Domain Name Regulation in Saudi Arabia

Version 1.3, 2 Ramadan 1422 H - 17 November 2001

1 DEFINITIONS
2 GENERAL
3 REQUIREMENTS
4 APPLICANTS
5 REGISTERING DOMAIN NAMES
6 DOMAIN NAME CONFLICTS
7 APPLICATION REJECTIONS
8 MODIFYING REGISTRATION INFORMATION
9 TRANSFERRING A DOMAIN NAME
10 DELETING A REGISTERED DOMAIN NAME
11 REGISTRATION FEES AND EXPIRATION DATE
12 GOVERNING LAW
13 LANGUAGE
14 CONTACT INFORMATION
15 AMENDMENT
16 DISCLAIMER

This Regulation outlines the terms and conditions for registering domain names under the country code Top-Level Domain (ccTLD) of Saudi Arabia (".sa") with Saudi Network Information Center (SaudiNIC).
 

1 DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

        1-1         SaudiNIC: Saudi Network Information Center at King Abdulaziz City for Science and technology is the registration authority of the domain name space for the country code Top-Level Domain (ccTLD) of Saudi Arabia (".sa"). Thus, SaudiNIC is responsible for the registration of domain names under the second-level domains (e.g., com.sa, org.sa, gov.sa, edu.sa, med.sa, sch.sa, pub.sa and net.sa). This includes the operation and management of DNS root servers for the Saudi (".sa") ccTLD.

        1-2      Applicant/Registrant: Any entity or person that approaches SaudiNIC to register a new domain name or modify the information of an already registered domain name.

        1-3         Regulation: It is this document (Domain Name Registration Regulation In Saudi Arabia) which consist of terms and conditions that define the relation between the Applicant and SaudiNIC regarding the registration of a domain name under ccTLD of Saudi Arabia (".sa").

        1-4          Official letter: It is a letter from the Applicant addressed to SaudiNIC requesting to register a new domain name or to modify the information of an already registered domain name. The letter must be on an official letterhead and signed by an authoritative person who holds a managerial position in the Applicant. It should include the domain name and the name of the Administrative Contact. Individuals requesting registration of personal names under "pub.sa" may submit the letter on a plain paper.

        1-5          Application form: A form exists for registering a new domain name or modifying information for an already registered domain name. It is available at the SaudiNIC's web site:

http://www.saudinic.net.sa/cgi-bin/online.cgi

http://www.saudinic.net.sa/regservices/application.txt

        1-6          Request: It is a process initiated by an Applicant in which he requests SaudiNIC to register a new domain name or modify the information for an already registered domain name. This process starts when SaudiNIC receives the Application form or the Official letter from the Applicant.

        1-7          Legal documents: Documents that are needed from the Applicant to support his request such a copy of their commercial registration, license, trademark registration.

        1-8         Administrative contact: A person who can speak on behalf of the Applicant (e.g. general manager, director of IT department) and he should be from the organization requesting the domain name. He will be able to contact SaudiNIC and change any information for the registered domain name.

       1-9          Technical contact: A person who maintains domain name servers and zone files for a domain name.

       1-10       Requester contact: A person that initiates and/or follows up the request. Usually, he is the one who fills the application form. He certifies that: (a) He is authorized from the Applicant to fill out the Application form; (b) He will inform the Applicant of the terms and conditions outlined in this Regulation; (c) He will provide SaudiNIC with his correct, valid and frequently used email address; (d) He will inform the Applicant of any messages he receives related to the request; (e) He will be fully responsible for any violation of these points.

2 GENERAL
 

        2-1          SaudiNIC administers the name space for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ccTLD (".sa"), under which a number of second-level domains exists.

        2-2          The Saudi ccTLD (".sa") domain hierarchy is based on general category of organizations. The following are their definitions:

com.sa:         Dedicated only for entities that provide commercial services with valid Commercial Registrations from Ministry of Commerce (MOC) or any equivalent documents. Also, registered trade names and marks with MOC can be registered as domain names under com.sa.

edu.sa:         Dedicated only for educational and training institutions, e.g., universities, training institutes, etc., with valid licenses from official government offices.

sch.sa:          Dedicated only for Kindergartens, elementary schools, secondary schools, and high schools with valid licenses from Ministry of Education or from General Presidency for Girls Education.

med.sa:         Dedicated only for entities that provides health services such as hospitals, medical clinics, pharmacies, etc., with valid licenses from Ministry of Health.

gov.sa:         Dedicated only for Governmental entities including ministries, authorities and government organizations.

net.sa:          Dedicated only for entities that provide Internet-related services, e.g., ISPs, web hosting, portal sites, etc.

org.sa:          Dedicated only for non-profit organizations including societies, charities, clubs and public organizations.

pub.sa:         Dedicated only for entities or individuals that do not fit with any of the above definitions, including personal names.

3 REQUIREMENTS
 

        3-1        The Applicant or the requester contact should submit a domain name Application form (by email) to SaudiNIC.

