Each and everyday Internet companies –Google, Yahoo, Enom etc. are all starting to look like big banks or utility companies.

They are happy to charge ongoing and regular fees (read: no work —it’s automated and 100% profitable)

BUT

When they totally destroy your business by say “losing” your domain you’re not supposed to be able to sue them because you all ready surrendered that right.

What a crock of sh*t.

Enom’s is even better:

You agree that we and your Primary Service Provider are not liable or responsible in any way for any errors, omissions or any other actions by the registry administrator arising out of or related to a request to register, renew, modify the settings for, or transfer of a domain name registration (our limitation of liability is explained further, below). You further agree that domain name registration is a service, that domain name registrations do not exist independently from services provided pursuant to this or a similar registration agreement with a registrar, and that domain name registration services do not create a property interest.

YOU WARRANT THAT YOUR USE OF OUR SERVICES IS NOT GOING TO SUBJECT US TO ANY CLAIM(S). You further agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless us, your Primary Service Provider, and applicable registry administrator(s) (including Verisign Inc., Neulevel, Inc., Public Interest Registry, Afilias Limited, and other registry operators listed at http://www.icann.org/registries/listing.html) and all such parties’ directors, officers, employees, and agents from and against any and all claims, damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages and reasonable legal fees and expenses) arising out of, or related to, the domain name registration services you are obtaining from us.

If you contact us alleging that a third party has unauthorized access to your account or domain names, you agree that we may charge you administrative fees of $50 (US dollars) per hour for our time spent in relation to the matter, regardless of whether or not we return control over the account and/or domain names to you.

@DAN: Good find… I added the bolding to highlight the part where we pay THEM if there seems to be a security issue.

Great Blog! I think it’s important to discuss issues like this too.

Our TOS is standard or boilerplate for any software company offering a product or service to market. I have included just a few in the domain industry, but could keep going if needed. I am somewhat curious why you didn’t call first or email asking someone for explanation, but rather discriminate without checking the facts first.

We rest on our many (7) years of service and reliability to the hosting industry as references for our security, honesty, and integrity.

Here are some examples:

Google

14.1 NOTHING IN THESE TERMS, INCLUDING SECTIONS 14 AND 15, SHALL EXCLUDE OR LIMIT GOOGLE’S WARRANTY OR LIABILITY FOR LOSSES WHICH MAY NOT BE LAWFULLY EXCLUDED OR LIMITED BY APPLICABLE LAW. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OR THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY NEGLIGENCE, BREACH OF CONTRACT OR BREACH OF IMPLIED TERMS, OR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. ACCORDINGLY, ONLY THE LIMITATIONS WHICH ARE LAWFUL IN YOUR JURISDICTION WILL APPLY TO YOU AND OUR LIABILITY WILL BE LIMITED TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

14.2 YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK AND THAT THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.”

14.3 IN PARTICULAR, GOOGLE, ITS SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATES, AND ITS LICENSORS DO NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT TO YOU THAT:

(A) YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS,

(B) YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE OR FREE FROM ERROR,

(C) ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED BY YOU AS A RESULT OF YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE, AND

(D) THAT DEFECTS IN THE OPERATION OR FUNCTIONALITY OF ANY SOFTWARE PROVIDED TO YOU AS PART OF THE SERVICES WILL BE CORRECTED.

14.4 ANY MATERIAL DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICES IS DONE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK AND THAT YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR OTHER DEVICE OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL.

14.5 NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM GOOGLE OR THROUGH OR FROM THE SERVICES SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THE TERMS.

14.6 GOOGLE FURTHER EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

15. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

15.1 SUBJECT TO OVERALL PROVISION IN PARAGRAPH 14.1 ABOVE, YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT GOOGLE, ITS SUBSIDIARIES AND AFFILIATES, AND ITS LICENSORS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR:

(A) ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES WHICH MAY BE INCURRED BY YOU, HOWEVER CAUSED AND UNDER ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY.. THIS SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO, ANY LOSS OF PROFIT (WHETHER INCURRED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY), ANY LOSS OF GOODWILL OR BUSINESS REPUTATION, ANY LOSS OF DATA SUFFERED, COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSS;

(B) ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE WHICH MAY BE INCURRED BY YOU, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OR DAMAGE AS A RESULT OF:

(I) ANY RELIANCE PLACED BY YOU ON THE COMPLETENESS, ACCURACY OR EXISTENCE OF ANY ADVERTISING, OR AS A RESULT OF ANY RELATIONSHIP OR TRANSACTION BETWEEN YOU AND ANY ADVERTISER OR SPONSOR WHOSE ADVERTISING APPEARS ON THE SERVICES;

