This Web Hosting Services Agreement ("Agreement") is a valid legal agreement between AST Networks, Inc. ("AST") and you, the individual or
single entity ordering AST's web hosting services ("Services") either via an on-line order form or via AST's customer service call
center. This Agreement governs your purchase and use of AST's Services ordered by you during the Sign-up Process.
You must complete the acceptance process below before AST will activate the Services. PLEASE READ THIS AGREEMENT CAREFULLY BEFORE COMPLETING
THE ACCEPTANCE PROCESS. By selecting the "ACCEPT" button, you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of this Agreement ("Terms and Conditions"). If you
do not agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions, you should select the "DECLINE" button. AST reserves the right to reject this
Agreement for any reason prior to acceptance. Activation of the Services will indicate AST’s acceptance of this Agreement.
AST may amend or otherwise modify this Agreement at any time and from time to time without notice to you. You will be bound by the amended
Agreement upon your continued use of the Services after the revised Agreement is posted at this website.
Services
AST offers a number of standard and customized web hosting plans as published on the AST website for the particular brand of Service
offered by AST. You may also purchase optional add-ons. Subject to these Terms and Conditions and during the term of this Agreement,
AST agrees to provide to you the Services you select during the Sign-up Process. AST reserves the right to amend its Services offerings
and to add, delete, suspend or modify the terms and conditions of the Services, at any time and from time to time, and to determine
whether and when any such changes apply to both existing and future customers.
Payment Terms
AST may charge set up fees, recurring service fees, and other one-time fees for optional services. Unless otherwise specified in any
written offer or promotion, the Service Fees published on the AST website for the particular brand of Service you ordered are applicable
to all transactions between you and AST. AST may amend the Services and/or the Service Fees associated with any of the Services at any
time and from time to time without notice to you.
All Service Fees are due according to the schedule published on the AST website for the particular brand of Services you ordered or,
if not published, on the first day of the billing cycle. All Service Fees and other monetary payments must be made in CAD Dollars. If you
are not billed by invoice, you authorize AST to charge the credit card, debit card or bank account that you provide to AST for payment of
the Service Fees for Services you order before AST activates the Services. You further authorize AST to charge you according to your
Payment Process for the amount of all subsequent periodic Service Fees prior to the commencement of any renewal period for such Services
and for the amount of all other fees and charges as they become payable pursuant to this Agreement. Services Fees and all other fees and
charges that become due during any renewal period will be charged according to your previous payment option and/or Payment Process. All
Payment Process payments are deemed authorized by you and will be assessed in real time.
If AST does not receive payment from your Payment Processor (i.e., credit or debit card issuer or other financial institution), you agree
to pay AST all amounts due upon demand. AST may charge you for a late payment fee equal to one and one-half percent (1.5%) on any overdue
balance, or the maximum amount allowed by law if less, for each month or fraction of a month the overdue amount remains unpaid. AST may
also charge you for an administrative fee for any returned checks or if your Payment Processor declines payment. You agree to pay AST’s
collection costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, if AST is required to take action to collect any amounts that you fail to pay when
due pursuant to this Agreement.
AST may, in its sole and exclusive discretion, immediately suspend or terminate your Services without notice to you if you fail to provide
valid Payment Processor information or authorization or fail to pay for any Services when due. AST may charge a Fifty Dollar ($50.00) fee to
reinstate any Service that has been suspended or terminated.
Term and Termination
The Agreement will continue for the term stated in during the Sign-up Process or, if no term is stated, on a month-to-month basis. The
Agreement will automatically renew for successive terms, each equal in length to that of the initial term. Either party may terminate this
Agreement effective at the end of the then current term, whether annual, month-to-month or some other fixed term, upon at least thirty (30)
days notice prior to the end of the then current term and such termination will be effective upon expiration on the last day of the then
current term. The termination of this Agreement will constitute the termination of all of your Services.
