.eco Domain Grant Terms and Conditions

Updated:

Big Room Inc (“Big Room”) is the registry operator for the .eco top level domain (“.eco TLD”). This Program is an initiative to support environmental organizations in launching their campaigns and websites by providing a .eco domain name for free for the first year of registration. All aspects of the Program are governed by the Terms and Conditions as defined below.

1. Definitions

1.1 “.eco Domain” means a domain name in the .eco top level domain.

1.2 “.eco Grantee” means a Grant Applicant whose Application has been approved by Big Room for the Program, who has executed this Agreement, and who is in good standing under the Program.

1.3 “.eco Grantee Website” means a website developed by or on behalf of a .eco Grantee using the Approved Domain that was the subject of such .eco Grantee’s Application.

1.4 “Applicant” means a party that submits an Application for a .eco Domain under the Program.

1.5 “Application” means the information, answers and proposals contained in the Applicant’s request for a .eco Domain name under the Program submitted to Big Room, as well as any subsequent information, correspondence or supplemental materials submitted to Big Room in connection therewith for the purpose of being approved by Big Room for participation in the Program.

1.6 “Application Process” means the entire application and approval process for domain names under the Program, including, without limitation, the drafting and submission of Applications by Applicants (including any supplemental materials that may be requested by Big Room), any communication between an Applicant and Big Room relating to the Program, Big Room’s review, consideration, approval and rejection of Applications, and the acceptance of the Terms and Conditions.

1.7 “Approved Domain” means a .eco Domain that is the subject of an Application which has been approved by Big Room for participation in the Program.

1.8 “Proposed Plan” means an Applicant’s proposed development, usage and marketing plan for a .eco Domain as described in their Application and in any subsequent materials and correspondence provided to Big Room in connection therewith.

1.9 “Registrar” means any entity accredited by Big Room as a registrar for .eco Domains.

1.10 “Registration” means the registration in the name of a .eco Grantee of an Approved Domain.

1.11 “Terms and Conditions” means the complete terms and conditions applicable to the Program, including those set forth in these .eco Domain Grant Program Terms and Conditions, and the applicable .eco Policies and Terms of Use, communicated to the Applicant by Big Room during the Application Process, all of which may be modified by Big Room from time to time in its sole discretion.

1.12 “Grant Domain Information Form” means the online form for collecting the information necessary to register the Approved Domain.

2. Program Overview

The following is a brief summary of the various steps in the Program ultimately leading to Registration of an Approved Domain:

(a) Application Submission: Applicants submit completed Applications in accordance with these Terms and Conditions. By submitting an Application, Applicants agree to comply with and be bound by the Terms and Conditions.

(b) Application Review: Big Room reviews Applications for compliance with Program criteria and assesses the extent to which the Proposed Plan would contribute to the global environmental community in a meaningful way.

(c) Approval: Big Room approves those Applications it determines are best suited for the Program. The .eco Grantee will complete the Grant Domain Information form to provide Big Room the information necessary to register the Approved Domain.

(e) Registration: Big Room will coordinate with the Registrar selected by the .eco Grantee to register the Approved Domain on behalf of the .eco Grantee using the information in the Grant Domain Information Form.

(f) Site Development, Launch and Operation: Unless otherwise mutually agreed upon by Big Room and the applicable .eco Grantee, .eco Grantee shall develop and launch the .eco Grantee Website no later than 6 months from the date of Registration of the Approved Domain in accordance with the Terms and Conditions. The .eco Grantee is responsible for any charges related to hosting and operating their website and domain.

(g) .eco Profile Activation: The .eco Grantee shall activate and fully complete their .eco profile no later than 1 month from the date of Registration of the Approved Domain. Information in the .eco profile should be accurate and complete.

(h) .eco Trustmark: The .eco Grantee should display the .eco Trustmark on their website once the website has been launched.

(i) Renewal: .eco Grantees that have completed the Program in good standing are given the opportunity to renew the Approved Domain at their Registrar, standard renewal fees apply. Failure to renew the Approved Domain by the end of the first year of registration will lead to the deletion of the Approved Domain.