(II) ANY CHANGES WHICH GOOGLE MAY MAKE TO THE SERVICES, OR FOR ANY PERMANENT OR TEMPORARY CESSATION IN THE PROVISION OF THE SERVICES (OR ANY FEATURES WITHIN THE SERVICES);

(III) THE DELETION OF, CORRUPTION OF, OR FAILURE TO STORE, ANY CONTENT AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS DATA MAINTAINED OR TRANSMITTED BY OR THROUGH YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES;

(III) YOUR FAILURE TO PROVIDE GOOGLE WITH ACCURATE ACCOUNT INFORMATION;

(IV) YOUR FAILURE TO KEEP YOUR PASSWORD OR ACCOUNT DETAILS SECURE AND CONFIDENTIAL;

15.2 THE LIMITATIONS ON GOOGLE’S LIABILITY TO YOU IN PARAGRAPH 15.1 ABOVE SHALL APPLY WHETHER OR NOT GOOGLE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF OR SHOULD HAVE BEEN AWARE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF ANY SUCH LOSSES ARISING.

GoDaddy:

11. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY .

IN NO EVENT SHALL Go Daddy BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY OTHER PERSON FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOSS OF PROFIT OR GOODWILL, FOR ANY MATTER, WHETHER SUCH LIABILITY IS ASSERTED ON THE BASIS OF CONTRACT, TORT (INCLDUDING NEGLIGENCE), BREACH OF WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ANY BREACH OF THIS AGREEMENT OR ITS INCORPORATED AGREEMENTS AND POLICIES YOUR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE OR SERVICES, YOUR LOSS OF DATA OR FILES OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF Go Daddy HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Some states may not allow such a broad exclusion or limitation on liability for damages as contained herein. In such states, Go Daddy ’s liability is limited to the full extent permitted by law. You agree that in no event shall Go Daddy ’s maximum aggregate liability exceed the total amount paid by You for the particular Software or Service in dispute purchased from Go Daddy .

12. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES .

Go Daddy expressly disclaims all warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. Services are provided on an “As Is” and “As Available” basis. Go Daddy makes no warranty that its services will meet your requirements, or that the services will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error free, or that defects will be corrected. Go Daddy does not warrant, nor make any representations regarding the use, or results of, any of the services it provides, in terms of their correctness, accuracy, reliability, or otherwise.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the disclaimer of implied warranties, in which event that foregoing disclaimer may not apply to You.

13. INDEMNIFICATION.

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Go Daddy and its contractors, agents, employees, officers, directors, shareholders, and affiliates from any loss, liability, damages or expense, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, resulting from any third party claim, action, proceeding or demand related to Your (including Your agents affiliates, or anyone using Your account, software or services with Go Daddy whether or not on Your behalf, and whether or not with Your permission) use of the Software or Services You purchased from Go Daddy or Your breach of this Agreement or incorporated agreements and policies. In addition, You agree to indemnify and hold Go Daddy harmless from any loss, liability, damages or expense, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out of any breach of any representation or warranty provided herein, any negligence or willful misconduct by You, or any allegation that Your account infringes a third person’s copyright, trademark or proprietary or intellectual property right, or misappropriates a third person’s trade secrets. This indemnification is in addition to any indemnification required of You elsewhere. Should Go Daddy be notified of a pending law suit, or receive notice of the filing of a law suit, Go Daddy may seek a written confirmation from You concerning Your obligation to indemnify Go Daddy . Your failure to provide such a confirmation may be considered a breach of this agreement. You agree that Go Daddy shall have the right to participate in the defense of any such claim through counsel of its own choosing. You agree to notify Go Daddy of any such claim promptly in writing and to allow Go Daddy to control the proceedings. You agree to cooperate fully with Go Daddy during such proceedings.

You agree to cooperate fully with Go Daddy during such proceedings. You agree You will not be entitled to a refund of any fees paid to Go Daddy if, for any reason, Go Daddy takes corrective action with respect to Your improper or illegal use of its services. You also agree that if Go Daddy is notified that a complaint has been filed with a governmental, administrative or judicial body, regarding a Traffic Facts account of Yours with Go Daddy , that Go Daddy , in its sole discretion, may take whatever action Go Daddy deems necessary regarding further modification, assignment of and/or control of your account to comply with the actions or requirements of the governmental, administrative or judicial body until such time as the dispute is settled.