If you breach any term of this Agreement including, but not limited to, Payment Terms and Restrictions on Use, AST may, in its sole and
exclusive discretion, suspend or terminate your Services immediately and without notice to you. Service Fees may continue to accrue on
suspended accounts and you will continue to remain responsible for the payment of any Service Fees that accrue during the period of
suspension.
IF THIS AGREEMENT IS TERMINATED FOR ANY REASON PRIOR TO THE EXPIRATION OF THE INITIAL TERM, AST WILL NOT PROVIDE ANY REFUND OR CREDIT
TO YOU FOR ANY SERVICE FEES THAT YOU PAID IN ADVANCE, BY CREDIT CARD OR OTHERWISE, AND AST WILL HAVE THE RIGHT TO CHARGE YOU FOR AN
ACCOUNT ADMINISTRATION FEE OF TWENTY DOLLARS ($20.00) WHICH FEE WILL NOT BE OFFSET BY ANY PRE-PAID AMOUNTS. You authorize AST, in its sole
and exclusive discretion, to charge your Payment Process or forward an invoice to you immediately upon the termination of this Agreement
for the amount of any Service Fees that are then outstanding.
Restrictions on Use
YOUR USE OF AST’S SERVICES MAY NOT VIOLATE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING PROVISIONS. AST MAY SUSPEND OR TERMINATE YOUR SERVICES IF
IT DETERMINES, IN ITS SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE DISCRETION, THAT YOU HAVE ENGAGED IN ANY ACTIVITY THAT VIOLATES THIS AGREEMENT. YOU VIOLATE
THIS AGREEMENT WHEN YOU, YOUR END USERS OR ANY THIRD PARTY ACTING ON YOUR OR YOUR END USERS’ BEHALF, ENGAGE IN ANY ACTIVITY, DIRECTLY
OR INDIRECTLY, OR ATTEMPT TO ENGAGE IN AN ACTIVITY, WHETHER SUCCESSFULLY OR OTHERWISE, CONTRARY TO THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT.
AST WILL NOT INTERVENE OR BECOME INVOLVED IN ANY DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND A THIRD PARTY. CONSEQUENTLY, AST RESERVES THE
RIGHT, IN ITS SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE DISCRETION, TO SUSPEND OR TERMINATE YOUR SERVICES UPON ITS RECEIPT OF ANY THIRD PARTY COMPLAINT THAT
YOU HAVE ENGAGED IN ANY ACTIVITY THAT VIOLATES THIS AGREEMENT, THAT MAY OTHERWISE SUBJECT AST TO LIABILITY FOR ANY REASON, OR THAT
MAY CAUSE AFFINTY TO INCUR LEGAL FEES OR OTHER EXPENSES.
AST MAY SUSPEND AND TERMINATE YOUR SERVICES UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WITHOUT NOTICE TO YOU AND YOUR END USERS. AST MAY ALSO
REPORT YOUR ACTIVITIES TO FEDERAL AND/OR PROVINCIAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.
Lawful Purpose
You may use AST’s Services only for lawful purposes. You may not transmit, store or present any
information, software, data, file or material in violation of any applicable law or regulation. You may not use AST’s Services
to facilitate, or otherwise assist in, the violation of any law or regulation.
Spamming and Related Activities
AST strictly prohibits your use of AST’s Services to transmit SPAM or to host a site
that is advertised or announced via SPAM. "SPAM" is any form of unsolicited advertisement or informational announcement that is
transmitted, whether singularly or in bulk, via any Internet-based communications medium including, but not limited to, Microsoft
Messenger Service; Chat Programs such as AIM, YIM and MSN; e-mail, Internet facsimile, Internet phone, instant and text messaging
(SMS) and IRC applications. Activities that violate this policy may also subject you to civil liability to third parties and to criminal
penalties.
