Phew. Just finished wading through the whole document (marked up "changes" version) and accompanying notes.
Some good stuff in the revised agreement. For example, much stronger language surrounding the obligations of Registrars (no longer any wishy-washy idea that things may be "good practice" - it's now explicitly clear that they HAVE to do certain things)
They've strengthened the requirement to declare linked interests:
7.2. We aim to provide our services in a neutral and impartial way, and we have obligations to protect the
information on the Register. We may require that you declare in advance of any investigation by us into
any breach of this Contract or the Policies any connections you have with another Registrar or relevant
party that has a contract with us
This next clause is positive, should stop a lot of abuse by web hosting firms, ad agencies etc. I like the fact that the consent has to be both "explicit" AND "prior" i.e. can't be sought retroactively after the domain has already been registered:
2.1.7. only register a domain name in the name of your customer unless you (or your reseller) have your
customer’s explicit prior consent to register it in a different name (such as your name, your organisation’s
name or your reseller’s name)
This is completely unambiguous, and much better than the wild west .com world...
2.1.12. issue a renewal reminder to your customer at least 30 days prior to expiry of the domain. Except as
set out in paragraph 5.3.6, you must not make any changes to the registration data of a domain name without our permission during the period between the expiry of a
domain name and its deletion. You must always allow a Registrant to renew a domain name (and maintain
the registration in their own name) at any point up to the point at which we would otherwise have
cancelled and deleted that domain name;
They're also generous with the Self-managed tag in that they are allowing for a small number of names to be in the names of third parties. That's handy when you make the occasional sale and the buyer forgets to change tag for a while. The limit in this case ("no more than the lower of: a) fifty or b) 5% of the total domains registered under your Self Managed Tag") looks manageable. Better than the current situation where
in theory you're in breach of the Agreement if even 1 domain is registered to a third party.
Plus self-managed tag holders can transfer domains free of charge, rather than paying the £10+VAT fee. Another nice touch if you're in the resale business.
The big change, which has already been touched on, is this:
5.3.6. You may, no earlier than 30 days after the expiry of a domain name on an Accredited Channel
Partner Tag, take steps to transfer the domain name into your name, provided that you have previously
informed the Registrant that you intend to do this and obtained their explicit consent to your doing so.
Even if you transfer a domain name in these circumstances, the original Registrant of the domain name
must always retain the right to renew the domain name in question as set out in paragraph 2.1.12 above;
However, given the protection in 2.1.12 and again in 5.3.6 putting significantly more emphasis on both the notification process and on obtaining explicit consent, this doesn't strike me to be outrageous given that the domain can still be renewed right up until deletion. It is the one practice that has been common in TLD for years (in .com probably for the better part of a decade) but not in the UK namespace.
Lastly, it's great to see an explicit "Sanctions Policy" - now, Nominet has real teeth to go after breaches in contract.
All in all, it looks like a positive improvement on the old Agreement. Reads much more clearly, with far fewer instances of vague language that could be twisted and turned to say "I didn't realise that's what it meant" and with explicitly stated protection for registrants enshrined in the body of the contract.
