internet connectivity, or electrical power;
- any access or use related to the USA Domains's Web site, including the Web site itself;
- any other service mentioned in the TOU;
- any other service provided by USA Domains to customers, whether used or not;
- any other USA Domains services that are used by customers, whether offered or provided by USA Domains to customers.
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The legal owner of customer's web sites and accounts with USA Domains will be the individual
or organization whose name is listed in USA Domains's database as the customer contact. Customers
will fully cooperate with and abide by any and all of USA Domains's security measures and procedures
in the event of any dispute over ownership of customer's Web sites and accounts with USA Domains.
As a general rule, in regard to support and account information, USA Domains will only communicate to
the customer directly, and customers should refrain from having their Web Designers / Developers, etc. contacting USA Domains directly.
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USA Domains servers may be used for lawful purposes only. Transmission, distribution, sale, or
storage of any material or information in violation of any applicable law, regulation, or
these TOU is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to: copyrighted material;
trademarks; trade secrets or other intellectual property rights used without proper
authorization; material that is obscene, defamatory, constitutes an illegal threat,
or violates export control laws. The following non-exhaustive list details the kinds of
illegal or harmful conduct that are prohibited. USA Domains reserves the rights to restrict or prohibit
any and all uses of the services or content on your Web site(s) and to remove such
materials from its servers, that USA Domains determines in its sole absolute discretion is harmful
to its servers, systems, network, reputation, good will, other USA Domains customers, or
any third party.
- Offensive Materials. Transmission, disseminating, sale, storage or hosting
material that is unlawful, libelous, defamatory, harassing, threatening, harmful, invasive of privacy
or publicity rights, abusive, inflammatory or otherwise objectionable.
- Export Violations. Posting or sending of software or technical information in
violation of U.S. export laws, including, without limitation, the Export Administration Act
and the Export Administration Regulations maintained by the Department of Commerce.
- Harmful Content. Disseminating or hosting harmful content including, without
limitation, viruses, trojans, worms, bots, spyware or any other computer
programming routines that may damage, interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or
expropriate any system, program, data or personal information.
- Fraudulent Conduct. Offering or disseminating fraudulent goods, services,
schemes, or promotions (i.e., make money fast schemes, chain letters, pyramid schemes),
or furnishing false data on any signup form, contract or online application or registration,
or the fraudulent use of any information obtained through the use of the Services,
including without limitation use of credit card numbers.
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Sending unsolicited bulk and/or commercial messages over the Internet (known as "spamming") is
strictly prohibited, regardless of whether or not it overloads a server or disrupts service to USA Domains's
customers. The term "spamming" also includes, but is not limited to, maintaining an open SMTP policy,
engaging in spamming using the service of another ISP or IPP and referencing in the spam a Web site hosted on a
USA Domains server, and selling or distributing software (on a Web site residing on a USA Domains server) that
facilitates spamming, hacking or spoofing mail servers, local or abroad. Violators of this policy will be assessed
a minimum fine of $200 and will face immediate suspension or cancellation. USA Domains reserves the right to
determine, in its sole and absolute discretion, what constitutes a violation of this provision.
Violations of this provision also include but are not limited to;
- Unsolicited promotions, advertising or solicitations (commonly referred to as "spam"), including, without limitation, commercial advertising and informational announcements, except to those who have explicitly requested such e-mails.
- Commercial promotions, advertising, solicitations, or informational announcements that contain false or misleading information in any form.
- Harassing e-mail, whether through language, frequency, or size of messages.
- Chain letters.
- Malicious e-mail, including without limitation "mailbombing" (flooding a user or Web site with very large or numerous pieces of mail) or "trolling" (posting outrageous messages to generate numerous responses).
- E-mails containing forged or falsified information in the header (including sender name and routing information), or any other forged or falsified information.
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Violations of USA Domains's or any third party's server, system or network security
through the use of the services are prohibited, and may result in criminal and civil
liability. USA Domains investigates all incidents involving such violations. USA Domains
may involve and cooperate with law enforcement if a criminal violation is suspected.
Examples of server, system or network security violations include, without limitation,
the following:
- Hacking. Unauthorized access to or use of data, systems, server or networks,
including any attempt to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of a system, server or
network or to breach security or authentication measures without express authorization of
the owner of the system, server or network.