Permission Based Communications
You may use AST’s Services to transmit permission-based communications for purposes of
marketing your goods and services, provided that you otherwise comply with the standards set out in this Agreement and all applicable
laws including, but not limited to, the CAN-SPAM Act. All marketing conducted using AST’s Services must be permission (opt-in)
based. You must keep adequate and verifiable records to prove that your marketing is strictly permission-based. In addition, should
you purchase mailing lists or other types of data that are to be used to contact third parties via AST’s Services, you must
verify that the lists have been compiled on a strict "opt-in" basis. In addition to the foregoing general requirements, all
permission-based communications sent using AST’s Services must include the following (and you are required to take the
corresponding actions set forth below):
1. A working "unsubscribe" link. (You must honor all unsubscribe requests within 72 hours from the time they enter AST’s
Services.)
2. The recipient’s accurate e-mail address in the "to" line and the sender’s accurate e-mail address in the "from" line.
3. A working link to your privacy policy.
4. A working "abuse" address and/or link. (You must answer all complaints forwarded to this address within 72 hours from the time they
enter AST’s Services.)
5. An up-to-date website that corresponds with the domain portion of the response e-mail. Your website must conspicuously display your
up-to-date mailing address, telephone number and facsimile number.
You are solely responsible for the transmission of all such permission-based communications. AST reserves the right to suspend
or terminate your Services in the event AST receives an excessive number of complaints related to your permission-based
communications, whether such complaints are made by parties whom "opt-in" or otherwise. You agree that AST may determine what
constitutes an excessive number of complaints in its sole and exclusive discretion.
Copyright Infringement
You may not use AST’s Services in any manner that infringes upon the rights of a third party
under federal and foreign copyright laws.
Violations of Other Intellectual Property Rights
You may not use AST’s Services in any manner that infringes or
misappropriates any other intellectual property rights of a third party including, but not limited to, trademarks, trade names,
trade dress, logos, domain names, patents, trade secrets and other proprietary rights of a third party.
Although AST reserves the right to suspend or terminate your Services upon its receipt of a third party claim that alleges that
you are using AST’s Services in a manner that infringes such third party’s intellectual property rights, AST may, in its
sole and exclusive discretion, allow you to continue use of its Services provided that you confirm in a timely manner that you have
discontinued the allegedly infringing activities or provide AST with a court order confirming that your activities do not
infringe the intellectual property rights of such third party.
Defamation and Harassment
You may not use AST’s Services to defame, harass, abuse, libel, slander or threaten a
third party.
Complaints about activity in violation of this policy engaged in by AST customers or end users may be directed to
.
Child Pornography
You may not use AST’s Services to disseminate or display images or other content that constitutes
child pornography under Canada's laws.
AST applies a zero tolerance policy to the enforcement of this prohibition. AST takes an active role in cooperating with
law enforcement officials in their efforts to prosecute violations of statutes that prohibit the dissemination of child pornography.
AST reports the use of its Services to disseminate or display child pornography as required by law. You will not be notified
that AST may be cooperating with law enforcement or that AST has reported the use of its Services in this manner.
Disruptive or Abusive Activity
You may not use AST’s Services:
1. to forge, misrepresent, omit, or delete message headers, return mailing information and/or Internet Protocol addresses to conceal
or misidentify the origin of a message;
2. to create or transmit any Internet virus, worm, Trojan horse or computer code intended to disrupt services, destroy data,
destroy or damage equipment, or disrupt the operations of the Services;
3. to maintain open mail relays, forward or propagate "chain" mail or mail bomb;
4. to engage in denial of service attacks including, but not limited to transmitting packets with an illegal packet size, UDP
flooding, ping-flooding, half-open TCP connection flooding and any other use, or otherwise interfere with an Internet user’s
terminal session;
5. in a manner that encumbers or utilizes disk space, processors or other system requirements beyond those allowed by your specific
account;
6. to establish, create or otherwise make available any Internet Relay Chat (IRC) server;
7. to hack, subvert, or assist others in hacking or subverting the security or integrity of AST’s Services;
8. to disseminate or display indecent or obscene images or content;
9. to solicit information that is considered to be confidential, such as passwords or credit card information, or to crack passwords
or to defraud third parties into releasing their passwords;
10. to solicit or facilitate the performance of any illegal activity, even if the activity itself is not performed; and/or
11. in any manner that might potentially subject AST to unfavorable regulatory action, subject AST to any liability for
any reason, or adversely affect AST’s public image, reputation, goodwill, business or operations.
