Uniform
Charter Domain
Name
|
Uniform Charter Domain
Name Dispute Resolution Policy
(As Approved by ICANN on __________October
24, 1999)
1.
Purpose. This Uniform Charter Domain
Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Policy") has been adopted by the
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN"), is incorporated
by reference into your Registration Agreement, and sets forth the terms and
conditions in connection with a dispute between you and any party other than us
(the registrar) over the registration and use of an Internet domain name registered
by you. Proceedings under Paragraph 4
of this Policy will be conducted according to the Rules for the Uniform Charter Domain
Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "UCDRP Rules of Procedure"), which are
available at www.icann.org/________www.icann.org/udrp/udrp-rules-24oct99.htm,
and the selected administrative-dispute-resolution service provider's
supplemental rules.
2.
Your Representations. By
applying to register a domain name, or by asking us to maintain or renew a domain
name registration, you hereby represent and warrant to us that (a) the
statements that you made in your Registration Agreement are complete and
accurate; (b) to your knowledge, the registration of the domain name will not
infringe upon or otherwise violate the rights of any third party; (c) you are
not registering the domain name for an unlawful purpose; and (d) you will not
knowingly use the domain name in violation of any applicable laws or
regulations. It is your responsibility to determine whether your domain name
registration infringes or violates someone else's rights.
3.
Cancellations, Transfers, and Changes. We will cancel, transfer or otherwise make changes to domain name
registrations under the following circumstances:
a.
subject to the provisions of Paragraph 8 , our receipt of written or
appropriate electronic instructions from you or your authorized agent to take
such action;
b.
our receipt of an order from a court or arbitral tribunal, in each case of competent
jurisdiction, requiring such action; and/or
c. our receipt of a decision of an Administrative
Panel requiring such action in any administrative proceeding to which you were
a party and which was conducted under this Policy or a later version of this
Policy adopted by ICANN. (See Paragraph 4 below.)
We may also cancel, transfer or otherwise make
changes to a domain name registration in accordance with the terms of your
Registration Agreement or other legal requirements.
4.
Mandatory Administrative Proceeding.
This
Paragraph sets forth the type of disputes for which you are required to submit
to a mandatory administrative proceeding. These proceedings will be conducted
before a
certified one of the
administrative-dispute-resolution service providers listed at www.icann.org/_________
www.icann.org/en/dndr/udrp/approved-providers.htm
(each, a "Provider") in accordance with Paragraph 4(d).
a. Applicable Disputes. You are required to submit to a mandatory administrative
proceeding in the event that a third party (a "complainant") asserts
to the applicable Provider, in compliance with the Rules of Procedure, that either
(1) Defective Intellectual
Property Rights
(i)
your domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service
mark in which the complainant has rights; and
(ii)
you have no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; and
In
the administrative proceeding, the complainant must prove that each of the se
three elements of 4(a)(1), 4(a)(2) or 4(a)(3) are present.
b.
Evidence of Registration and Use in Bad Faith. For the purposes
of Paragraph 4(a)(1)(iii),
the following circumstances, in
particular
but without limitation, if found by the Panel to be present, shall be evidence
of the registration and use of a domain name in bad faith:
(i)
circumstances indicating that you have registered or you have acquired the
domain name primarily for the purpose of selling, renting, or otherwise transferring
the domain name registration to the complainant who is the owner of the
trademark or service mark or to a competitor of that complainant, for valuable
consideration in excess of your documented out-of-pocket costs directly related
to the domain name; or
(ii)
you have registered the domain name in order to prevent the owner of the
trademark or service mark from reflecting the mark in a corresponding domain
name, provided that you have engaged in a pattern of such conduct; or
(iii)
you have registered the domain name primarily for the purpose of disrupting the
business of a competitor; or
(iv)
by using the domain name, you have intentionally attempted to attract, for
commercial gain, Internet users to your web site or other on-line location, by
creating a likelihood of confusion with the complainant's mark as to the
source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of your web site or location
or of a product or service on your web site or location.
c. How to Demonstrate Your Rights to and Legitimate
Interests in the Domain Name in Responding to a Complaint. When you receive a complaint, you should refer to Paragraph 5 of
the Rules of Procedure in determining how your response should be prepared. Any
of the following circumstances, in particular but without limitation, if found
by the Panel to be proved based on its evaluation of all evidence presented,
shall demonstrate your rights or legitimate interests to the domain name for
purposes of Paragraph 4(a)(1)(ii):
(i)
before any notice to you of the dispute, your use of, or demonstrable preparations
to use, the domain name or a name corresponding to the domain name in
connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services; or
(ii)
you (as an individual, business, or other organization eligible under the
applicable
TLD
Charter) have been commonly known by the domain name, even if you have
acquired no trademark or service mark rights; or
(iii)
you are making a legitimate noncommercial or
fair use of the domain name, without intent for commercial gain to misleadingly
divert consumers or to tarnish the trademark or service mark at issue.
d.
Selection of Provider. The
complainant shall select the Provider from among those approved by ICANN by
submitting the complaint to that Provider. Providers will fall into two categories “Category
I,” which shall
maintain
a roster of panelists who shall be qualified to adjudicate disputes which
arise under any section of Paragraph 4(a) and “Category II”
which shall maintain a roster of panelists who shall be certified
to
adjudicate disputes which arise solely under Paragraphs 4(a)(2) and/or 4(a)(3).The selected
Provider will administer the proceeding, except in cases of consolidation as
described in Paragraph 4(f).
e.
Initiation of Proceeding and Process and Appointment of Administrative Panel. The Rules of Procedure state the process for
initiating and conducting a proceeding and for appointing the panel that will
decide the dispute (the "Administrative Panel").
f.
