From time-to-time, we receive questions about how trade embargoes imposed by the U.S. government affect our products. The purpose of this blog post is to provide basic information on how these trade embargoes work, and how we apply them generally to our products. Because this is a complex subject, this is only a summary. The application of a particular embargo to your business should be discussed with an attorney.

cPanel is a U.S. company. For this reason, any trade embargoes imposed by the U.S. government apply to our products. These embargoes apply to our products even if they are not directly sold by us. For example, if you license cPanel from a reseller or agent, these embargoes continue to apply. So, if you are based in a country on whom the U.S. has imposed an embargo, we cannot license cPanel to you – regardless of the method you seek to license our product.

To comply with these embargoes, we have developed internal processes to authorize licensing requests. Sometimes these processes result in revocation of a previously authorized license. For example, if our processes determine that a product that was licensed by a reseller is being used in a country that is subject to a U.S. embargo, we may de-authorize the license. We are required to do this under U.S. law.

U.S. embargoes are frequently revised. In particular, individuals and entities are often added to embargo lists. We also sometimes learn that our products are being used, or licensed, in ways of which we were not aware. Because of this, we cannot provide specific guidance to customers, or potential customers, on whether a use of our products will be authorized.

We understand that many people have questions about the U.S. embargoes on Iran and Cuba. While the U.S. government has lifted some economic sanctions particularly on trade with Iran, these embargoes have not been lifted completely. Unfortunately, cPanel’s products continue to be embargoed and may not be sold to Iran and Cuba. For more information on the impact of the lifting of Iranian embargoes, please visit: https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/jcpoa_faqs.pdf