While AST is concerned with the privacy of on-line communications and websites, the Internet is no more secure than other means
of communications. You should assume that all on-line communications are insecure. AST is not responsible for the security of
any information transmitted over its Services, unless it has expressly agreed to do so. Such an agreement must be in writing and
signed by an authorized officer of AST.
IP Addresses
In connection with your use of AST’s Services, you may only use IP addresses that are assigned to you
by AST. If you use IP addresses that are not assigned to you by AST, AST will suspend your Services from network
access until such time as the IP address overlap is corrected. AST owns all IP addresses that may be assigned to you by AST.
AST may, in its sole discretion, change these numbers from time to time without notice to you.
Certain Restrictions Applicable to Shared Customers
If you are the registered owner of an AST shared account:
1. Your Services may not be transferred or used by anyone other than you. You may not sell, lease or assign the Services or any part
of the Services to any party not named in AST’s records. You may allow ftp access and host websites for your end customers
without violating this Agreement.
2. When you utilize an excessive amount of system resources, AST reserves the right to place CPU process limits on your account
to prevent disruption of AST Services to other customers. AST reserves sole discretion to determine what constitutes
excessive usage of system resources.
Certain Restrictions Applicable to Dedicated Customers
If you are the registered owner of an AST dedicated account:
1. You are solely responsible for any breaches of security affecting servers under your control. If your server is involved in an attack
on another server or system, it may be shut down and AST may launch an investigation to determine the cause and source of the attack.
In such an event, you are responsible for all costs to rectify any damage done to your server and any other requirement affected by the
security breach. You acknowledge and agree that AST will not be liable to you or your end users for any loss or corruption of data
or information, inability to access the Internet or AST’s Services or inability to transmit or receive information as a result of
any actions taken by AST in response to such security breaches. This foregoing sentence may not be construed to diminish or amend
any limitations of liability, or restrict the applicability of such limitations, as to AST that are set forth in the Terms of
Service or any other agreement between you and AST.
2. No Credits or Refunds for Suspension and/or Termination of Services
3. AST does not issue credits or refunds for outages incurred as a result of its decision to suspend or terminate its Services
for a violation of this AUP. You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless AST from any claims by your end users and any
third party that they have been damaged by reason of such suspension or termination of AST’s Services.
4. You are solely responsible for ensuring that materials disseminated or posted using AST’s Services comply with this Agreement
and all applicable laws and regulations. AST does not review, edit, censor or take responsibility for any information you,
other customers or your end users may create.
5. AST may disclose information, including information that you may consider confidential, in order to comply with a court
order, subpoena, summons, discovery request, warrant, regulation or governmental request. AST assumes no obligation to inform
you that such information has been provided and, in some cases, may be prohibited by law from providing you with notice.
6. On occasion, AST may have a need to communicate with you about issues that relate to billing, service changes, additions and
modifications to its Services. AST may choose the method of such communication in its sole discretion. The preferred method of
communication is via e-mail.
7. It is your responsibility to provide and check the account and contact information, including a required valid e-mail address,
that you provide to AST during the sign-up process. It is your responsibility to inform AST promptly of any changes to your
account or contact information. AST has no responsibility for communications that are misdirected as a result of your failure to
provide AST with updated contact information.
AST does not intend to systematically monitor the content that is submitted, stored, distributed or disseminated by you via the
Services (the "Your Content"). Your Content includes content of your end users and/or users of your website. Accordingly, you are
responsible for your end users’ content and all activities on your website. AST, in its sole and exclusive discretion, may
immediately take corrective action, including, but not limited to, removal of all or a portion of Your Content and suspension and/or
termination of your Services, in the event of notice of any possible violation of the Agreement by you or your end users. You agree
that AST will have no liability to you or any of your end users due to any corrective action that AST may take and that
you will not be entitled to a refund of any fees paid in advance prior to the corrective action.