        3-2         The Applicant should submit an Official letter (by mail or fax) to SaudiNIC.

        3-3         For-profit entities requesting names under the "com.sa", "edu.sa",  “sch.sa”, “med.sa”, or "net.sa" domains should submit (by mail or fax) a copy of their Legal documents. For personal names under "pub.sa", a copy of the Applicant’s Civil Affairs ID card is required.

        3-4         For registering any trademark or trade name a copy of the registration with the Ministry of Commerce in Saudi Arabia is needed.

        3-5         In addition to the above, registering a domain name requires at the time of application that the Applicant should have arranged at least two operational domain name servers to the domain name in question. Such domain name servers may be arranged through third party providers. One of them is the primary name server and the others are secondary name servers. All need permanent IP connectivity to the Internet. Each domain name server must be capable of receiving queries for the domain name and responding thereto. It is strongly recommended that the selection of the secondary name servers should comply with RFC 2182, i.e. the secondary name server should be on a completely separate physical network.

        3-6         Domain name requests are kept in a pending state until all the requirements are received from the Applicant and/or the Requester within three weeks from the reception date. If no such requirements are submitted within this period, SaudiNIC will contact the Applicant or the Requester asking them to complete their request. If nothing is received within a week, SaudiNIC will reject the request.

4 APPLICANTS
 

        4-1          One of the following should be true for the Applicant:

                 4-1-1         Physically in Saudi Arabia.

                 4-1-2         Has a local representative.

                 4-1-3         Owning trademarks or trade names that are registered in Saudi Arabia.

        4-2        SaudiNIC has neither the resources nor the legal obligation to screen requested domain names to determine if the use of a domain name by an Applicant may infringe upon the right(s) of a third party. Consequently, as an express condition of the grant of an Applicant's request to register a domain name, Applicant represents, agrees and warrants as follows:

                 4-2-1       Applicant bears the responsibility of obtaining legal permission to use the domain name which means that the use or registration of the domain name by him does not interfere with or infringe upon the right of any third party in any jurisdiction with respect to trademark, tradename, company name or any other intellectual property right. And it is the Applicant’s responsibility to secure a tradename or such to protect his right to the chosen name.

                4-2-2         Applicant agrees that the domain name will be only used by the Applicant and it is not registered for the purpose of letting other entities use it whether by selling, renting or just giving it away for free. Doing so will result in all domains owned by the violating body to be revoked immediately.

                 4-2-3        Applicant certifies that, to the best of his knowledge the domain name is not being registered for any activities/purpose not permitted under the Saudi law.

                 4-2-4        Applicant certifies that, all information contained in the submitted Official Letter and Application form are complete, correct, true and accurate.

                 4-2-5       Applicant agrees to inform SaudiNIC of any changes, amendments or corrections to the information provided in the application form as soon as such changes, amendments or corrections occur.

                 4-2-6         Any notices and notifications required to be given under this regulation by SaudiNIC to the Applicant will be deemed to have been given if delivered in accordance with the provided contact information.

                 4-2-7        Applicant is aware of that the information provided to SaudiNIC related to a domain name such as the Registrant’s name, telephone number, facsimile number, e-mail address and other contact persons’ details will be publicly accessible through SaudiNIC whois server or in any form or media so deemed fit by SaudiNIC.

5 REGISTERING DOMAIN NAMES
 

        5-1         A domain name should be at least 2 and no more than 63 alphanumeric characters (not case sensitive) per name within the following character sets only: "A" - "Z", "0" - "9", and"-". And the first character should be a letter and the first and last character should not be "-".

        5-2         If a single personal name (e.g. Ahmad, Ali, Alfulani) to be registered under “pub.sa” then it should be followed by at lest 2 digits, e.g., ahmad72.pub.sa, alfulani01.pub.sa. Combining names together is allowed without using digits, e.g., ahmadalfulani.pub.sa

        5-3          A registered domain name does not confer any legal right or ownership to that name. It represents a technical label to be used on the Internet.

        5-4         Applicant is allowed to register multiple domain names as long as they are related to its names, activities or names of things they own (e.g., trade names, trade marks, agencies, …).

        5-5         Domain names that represent, including but not limited to, country names, city names, religions, famous people, family, tribe or protocol names (e.g., www, ftp, internet) will not be registered except for authorized entities.

        5-6         SaudiNIC registers domain names on first come, first served basis.

        5-7        Domain names must not contain obscene, scandalous, indecent, or contrary to Saudi Arabia law or Islamic morality words, phrases nor abbreviations.

        5-8         SaudiNIC maintains the right to withhold specific domain names if necessary for the public interest.

6 DOMAIN NAME CONFLICTS
 

        6-1        Any disputes between parties over the rights to use a particular domain name are to be settled between the contending parties using normal legal methods. SaudiNIC exempts itself from all responsibility for the verification of rights to a name. SaudiNIC cannot act as arbiter of disputes arising out of this kind of conflict.