Consolidation. In the event of
multiple disputes between you and a complainant, either you or the complainant
may petition to consolidate the disputes before a single Administrative Panel.
This petition shall be made to the first Administrative Panel appointed to hear
a pending dispute between the parties. This Administrative Panel may
consolidate before it any or all such disputes in its sole discretion, provided
that the disputes being consolidated are governed by this Policy or a later
version of this Policy adopted by ICANN.
g.
Fees. All fees charged by a Provider
in connection with any dispute before an Administrative Panel pursuant to this
Policy shall be paid by the complainant, except in cases where you elect to
expand the Administrative Panel from one to three panelists as provided in Paragraph 5(b)(iv)
of the Rules of Procedure, in which case all fees will be split evenly by you
and the complainant.
h.
Our Involvement in Administrative Proceedings. We do not, and will not, participate in the
administration or conduct of any proceeding before an Administrative Panel. In
addition, we will not be liable as a result of any decisions rendered by the
Administrative Panel.
i.
Remedies. The remedies available to
a complainant pursuant to any proceeding before an Administrative Panel shall
be limited to requiring the cancellation of your domain name or the transfer of
your domain name registration to the complainant.
j.
Notification and Publication. The
Provider shall notify us of any decision made by an Administrative Panel with
respect to a domain name you have registered with us. All decisions under this
Policy will be published in full over the Internet, except when an
Administrative Panel determines in an exceptional case to redact portions of
its decision.
k.
Availability of Court Proceedings.
The mandatory administrative proceeding requirements set forth in Paragraph 4 shall not prevent either
you or the complainant from submitting the dispute to a court of competent
jurisdiction for independent resolution before such mandatory administrative
proceeding is commenced or after such proceeding is concluded. If an Administrative
Panel decides that your domain name registration should be canceled or transferred,
we will wait ten (10) business days (as observed in the location of our
principal office) after we are informed by the applicable Provider of the
Administrative Panel's decision before implementing that decision. We will then
implement the decision unless we have received from you during that ten (10)
business day period official documentation (such as a copy of a complaint,
file-stamped by the clerk of the court) that you have commenced a lawsuit
against the complainant in a jurisdiction to which the complainant has
submitted under Paragraph 3(b)(xiii)
of the Rules of Procedure. (In general, that jurisdiction is either the
location of our principal office or of your address as shown in our Whois
database. See Paragraphs
1 and 3(b)(xiii)
of the Rules of Procedure for details.) If we receive such documentation within
the ten (10) business day period, we will not implement the Administrative
Panel's decision, and we will take no further action, until we receive (i)
evidence satisfactory to us of a resolution between the parties; (ii) evidence
satisfactory to us that your lawsuit has been dismissed or withdrawn; or (iii)
a copy of an order from such court dismissing your lawsuit or ordering that you
do not have the right to continue to use your domain name.
5. All Other Disputes and Litigation. All other disputes between you and any party other
than us regarding your domain name registration that are not brought pursuant
to the mandatory administrative proceeding provisions of Paragraph 4 shall be resolved between
you and such other party through any court, arbitration or other proceeding that
may be available.
6.
Our Involvement in Disputes.
We will not participate in any way in any dispute between you and any party
other than us regarding the registration and use of your domain name. You shall
not name us as a party or otherwise include us in any such proceeding. In the
event that we are named as a party in any such proceeding, we reserve the right
to raise any and all defenses deemed appropriate, and to take any other action
necessary to defend ourselves.
7.
Maintaining the Status Quo. We
will not cancel, transfer, activate, deactivate, or otherwise change the status
of any domain name registration under this Policy except as provided in Paragraph 3 above.
8.
Transfers During a Dispute.
a.
Transfers of a Domain Name to a New Holder. You may not transfer your domain name registration to another holder
(i) during a pending administrative proceeding brought pursuant to Paragraph 4 or for a period of fifteen
(15) business days (as observed in the location of our principal place of
business) after such proceeding is concluded; or (ii) during a pending court
proceeding or arbitration commenced regarding your domain name unless the party
to whom the domain name registration is being transferred agrees, in writing,
to be bound by the decision of the court or arbitrator. We reserve the right to
cancel any transfer of a domain name registration to another holder that is
made in violation of this subparagraph.
b.
Changing Registrars. You may not
transfer your domain name registration to another registrar during a pending
administrative proceeding brought pursuant to Paragraph 4 or for a period of fifteen (15)
business days (as observed in the location of our principal place of business)
after such proceeding is concluded. You may transfer administration of your
domain name registration to another registrar during a pending court action or
arbitration, provided that the domain name you have registered with us shall
continue to be subject to the proceedings commenced against you in accordance
with the terms of this Policy. In the event that you transfer a domain name
registration to us during the pendency of a court action or arbitration, such
dispute shall remain subject to the domain name dispute policy of the registrar
from which the domain name registration was transferred.
9. Policy
Modifications. We reserve the
right to modify this Policy at any time with the permission of ICANN. We will
post our revised Policy at <URL________> at least thirty (30) calendar
days before it becomes effective. Unless this Policy has already been invoked
by the submission of a complaint to a Provider, in which event the version of
the Policy in effect at the time it was invoked will apply to you until the
dispute is over, all such changes will be binding upon you with respect to any
domain name registration dispute, whether the dispute arose before, on or after
the effective date of our change. In the event that you object to a change in
this Policy, your sole remedy is to cancel your domain name registration with
us, provided that you will not be entitled to a refund of any fees you paid to
us. The revised Policy will apply to you until you cancel your domain name
registration.