You warrant that Your Content does not violate or infringe any copyright, trademark, patent or intellectual or other proprietary
property right of any third party or contain any obscene or libelous material or otherwise violate any law or regulation.
Your use of networks or computing resources provided to AST by third party providers and made available to you as part of the
Services is subject to the respective permission and usage policies of such third parties.
You expressly (i) grant to AST a license to cache the entirety of Your Content and your web site, including content supplied by
third parties, hosted by AST under this Agreement, and (ii) agree that such caching is not an infringement of any of your
intellectual property rights or any third party's intellectual property rights.
If AST assigns to you an Internet Protocol address for your use, you may use that Internet Protocol address only as expressly
permitted by AST in connection with your use of the Services during the term of this Agreement. AST will maintain and
control ownership of all Internet Protocol numbers and addresses that may be assigned to you by AST. AST reserves the
right, in its sole and exclusive discretion, to change or remove any and all such Internet Protocol numbers and addresses.
You agree that you will not use excessive amounts of CPU processing on any of AST's servers. AST, in its sole and exclusive
discretion, may immediately take corrective action, including, but not limited to, assessment of additional fees and suspension and/or
termination of Services, in the event you violate this policy. You agree that AST will have no liability to you or any of your end
users due to any corrective action that AST may take and that you will not be entitled to a refund of any fees paid in advance prior
to the corrective action.
You agree that you will not use bandwidth and disk usage amounts that exceed the limits applicable to your Services as published on
the AST website for the particular brand of Services you ordered ("Agreed Usage"). AST will monitor your bandwidth and disk
usage. AST, in its sole and exclusive discretion, may immediately take corrective action, including, but not limited to, assessment
of additional fees and suspension and/or termination of Services, in the event you exceed the Agreed Usage. You agree that AST will
have no liability to you or any of your end users due to any corrective action that AST may take and that you will not be entitled
to a refund of any fees paid in advance prior to the corrective action.
License
This Section 7 (the "License") applies to you only if you use software licensed to you in connection with the Services and is in
addition to and not in lieu of all other Terms of Service that govern your Services.
In connection with the Services, AST may make available to you the AST Content, certain technology and software owned by
AST or third parties (which may include corresponding documentation, associated software components, media, printed materials,
and "online" and electronic documentation and all updates and upgrades thereto) (the "Licensed Material"). You agree that the
Licensed Material is the exclusive property of AST and its licensors and is protected by copyright laws and international
copyright treaties, as well as other intellectual property laws and treaties.
AST grants to you the non-exclusive right to install the Licensed Material on a single computer; or install and store the
Licensed Material on a single storage device, such as a network server, used only to install the Licensed Material on your other
computers over an internal network, provided you have a license for each separate computer on which the Licensed Material is
installed and run. The Licensed Material is licensed, not sold. The license for the Licensed Material may not be shared, installed
or used concurrently on different computers. In the event the Licensed Material is distributed along with other AST Licensed
Materials as part of a suite of products (collectively, the "Suite"), the license of the Suite is licensed as a single product and
none of the products in the Suite, including the Licensed Material, may be separated for installation or use on more than one
computer.
You may not remove or alter any copyright notices on any copies of the Licensed Material. You may not make or distribute copies of
the Licensed Material to third parties or electronically transfer the Licensed Material from one computer to another or over a
network. You may not alter, merge, modify, adapt or translate the Licensed Material, or reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble
the Licensed Material, except and only to the extent that such activity is expressly permitted by applicable law notwithstanding
this limitation. You may not modify the Licensed Material or create derivative works based upon the Licensed Material. You may not
sell, rent, lease, lend, assign, transfer or sublicense the Licensed Material. You must comply with all applicable laws regarding
use of the Licensed Material.
