| 1. |
Purpose
This Uniform 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 Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution
Policy (the "Rules of Procedure"),
which are available at www.icann.org/udrp/udrp-rules-24oct99.htm,
and the selected administrative-dispute-resolution
service provider's supplemental rules.
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| 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.
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| 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
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| 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(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.
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|
| 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 one of the
administrative-dispute-resolution
service providers listed at www.icann.org/udrp/approved-providers.htm
(each, a "Provider").
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
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| |
| 1. |
your
domain name is identical or confusingly
similar to a trademark or service
mark in which the complainant
has rights; and |
| 2. |
you have no rights or legitimate
interests in respect of the
domain name; and
|
| 3. |
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. |
|
| |
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: |
| |
| 1. |
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 |
| 2. |
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
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| 3. |
you
have registered the domain name
primarily for the purpose of disrupting
the business of a competitor;
or
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| 4. |
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): |
| |
| 1. |
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 |
| 2. |
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
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| 3. |
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
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|
| |
d.
Selection of Provider. The complainant
shall select the Provider from among
those approved by ICANN 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).
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| |
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").
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| |
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.
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| |
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.
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| |
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.
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| |
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.
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| |
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.
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| |
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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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 Proposed
Policy 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. |