- Interception. Unauthorized monitoring of data or traffic on any network, server,
or system without express authorization of the owner of the system, server, or network.
- Intentional Interference. Interference with service to any user, host or network
including, without limitation, mail bombing, news bombing, other flooding techniques,
deliberate attempts to overload a system, broadcast attacks and any activity resulting in
the crash of a host. Intentional interference also means the use of any kind of program/script/command,
or send messages of any kind, designed to interfere with a user's session, via any means, locally
or by the Internet.
- Falsification of Origin. Forging of any TCP-IP packet header, e-mail header or
any part of the header information in an email or a newsgroup posting.
- Avoiding System Restrictions. Using manual or electronic means to avoid any use
limitations placed on the Services such as timing out.
- Failure to Safeguard Accounts. Failing to prevent unauthorized access to
accounts, including any account passwords.
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Use of USA Domains's services or equipment for creating or sending Internet viruses,
worms, trojans or spyware, or for pinging, flooding or mail bombing, or engaging in
denial of service attacks is prohibited. It is also prohibited for any customer to
engage in other activity that is intended to disrupt or interfere with, or that results
in the disruption of or interference with, the ability of others to effectively use
USA Domains's services and equipment (or any connected network, system, service or
equipment) or conduct their business over the Internet.
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Adult-oriented sites, designed for entertainment or commercial purposes, are allowed on USA Domains servers.
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The use of USA Domains's services to store, post, display, transmit, advertise or otherwise
make available child pornography is strictly prohibited. USA Domains is required by law, and
will, notify law enforcement agencies when it becomes aware of the presence of child pornography
on, or being transmitted through, its services, by any means.
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Customers are required to use the USA Domains network responsibly. This includes respecting
the other customers of USA Domains. USA Domains reserves the right to suspend and/or cancel
service with any customer who uses the USA Domains network in such a way that adversely affects
other USA Domains customers. While USA Domains may monitor its service electronically to
determine that its facilities are operating satisfactorily, as a general practice, USA Domains
does not monitor its customers' communications or activities to determine whether they are in
compliance with the TOU. However, when USA Domains becomes aware of any violation of the TOU or
other user agreements, USA Domains may take any action to stop or correct such violation, including,
but not limited to, denying access to USA Domains's services and equipment or to the Internet.
In addition, USA Domains may take action against a customer or a customer of such customer because
of the activities of such customer. USA Domains anticipates that customers who offer Internet
services will cooperate with USA Domains in any corrective or preventive action that USA Domains
deems necessary. Failure to cooperate with such corrective or preventive measures is a violation
of USA Domains policy and USA Domains reserves the right to take any such action even though such
action may affect other customers of the USA Domains customer.
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| Actions Taken by USA Domains |
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The failure by a customer to meet or follow any of the TOU is grounds for account
deactivation. USA Domains will be the sole arbiter as to what constitutes a violation
of the TOU. USA Domains reserves the right to remove any account without prior notice
and to refuse service to anyone at any time. When USA Domains becomes aware of an alleged
violation of its TOU, USA Domains will initiate an investigation. During the investigation,
USA Domains may restrict a customer's access in order to prevent further potentially
unauthorized activity. Depending on the severity of the violation, USA Domains may, at its
sole discretion, restrict, suspend, or terminate a customer's Web hosting account and/or
pursue other civil remedies. If such violation is a criminal offense, USA Domains will
notify the appropriate law enforcement authorities of such violation. An unlisted activity
may also be a violation of the TOU if it is illegal, irresponsible, or constitutes
disruptive use of the Internet. USA Domains does not issue credits for outages incurred
through service disablement resulting from TOU violations. Violators of the policy are
responsible, without limitations, for the cost of labor to rectify any damage done to the
operation of the network and business operations supported by the network, and to respond
to complaints incurred by USA Domains.
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USA Domains customers agree to protect, defend, hold harmless, and indemnify USA Domains,
any third party entity related to USA Domains, Inc. (including, without limitation, third
party vendors), and USA Domains's executives, directors, officers, attorneys, managers,
employees, consultants, contractors, resellers, agents, parent companies, and subsidiaries,
from and against any and all liabilities, losses, costs, judgments, damages, claims, or
causes of actions, including, without limitation, any and all legal fees and expenses,
arising out of or resulting in any from the customer's use of USA Domains's services.