3. Applicant and Grantee Obligations

3.1 All costs and expenses incurred by an Applicant in connection with the Application Process and/or participation in the Program as a .eco Grantee shall be borne exclusively by the Applicant/.eco Grantee. Big Room shall have no liability for any such costs or expenses or be obligated to reimburse Applicant/.eco Grantee for the same. .eco Grantees are responsible for ensuring they meet any and all applicable requirements for Registration of a .eco Domain.

3.2 Each .eco Grantee: (a) must use his/her/its best efforts to launch a .eco Grantee Website within 6 months from the date of Registration of the Approved Domain (b) must issue an announcement of the launch of the .eco Grantee Website and/or grant Big Room the right to issue an announcement (to be approved by .eco Grantee, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed) concurrent with the launch of the .eco Grantee Website, (c) maintain the .eco Grantee Website in good working order, with unique, meaningful content, user-friendly interfaces, and broad user appeal, for the duration of the License Term, (d) market and promote the .eco Grantee Website and the Approved Domain in a manner that is likely to produce awareness of the same based on industry best practices, (e) participate in reasonable joint marketing initiatives with Big Room, to be discussed and mutually agreed upon, given the unique circumstances of each Applicant, and (f) give Big Room the right to link to the .eco Grantee Website and to use in good faith .eco Grantee’s name, likeness, trademarks, logos, and Application contents (other than Confidential Information, as defined below), as well as other .eco Grantee information and content as may be mutually agreed, in Big Room’s marketing, promotional and communications materials relating to the Grantee Program.

4. Reservations of Rights

Big Room is not obligated to approve any Applications. In addition, without limitation, Big Room reserves the right in its sole discretion, but is not obligated, to: (a) request additional information or clarification regarding any Application, (b) rescind the approval of an Application for any reason prior to Registration of the Approved Domain, (c) remedy technical errors in this Application or in the Application Process, (d) negotiate, modify and/or waive any aspect(s) of the Program for any, all or none of the Applicants, including, without limitation, the Application Process, the Terms and Conditions and/or Big Room’s rights under the Program, (e) replace an approved Applicant with another Applicant if the originally approved Applicant violates the Terms and Conditions or if such Applicant’s participation in the Program is otherwise terminated (whether before or after becoming a .eco Grantee), and (f) decline any or all Applications for any or no reason and to license, sell, transfer, register or otherwise convey rights in any .eco Domain to any person or entity outside of the Program.

5. Disclaimer regarding Potential Disputes

5.1 All Applicants acknowledge and agree that Big Room makes no representations or warranties of any kind (express or implied) regarding the Application Process, any .eco Domain or otherwise in connection with this Program, including, without limitation, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Big Room makes no representations, warranties or guarantees to the Applicant with respect to the possibility or likelihood of any of the following occurring or not occurring: (a) an objection or challenge to the Applicant’s right to license, use and/or Register any .eco Domain (on the basis of intellectual property rights or otherwise), and/or (b) Big Room’s direct or indirect facilitation or permission (either pursuant to the Program or otherwise) of any person’s use and/or Registration of a domain name similar to an Approved Domain or of any domain name for a purpose similar to, that competes with or that might cause confusion with the proposed or actual use of an Approved Domain.

5.2 Big Room has no obligation to make any determination as to whether (i) an Approved Domain (or any use thereof) infringes the legal rights of any person, or (ii) any other domain name (or the use thereof by any person, including another Applicant) may infringe the legal rights of any Applicant. It is each Applicant’s sole responsibility to investigate its legal rights and the legal rights of others with respect to any Approved Domain. All Applicants acknowledge and agree that they are exclusively liable for any infringement or other liability arising out of their license, use and/or Registration of any domain name. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Big Room reserves the right to terminate any Registration of an Approved Domain if Big Room determines that the same (and/or the usage of the relevant .eco Domain) infringes the intellectual property or other rights of any person. By submitting an Application, each Applicant expressly acknowledges that participation in the Application Process and in this Program does not vest in them any rights of priority or otherwise with respect to any .eco Domains, irrespective of any intellectual property or other legal rights such Applicant may have. In addition, Applicant acknowledges and agrees that Big Room may develop, use, source, license, or otherwise implement marketing or promotional programs, business models, technology, or other intellectual property similar to information provided to Big Room in any Application or Proposed Plan, and Applicant shall not assert any claims against Big Room related to misappropriation of intellectual property contained in Applicant’s Application.

