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Appendix R
Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution
Policy (As Drafted by IEI
on September 29, 2000) 1.
Purpose.
This Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Policy")
which has been adopted by Internet Events International Inc.
("IEI"), 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 Uniform Domain Name
Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Rules of Procedure") 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 arbitration 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 IEI. (See Paragraph 4(i)
and (k)
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
Internet Events International Inc. - Policy Dispute Tribunal
("Provider"). 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 (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 (iii) your domain
name has been registered and is being used in bad faith. In the
administrative proceeding, the complainant must prove that each of these
three elements are present. b. Evidence of Registration and Use in Bad Faith. For the purposes of Paragraph
4(a)(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)(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) 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 IEI by
submitting the complaint to that Provider. 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 IEI 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 IEI. We will post our revised
Policy on our website 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. |