DomainSponsor:

THE PROGRAM, THE PROGRAM MANAGER AND THEIR AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, SHAREHOLDERS, EMPLOYEES, ADVISORS, CONTRACTORS, LICENSORS, LICENSEES, SUPPLIERS, VENDORS, ADVERTISERS AND AGENTS (”PROGRAM PARTIES”) ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY CONTENT PROVIDED BY THIRD PARTIES (INCLUDING ADVERTISERS). EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY SET FORTH HEREIN, NONE OF THE PROGRAM PARTIES MAKES ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR USE, NONINFRINGEMENT AND ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES ARISING FROM COURSE OF DEALING OR COURSE OF PERFORMANCE. THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM REMAINS WITH USER. WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, THE PROGRAM PARTIES SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY REGARDING (A) THE SUCCESS OF THE PROGRAM, ( THE NUMBER OF PERSONS, IF ANY, WHO MAY SEE ADVERTISEMENTS THROUGH THE PROGRAM, AND (C) THE ERROR-FREE, DISRUPTION-FREE OR INTERRUPTION-FREE NATURE OF THE PROGRAM. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL PROGRAM PARTIES BE LIABLE FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, OR OTHER DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, OR OTHER PECUNIARY LOSS) ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE PROGRAM, EVEN IF PROGRAM MANAGER HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THE TOTAL LIABILITY OF ANY PROGRAM PARTY FOR ANY DIRECT DAMAGES SHALL NOT EXCEED FIVE DOLLARS ($5.00). BECAUSE SOME STATES/JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO USER.

Sedo:

Sedo is in no way responsible for the content of any web site owned or operated by a third party that may be linked to or from the Site via hyperlink, whether such hyperlink is provided by Sedo or by a third party. No judgment or warranty is made with respect to the accuracy, timeliness or suitability of the content of any web site to which the Site may link, including information on the web site regarding the Sedo Site. By providing access to other web Sites, neither Sedo nor its affiliates are recommending the purchase or sale of the stock issued by any company, nor are they endorsing products or services offered by any web site’s sponsoring organization.

YOU AGREE THAT USE OF SEDO’S SERVICES AND THE SITE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK AND THAT THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND AN “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. SEDO EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. SEDO MAKES NO WARRANTY TO ANY PROSPECTIVE BUYER THAT THE DOMAINS LISTED BY SELLERS ON THE SEDO DATABASE HAVE IN FACT BEEN REGISTERED, OR THAT THE SELLERS ARE THE LEGAL OWNER OF SUCH DOMAINS, OR THAT THEY ARE AUTHORIZED TO ASSIGN/LICENSE SUCH DOMAINS. SEDO MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT THE BUYER MAY USE THE DOMAIN OR THAT THE SELLER MAY TRANSFER THE DOMAIN WITHOUT VIOLATING ANY RIGHTS OF A THIRD PARTY. SEDO MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT THE SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, THAT THEY WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR FREE. NOR DOES SEDO MAKE ANY WARRANTY AS TO THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE SERVICES OR AS TO THE ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM THE SITE. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF ANY MATERIAL AND/OR DATA DOWNLOADED FROM THE SITE OR ANY SERVICES OBTAINED THROUGH OR PROVIDED BY SEDO IS AT YOUR SOLE DISCRETION AND RISK AND THAT YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE RESULTING FROM ANY SUCH DOWNLOAD OR USE OF SUCH INFORMATION OR OTHER RELATED TRANSACTION. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION THAT YOU MAY OBTAIN FROM SEDO OR THROUGH THE SERVICES PROVIDED BY SEDO SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED THEREIN.

You agree that, regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, except as prohibited by law, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to this Agreement, the Site, or Sedo’s products or Services, must be commenced within one (1) year after the cause of action arose; otherwise, such cause of action is permanently barred.

IN NO EVENT SHALL SEDO, ITS AFFILIATES, SUBSIDIARIES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, OR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR LOST PROFITS OR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SITE, THE SERVICES, OR THIS AGREEMENT (HOWEVER ARISING, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE). SEDO’S LIABILITY, AND THE LIABILITY OF ITS AFFILIATES, SUBSIDIARIES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND SUPPLIERS, TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTIES IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCE IS LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT OF FEES YOU HAVE PAID TO US IN THE 12 MONTHS PRIOR TO THE ACTION GIVING RISE TO LIABILITY, AND ( $100. YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY AND HOLD SEDO AND (AS APPLICABLE) SEDO’S PARENT, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, AGENTS, AND EMPLOYEES, HARMLESS FROM ANY CLAIM OR DEMAND, INCLUDING REASONABLE ATTORNEYS’ FEES, MADE BY A THIRD PARTY DUE TO OR ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OF THE SITE OR THE SERVICES, YOUR BREACH OF THIS AGREEMENT OR THE DOCUMENTS IT INCORPORATES BY REFERENCE, OR YOUR VIOLATION OF ANY LAW OR THE RIGHTS OF A THIRD PARTY.

Do you have any experience with any of the other domain management companies and their terms? I’m not really familiar with any others as I still manage most of it myself. I certainly want to reach the point where I can concentrate on the investment and not the grunt work.