Hello Drew,

The answers to your questions depend on which namespace we are talking
about.

I will constrain my answers to the ".au" namespace.

> 
> I have customers who are moving away from certain resellers, and the 
> resellers are making it impossible for the customer to get 
> the registry key. 

You can retrieve the registry key from Melbourne IT for domains registered
prior to 28 June 2002:
http://www.melbourneit.com.au/maintenance/recoverkey.php.

For names registered after 1 July 2002 it is a requirement that registrars
provide the registry key (now called domain name password) on request.

See auDA's domain name password policy:
http://www.auda.org.au/docs/auda-2002-12.txt

> The domains are fairly new, and the registry key has never 
> been given to the 
> customer. One inperticular reseller has a form on their website that 
> encourages leaving clients to fill it out with the new 
> hosting companies DNS 
> details, so that they can redelegate the domain, obviously 
> without disclosing 
> the regisrty key to the customer.

I believe that for domains registered after 1 July 2002, the registrant
should be supplied with the domain name password.  The system was intended
to allow registrants to choose their own domain name password (this is not
currently available with Melbourne IT due to delays in development).

> 
> My questions are as follows:
> 
> 1. Is there a legal standing where if the customer asks the 
> reseller who 
> registered the domain for the registry key for their domain, 
> they must give 
> it to them? (esp if the reseller has kept the contact email 
> details as their 
> own, so that any automated responses only goto them),

You can certainly get the password from the registrar.

The legal standing with respect to resellers will probably depend on the
registrar-reseller agreement.

> 
> 2. Shouldn't registry keys be given to clients when they get 
> confirmation of 
> domain aceptance?

Yes.



> 
Regards,
Bruce Tonkin