AST may provide you with support services related to the Licensed Material ("Support Services"). Use of Support Services is
governed by the Terms of Service. Any supplemental software code AST provides to you as part of the Support Services will be
considered part of the Licensed Material and subject to the terms and conditions of this License. With respect to technical
information you provide to AST as part of the Support Services, AST may use such information in compliance with its
Privacy Policy.
Without prejudice to any other rights, AST may, in its sole and exclusive discretion, terminate this License if you fail to
comply with the terms and conditions of this License. In such event, you must destroy all copies of the Licensed Material. All other
rights of both parties and all other provisions of this License will survive any termination.
The foregoing license gives you limited license to use the Licensed Material. AST and its licensors retain all right, title and
interest, including, but not limited to, copyright and intellectual property rights, in and to the Licensed Material and any copies
thereof. All title and intellectual property rights in and to the content that may be accessed through use of the Licensed Material
are the property of the respective content owner and may be protected by applicable copyright or other intellectual property laws and
treaties. This License grants you no rights to use such content. AST and its licensors reserve all rights not expressly granted.
The Licensed Material is provided with "RESTRICTED RIGHTS" applicable to private and public licensees alike. Without limiting the
foregoing, use, duplication, or disclosure by the United States Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in this License
and as provided in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at DFARS 252.227-7013 or
subparagraphs (c)(1) and (2) of the Commercial Computer Software Restricted Rights at 48 CFR 52.227-19, as applicable.
The Licensed Material may contain third party software that require notices and/or additional terms and conditions. All required
third party software notices and/or terms and conditions are made a part of and incorporated by reference into this License. By
accepting th therein.
Notices
It is your responsibility to provide accurate and complete account and contact information, including a valid e-mail address, to
AST during the Sign-up Process. It is also your responsibility to inform AST promptly of any changes to your account or
contact information. AST has no responsibility for communications that are misdirected as a result of your failure to provide
AST with updated contact information or as a result of the suspension or termination of your Services.
AST may provide notice to you required by this Agreement via e-mail at the address provided by you. You agree that notice to
you at this address is deemed sufficient regardless of your receipt of such email. You must provide all notices to AST required
in writing to AST Networks, Inc., 325 Weston Road, Unit 5C, Toronto, Ontario M6P 479, Canada or as changed by AST via its
on-line amendment of this Agreement.
AST will be excused from any delay or failure in performance hereunder caused by reason of any occurrence or contingency beyond
its reasonable control, including but not limited to, acts of God, earthquakes, depressions, inclement weather, labor disputes and
strikes, riots, war and governmental requirements.
If any provision(s) of this Agreement is held to be contrary to law, then such provision(s) shall be construed, as nearly as
possible, to reflect the intentions of the parties with all other provisions of this Agreement remaining in full force and effect.
AST’s failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of such right or
provision unless acknowledged and agreed to by AST in writing.
This Agreement, together with the order form, if any, you submitted on-line to order your Services, the Privacy Policy and all
documents referenced herein and therein, comprise the entire agreement between you and AST and supersedes all prior agreements
between the parties regarding the subject matter contained herein. This Agreement shall apply to all additional products and
services that you purchase from AST or its subsidiaries and affiliates, whether or not you complete the acceptance process with
respect to additional products and services (all such additional products or services purchased, also "Services"), and this Agreement
will govern your purchase and use of all additional Services.
This Agreement and your rights hereunder may not be assigned or transferred to any third party. AST reserves the right to
assign this Agreement to any of its subsidiaries or affiliates or to any third party that acquires all or substantially all of its
relevant business or assets.
You represent and warrant that, if you are an individual, you are at least 18 years of age, that you have read this Agreement and
that you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of the Agreement. You acknowledge and agree that AST can and will rely
on all representations, warranties, covenants and agreements that you make herein.
Effective date: this policy was last updated on March 15, 2005.