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The USA Domains service is provided on an as is, as available basis without warranties of
any kind, either express or implied, including, but not limited to, warranties of
merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement. USA Domains expressly
disclaims any representation or warranty that the USA Domains service will be error-free,
secure or uninterrupted. No oral advice or written information given by USA Domains, its
employees, licensors or the like, will create a warranty; nor may you rely on any such
information or advice. USA Domains and its partners and suppliers will not be liable for
any cost or damage arising either directly or indirectly from any transaction or use of
the service.
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TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT, AND UNDER NO THEORY OF LAW
OR EQUITY, WILL USA DOMAINS (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, USA DOMAINS'S EXECUTIVES, DIRECTORS,
OFFICERS, ATTORNEYS, MANAGERS, EMPLOYEES, CONSULTANTS, CONTRACTORS, RESELLERS, AGENTS, PARENT
COMPANIES, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS, MERCHANTS, LICENSORS, OR THE LIKE)
OR ANYONE ELSE INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING, OR DISTRIBUTING USA DOMAINS'S SERVICES, BE LIABLE
FOR THE LOSS OF A DOMAIN NAME, OR ANY BUSINESS OR PERSONAL LOSS, REVENUES DECREASE, EXPENSES
INCREASE, COSTS OF SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS AND/OR USA DOMAINS SERVICES, OR ANY OTHER LOSS OR DAMAGE
WHATSOEVER, OR FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE OR INDIRECT DAMAGES OF ANY
KIND ARISING OUT OF ANY USE OF, OR ANY INABILITY TO USE, ANY USA DOMAINS SERVICES EVEN IF USA
DOMAINS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. USA DOMAINS'S TOTAL CUMULATIVE
LIABILITY, IF ANY, TO CUSTOMER, OR ANY THIRD PARTY, FOR ANY AND ALL DAMAGES, RELATED TO THE TOU
OR USA DOMAINS'S SERVICES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THOSE FROM ANY NEGLIGENCE, ANY ACT OR
OMISSION BY USA DOMAINS OR USA DOMAINS'S REPRESENTATIVES, OR UNDER ANY OTHER THEORY OF LAW OR
EQUITY, WILL BE LIMITED TO, AND WILL NOT EXCEED, THE ACTUAL DOLLAR AMOUNT PAID BY THE CUSTOMER
FOR THE SERVICES WHICH GAVE RISE TO SUCH DAMAGES, LOSSES AND CAUSES OF ACTIONS DURING THE 2-MONTH
PERIOD PRIOR TO THE DATE THE DAMAGE OR LOSS OCCURRED OR THE CAUSE OF ACTION AROSE.
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USA Domains may discontinue, upgrade, replace, modify, or change in any way, without
limitation, any software, application, program, data, hardware, equipment, or portions
or components thereof, used to provide customers with USA Domains's services. Certain
changes to USA Domains's services may affect the operation of customers' personalized
applications and content. Each customer is solely responsible, and USA Domains is not
liable, for any and all such personalized applications and content, except as expressly
agreed to by USA Domains.
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Except where USA Domains has expressly agreed in writing to the contrary, customers are
solely and entirely responsible, and USA Domains is in NO way responsible, for the
management and backup of all customer data, and all updates, upgrades, and patches to any
software that customers use in connection with USA Domains services.
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USA Domains makes a reasonable effort to provide customers with technologies,
developments, and innovations (collectively "Technologies"), part of which
may be licensed, or co-branded, from or by, third party entities. However, USA Domains
makes NO warranty of any kind, either express or implied, regarding the quality,
accuracy, reliability, validity, or continued existence of any or all aspects of such
Technologies. Moreover, USA Domains specifically disclaims all warranties of
merchantability and and fitness for a particular purpose for such Technologies.
Furthermore, no customer will hold USA Domains liable in any way for the revocation
of any license, which has been licensed to USA Domains. The use of the Technologies
obtained from or through USA Domains, or any other referred third party, whether
directly or indirectly, is at the sole risk of customers.