        6-2        SaudiNIC will not be liable for any interruption of business, or any indirect damages of any kind (including losses of profits) or otherwise.

        6-3        SaudiNIC may suspend registration of a pending application for a disputed domain name in case of a conflict with another pending application or an already registered domain name until the conflicting registrants present a signed and written settlement of the conflict.

        6-4        Acceptance of an application and registration of a domain name by SaudiNIC does not endorse approval or support to submitted names of natural or legal identities, tradenames or trademarks.

7 APPLICATION REJECTIONS
 

        7-1          SaudiNIC will notify Applicants of acceptance, rejection or modification, by fax or email.

        7-2          SaudiNIC reserves the right to reject any domain name to be registered without giving any reason.

        7-3          Reasons for SaudiNIC to reject domain name applications may include:

                7-3-1         Incomplete or incorrect entries in the Application form.

                7-3-2         Not submitting the required Official letter or Legal documents.

                7-3-3         The domain name is not correctly hosted in the name servers.

                7-3-4         The Applicant or his request does not match SaudiNIC's regulations.

8 MODIFYING REGISTRATION INFORMATION
 

        8-1          Modifications are done only to contact and server information.

        8-2          Request to make any such modifications MUST come from the Administrative Contact. SaudiNIC may take some additional measures to verify information for administrative reasons.

9 TRANSFERRING A DOMAIN NAME
 

        9-1          Domain names are non-transferable once registered to an entity unless said entity is bought out or merges with another entity. If an entity is dissolved, the domain names owned by that entity will be de-allocated.

10 DELETING A REGISTERED DOMAIN NAME
 

        10-1     The Applicant may delete a registered domain name by sending an Official letter to SaudiNIC requesting to delete the domain name. The request MUST come from the Administrative Contact. SaudiNIC may take some additional measures to verify information for administrative reasons.

        10-2          SaudiNIC reserves the right to suspend or deregister a domain name at any time in any of the following cases:

                 10-2-1         SaudiNIC finds any of the information supplied to SaudiNIC to be incomplete, incorrect or inaccurate.

                 10-2-2         The Applicant violates any of the terms and conditions in this Regulation.

                 10-2-3         If there is any dispute around a new/registered domain name.

                 10-2-4         An order is received from a Saudi legal authority.

        10-3          A deleted domain name will be put on hold for six months before it becomes available for reuse to other applicants.

11 REGISTRATION FEES AND EXPIRATION DATE
 

     11-1        Currently there is no fee for a domain name registration under ".sa". Therefore there is no expiration date for a domain name registration and thus there is no need to renew the registration.

12 GOVERNING LAW

      12-1        This Regulation shall be interpreted and construed under the laws of Saudi Arabia.

13 LANGUAGE

13-1        The Arabic language is the language of interpretation, correspondence and the construction of the Regulation or anything related to it. However, the parties may use the English language for correspondence. In case of conflict between the Arabic and the English versions the Arabic version shall prevail

14 CONTACT INFORMATION
Saudi Network Information Center (SaudiNIC)
Internet Services Unit
King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology
P.O.Box 6086 Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia
Telephone: +966 1 481 3955
Facsimile: +966 1 481 3950, +966 1 481 3254
Email: domreg@saudinic.net.sa
http://www.saudinic.net.sa

15 AMENDMENT
This Regulation and its terms and conditions herein are subject to change from time to time by SaudiNIC without any prior written notice to the Registrant and the revised terms and conditions as well as any additional terms and conditions shall bind the Registrant after 30 days from the date such change is effected. Your continued use of any domain name registered with SaudiNIC shall constitute your acceptance of the revised and new terms and conditions. If you do not agree to any of such changes, you may request that your domain name registration be cancelled. You acknowledge and agree that such cancellation will be your exclusive remedy and our sole liability if you do not wish to abide by any changes.

16 DISCLAIMER
THE APPLICANT/REGISTRANT AGREES THAT SAUDINIC WILL NOT BE LIABLE, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, FOR ANY (A) LOSS OF REGISTRATION (B) INTERRUPTION OF BUSINESS, (C) ACCESS DELAYS OR ACCESS INTERRUPTIONS TO SAUDINIC OR THE APPLICANT VIA INTERNET, (D) ERROR IN THE PROCESSING OF YOUR DOMAIN NAME APPLICATION OR YOUR REQUEST, (E) THE USE OF THE DOMAIN NAME, (F) EVENTS BEYOND SAUDINIC'S REASONABLE CONTROL, OR (G) APPLICATION OF ANY RELEVANT DISPUTE POLICY OR ANY SIMILAR GOVERNMENTAL OR SUCCESSOR ORGANIZATION ADOPTED POLICIES. SAUDINIC ALSO WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND (INCLUDING LOST PROFITS) REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF ACTION WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF SAUDINIC HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.