6. Evaluation Process

Big Room will review all Applications for compliance with the Terms and Conditions and will assess the extent to which Big Room believes the Proposed Plan is likely to contribute to the global environmental community in a meaningful way (particularly as compared with competing Applications for the same .eco Domain if the domain is a generic term), as well as the likelihood of the Applicant being able to execute the Proposed Plan successfully. In reviewing Applications, Big Room may consider all relevant factors, including, without limitation: (a) the Applicant’s experience, including past evidence of successful development and deployment of websites and/or online businesses, (b) the Proposed Plan, (c) the Applicant’s technical and operational capability; (d) Applicant’s compliance or ability to comply with all of the .eco TLD policies including without limitation the .Eco Eligibility Policy and .Eco Acceptable Use Policy and (e) the Applicant’s financial condition. In addition, Applicants acknowledge that its preferred domain name may not be available due to its inclusion on any of the following lists (the “Excluded Names”), (i) names reserved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”) or Big Room and (ii) certain premium .eco Domains. Applications including .eco Domains that are Excluded Names may be rejected. All decisions regarding the Program will be in Big Room’s sole and absolute discretion. Once an Application is approved,the Applicant will be considered a .eco Grantee. Big Room shall not be obligated to provide a response or notice of rejection to Applicants whose Applications were not approved.

7. Confidentiality of Application Information

Any information in the Application that Applicant reasonably considers in good faith to be confidential should be specifically and clearly marked and identified as such (“Confidential Information”). Unless appropriately marked and identified otherwise, Big Room will assume that all Applications and information contained therein are not confidential. A single designation that all information in an Application is considered confidential will not suffice and will not be construed by Big Room to give rise to any obligation of confidentiality. No Application may contain any information considered to be trade secrets. Except as required by applicable law, Big Room will not make publicly available or disclose to any third parties (including other Applicants, but excluding any representatives of Big Room and its affiliates that have a “need to know” for purposes of administering the Program or for purposes of providing business, financial and/or legal advice to Big Room), the Confidential Information contained in an Application. Notwithstanding the foregoing, however, under no circumstances shall any publicly available information, the identity of the Applicant, the requested .eco Domain(s), or a summary description of the Proposed Plan be considered Confidential Information. In the event Big Room receives multiple Applications containing similar Proposed Plans, Big Room shall have no obligation to inform any Applicant regarding any such similarities, take any other action regarding the same or ascribe any particular meaning to the existence thereof.

8. Restrictions

The license granted to .eco Grantee for use of Approved Domains may not be assigned, transferred, sold, or conveyed to any third party except in connection with a sale of all or substantially all of the equity or assets of the .eco Grantee and then only if the successor confirms in writing its agreement to be bound by all of the Terms and Conditions. Approved Domains may not be used for: (a) typosquatting or other deceptive or manipulative purposes intended to benefit from misdirected or unintended Internet traffic or otherwise infringing the rights of others, (b) pornography, (c) gambling, (d) disparaging the TLD, the global environmental community, Big Room, its affiliates, or their respective owners, officers, directors, members, managers, employees, agents, service providers and representatives, (e) domain parking, under construction pages, single page cost per action or other advertising related landing pages not supported by a content rich back end, (f) the promotion of violence, intolerance (regarding race, creed, religion, sexual preference, gender or political affiliation), and/or illegal activity of any kind, and/or (g) distributing malware, abusively operating botnets, phishing, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement, fraudulent or deceptive practices, counterfeiting or otherwise engaging in activity contrary to applicable law.

9. Agreement to Terms and Conditions

By submitting an Application, the relevant Applicant agrees to be bound by the Terms and Conditions and represents and warrants that he, she or it has read and understands the Terms and Conditions.

10. Modifications; Guidelines; Enforcability

Big Room may, but is not obligated to, issue interpretive guidelines on its website or to prospective or actual Applicants regarding the Program and the Terms and Conditions. Big Room may modify any aspect of the Program, including the Terms and Conditions, from time to time, which modifications will take effect at the time they are published on Big Room’s website. If any part of the Terms and Conditions is declared invalid or unenforceable for any reason, the remainder of the Terms and Conditions will be valid and enforceable as if the invalid or unenforceable part were not included therein. In addition, there shall be substituted for any invalid or unenforceable provision a suitable provision that as closely as possible approximates Big Room’s original intent.