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Any mention of non-USA Domains products by USA Domains, its employees, or any third party
entity related to USA Domains is for information purposes only and does not constitute an
endorsement or recommendation by USA Domains. USA Domains disclaims any and all liabilities
for any representation or warranty made by the vendors of such non-USA Domains products or
services.
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| USA Domains's Intellectual Property |
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Customers will not, without USA Domains's express written consent, copy, reproduce, republish,
or otherwise use any material, in whole or in part, that is located on USA Domains's Web site,
and customers will not use any of USA Domains's trademarks, service marks, copyrighted materials,
or other intellectual property without USA Domains's express written consent. Customers will not,
in any way, misrepresent their relationship with USA Domains, attempt to pass themselves off as
USA Domains, or claim that customers are USA Domains.
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Customers may not assign or delegate their rights or obligations under the TOU or other
agreement for USA Domains's services, either in whole or in part, without the prior
written consent of USA Domains.
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USA Domains customers must be at least 18 years of age. Any individual under the age of
18 years ("Minor") must have a parent or guardian accept the TOU in order for
the Minor to become a USA Domains customer. A parent or guardian who accepts the TOU on
behalf of a Minor will be primarily liable for ensuring complete and proper compliance
with the TOU, including the timely and full payment of the charges for USA Domains
services, and such primary liability will continue even when the Minor has attained the
age of 18, unless the parent or guardian obtains USA Domains's express written consent
to the contrary. Any acceptance of the TOU or any other agreement for USA Domains's
services will be deemed null and void to the extent that USA Domains will not be liable
in any way as a result of the Minor's age or legal incapacity or the Minor's use of USA
Domains's services.
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| Governing Law and Severability |
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The TOU, and any other agreement for USA Domains services, will be governed by and
construed in accordance with the laws of the State of North Carolina, USA without
reference to its conflicts of laws principles. Any litigation or arbitration between
a customer and USA Domains will take place in North Carolina, and the customer will
consent to personal jurisdiction and venue in that jurisdiction. If any provision or
portion of the TOU or other USA Domains agreement is found by a court of competent
jurisdiction to be unenforceable for any reason, the remainder of the TOU or the
agreement will continue in full force and effect.
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USA Domains will not be liable for delays in its performance of the TOU or USA Domains
services caused by circumstances beyond USA Domains's reasonable control, including acts
of God, wars, insurrection, civil commotions, riots, national disasters, earthquakes,
strikes, fires, floods, water damage, explosions, shortages of labor or materials, labor
disputes, transportation problems, accidents, embargoes, or governmental restrictions
(collectively "Force Majeure"). USA Domains will make reasonable efforts to
reduce to a minimum and mitigate the effect of any Force Majeure. Notwithstanding anything
contained elsewhere herein, lack of finances will not be considered an event of Force
Majeure nor will any event of Force Majeure suspend any obligation of customers for the
payment of money due.
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Nothing in this Agreement will be construed as creating a partnership or relationship of
employer and employee, principal and agent, partnership or joint venture between USA
Domains and its customers. Each of USA Domains and its customers will be deemed an
independent contractor at all times and will have no right or authority to assume or
create any obligation on behalf of the other, except as may be expressly provided herein.
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| Construction and Interpretation |
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Wherever in this TOU the singular is used, it will be deemed to include the plural and
vice versa, where the context so requires. The division of the TOU into sections/paragraphs,
and the insertion of headings/captions, are for convenience of reference only and will not
affect the construction or interpretation of the TOU. Any rule of construction to the effect
that any ambiguity is to be resolved against the drafting party will not be applicable in
the construction or interpretation of the TOU.
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| Complete Agreement and Exclusivity |
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The TOU, and/or any other specific agreement for USA Domains services, constitutes the
complete understanding and agreement between USA Domains and its customers. Except when
expressly agreed to the contrary in signed writing by an authorized representative of USA
Domains, the TOU supersedes any other written (including digitized/computerized) agreement,
oral agreement, and/or agreement by conduct. This TOU, and/or any other specific agreement
for USA Domains services is between USA Domains and its customers only and will not confer
any rights in any third party except as otherwise expressly provided by USA Domains.
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D. USA Domains Customer Billing Policy
The following Terms of Use constitute USA Domains's Billing Policy and apply to ALL USA Domains customers:
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