Pre-Registration & Founder Box Terms

Please read carefully. By reserving a .human name or buying a Founder Box, you agree to these Terms.

1. Who we are

These Terms are between you ("you") and Human Centered Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company ("HCH," "we," "us"). HCH has applied to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN") to operate a new top-level domain, .human, and is in the running to secure its stewardship.

2. Two different steps

The campaign has two steps. They are separate.

1. Free pre-registration. You may reserve interest in a .human name at no cost. That creates a priority claim, not a purchase and not a guaranteed registration.
2. Optional Founder Box. After you reserve a name, you may buy a Founder Box. A Founder Box purchase is a prepaid product: you receive a physical Founder Box, and you prepay for the registration term included with that box for your reserved .human name if and when the registry launches.

You can complete step 1 without ever doing step 2. You can also wait and pay for registration when .human goes live.

3. What a Founder Box purchase is, and what it is not

Buying a Founder Box is a reward-based purchase that supports HCH's effort to secure stewardship of .human. In return, you receive:

• The physical Founder Box and items described for the option you select ($50 Founder Box, or $250 Limited Edition Founder Box).
• A prepaid priority registration for your reserved .human name for the registration term shown with that box on the Founder Box page (1 year for the Founder Box, 5 years for the Limited Edition Founder Box), if and when the registry launches.
• A listing on the public First Humans wall as your first name and the first initial of your last name. Free pre-registration does not include a place on the wall.

A Founder Box purchase is not:

• An investment, security, equity interest, loan, or deposit.
• A charitable donation by you, and it is not tax-deductible.
• A guarantee of any specific outcome, including ICANN approval, registry launch, or availability of any specific name.

Your purchase creates no ownership interest in HCH or in the .human registry. Every dollar from a Founder Box purchase is put toward the same thing: securing and launching .human so that the word stays in human hands.

4. The name reward is conditional

Your priority right to register a .human name can only be fulfilled if and when ICANN delegates .human to HCH and the registry launches (currently estimated for 2027–2028, and possibly later or not at all). Even then, your right is a priority opportunity to register an available standard name and is subject to ICANN's Sunrise period, the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH), all applicable Rights Protection Mechanisms, and HCH's reserved- and premium-name policies. We do not guarantee that any specific name will be available to you.

If you only completed free pre-registration and did not buy a Founder Box, you still hold a priority claim, but you have not prepaid a registration term. You may register and pay at launch if the registry goes live. If you reserved a name for free and do not complete registration when we invite you at launch, we will hold that name for one additional month, then release it back into the pool.

If you purchased a Founder Box, we will register your reserved name on your behalf when the registry launches and pay the registration fee for the prepaid term included with your box. That commitment requires that your registration contact details are complete and that your reserved name remains available under Sunrise, TMCH, and reserved-name rules. No specific name is guaranteed.

5. Founder Box options

The Founder Box options, prices, included registration term, inventory limits, and box contents are described on the Founder Box page and are incorporated here. The Limited Edition Founder Box is capped at 1,000 units. When that inventory is gone, only the standard Founder Box remains available.

6. Prepaid registration term

Domain registrations are technically limited to a maximum of ten (10) years per registration and then renew. Where a Founder Box includes a registration term longer than what a single registration can hold, HCH will deliver that term by committing to renew the registration on your behalf so the name remains registered to you for the full stated period at no further cost to you for that prepaid term, subject to these Terms. Terms run from the date of allocation.

7. Providing your registration details

To register a name for you, we must collect registrant contact information required by ICANN (name, postal address, email, and phone, and administrative/technical/billing contacts). Free pre-registration collects your name and email. If you buy a Founder Box, Stripe collects your shipping address and phone at checkout; we save those details to your profile for box fulfillment and later use them for domain registration. If you skip the Founder Box, you agree to complete your address and phone through our secure .human portal by the deadline we specify before allocation. We will remind you in advance.

8. If a name cannot be delivered

If, for any reason, HCH is unable to deliver a .human name to you, your priority right will lapse. Reasons include ICANN not awarding stewardship, registry non-launch, unavailability under Sunrise/TMCH/RPM rules, reserved- or premium-name status, or your failure to complete required registration details by the stated deadline (including any grace period). For free reservations only, your priority right also lapses if you do not complete registration within one month after we invite you to register at launch.

If you bought a Founder Box, that purchase remains final and non-refundable in all such cases. You keep the physical box. HCH retains the purchase funds for the purposes of its general corporate operations, including but not limited to the .human stewardship effort, registry operations, capital reserves, and any other lawful business purpose HCH may determine in its sole discretion. Every dollar from a Founder Box purchase is put toward the same thing: securing and launching .human so that the word stays in human hands.

If you only completed free pre-registration, there is no purchase to refund.

9. Founder Box purchases are non-refundable

Except as required by applicable law, all Founder Box purchases are final and non-refundable. You acknowledge you are buying a physical product and prepaying toward a long-horizon effort whose registration fulfillment may take years and is not guaranteed. Nothing in these Terms limits any statutory refund rights you may have under applicable consumer-protection law in your jurisdiction, or any dispute rights you have with your card issuer. If you dispute a charge with your card issuer, HCH will respond in accordance with card-network rules. Card-network dispute outcomes are governed by your issuer's policies and network rules, not by these Terms. A plain-language explanation of purchases, boxes, and what happens if the registry does not launch is in the Refund & Fulfillment Policy.

10. Payments

Free pre-registration does not charge your card. Founder Box payments are processed by Stripe. You authorize the charge for your selected Founder Box. All amounts are in US dollars.

11. Recognition

A Founder Box includes a listing on the First Humans wall as your first name and the first initial of your last name. Free name reservation does not include a place on the wall. We will not publicly display purchase amounts, box options, or the number of buyers. The listing is part of the Founder Box and is not offered separately.

12. Privacy and data sharing

We collect personal information to fulfill your Founder Box (if purchased) and to register your name(s). You consent to our transmitting your registrant data to our registry service provider (Identity Digital) and/or an accredited registrar as needed to register and maintain the name(s), consistent with our Privacy Policy. [Counsel to advise on GDPR-relevant backers and retention period.]

13. Changes

Box items, timelines, and vendors are estimates and may change; we will deliver items of equal or greater value where substitution is necessary. These Terms may be updated; the version in effect at your pre-registration or Founder Box purchase governs that transaction.

14. No warranty; limitation of liability

[Counsel to draft: disclaimers, limitation of liability, cap at amount paid for a Founder Box, or zero for free pre-registration.]

15. Disputes; governing law

[Counsel to draft: governing law, dispute resolution, venue.]

16. Contact

Questions: hello@humancenteredholdings.com

Version v5. Sections 14–15 pending counsel; this document is not final legal language until reviewed. Formerly titled "Terms of Contribution."