PolicyAdopted: August 26, 1999 ImplementationDocuments Approved: October 24, 1999

Note: This policy is now in effect. See www.icann.org/udrp/udrp-schedule.htm for the implementation schedule.
 

1.Purpose.
This Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Policy") has beenadopted by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN"),is incorporated by reference into your Registration Agreement, and setsforth the terms and conditions in connection with a dispute between youand any party other than us (the registrar) over the registration and useof an Internet domain name registered by you. Proceedings under Paragraph4 of this Policy will be conducted according to the Rules for UniformDomain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Rules of Procedure"), whichare available at www.icann.org/udrp/udrp-rules-24oct99.htm,and the selected administrative-dispute-resolution service provider's supplementalrules.

2.Your Representations.
By applying to register a domain name, or by asking us to maintain or renewa domain name registration, you hereby represent and warrant to us that(a) the statements that you made in your Registration Agreement are completeand accurate; (b) to your knowledge, the registration of the domain namewill 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 applicablelaws or regulations. It is your responsibility to determine whether yourdomain 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 registrationsunder the following circumstances:

a.subject to the provisions of Paragraph 8, our receiptof written or appropriate electronic instructions from you or your authorizedagent to take such action;

b.our receipt of an order from a court or arbitral tribunal, in each caseof competent jurisdiction, requiring such action; and/or

c.our receipt of a decision of an Administrative Panel requiring such actionin any administrative proceeding to which you were a party and which wasconducted under this Policy or a later version of this Policy adopted byICANN. (See Paragraph 4(i) and (k)below.)

4.Mandatory Administrative Proceeding.

This Paragraphsets forth the type of disputes for which you are required to submit toa mandatory administrative proceeding. These proceedings will be conductedbefore one of the administrative-dispute-resolution service providers listedat www.icann.org/udrp/approved-providers.htm(each, a "Provider").

a.Applicable Disputes. You are required to submit to a mandatory administrativeproceeding in the event that a third party (a "complainant") asserts tothe applicable Provider, in compliance with the Rules of Procedure, that

(i)your domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark orservice 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.

Inthe administrative proceeding, the complainant must prove that each ofthese three elements are present.

b.Evidence of Registration and Use in Bad Faith. For the purposes ofParagraph4(a)(iii), the following circumstances, in particular but without limitation,if found by the Panel to be present, shall be evidence of the registrationand use of a domain name in bad faith:

(i)circumstances indicating that you have registered or you have acquiredthe domain name primarily for the purpose of selling, renting, or otherwisetransferring the domain name registration to the complainant who is theowner of the trademark or service mark or to a competitor of that complainant,for valuable consideration in excess of your documented out-of-pocket costsdirectly related to the domain name; or

(ii)you have registered the domain name in order to prevent the owner of thetrademark or service mark from reflecting the mark in a corresponding domainname, provided that you have engaged in a pattern of such conduct; or

(iii)you have registered the domain name primarily for the purpose of disruptingthe 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 tothe source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of your web site orlocation or of a product or service on your web site or location.

c.How to Demonstrate Your Rights to and Legitimate Interests in the DomainName in Responding to a Complaint. When you receive a complaint, youshould refer to Paragraph 5 of the Rules of Procedurein determining how your response should be prepared. Any of the followingcircumstances, in particular but without limitation, if found by the Panelto be proved based on its evaluation of all evidence presented, shall demonstrateyour rights or legitimate interests to the domain name for purposes ofParagraph4(a)(ii):

(i)before any notice to you of the dispute, your use of, or demonstrable preparationsto use, the domain name or a name corresponding to the domain name in connectionwith a bona fide offering of goods or services; or

(ii)you (as an individual, business, or other organization) have been commonlyknown by the domain name, even if you have acquired no trademark or servicemark 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 orto tarnish the trademark or service mark at issue.

d.Selection of Provider. The complainant shall select the Provider fromamong those approved by ICANN by submitting the complaint to that Provider.The selected Provider will administer the proceeding, except in cases ofconsolidation as described in Paragraph 4(f).

e.Initiation of Proceeding and Process and Appointment of AdministrativePanel. The Rules of Procedure state the process for initiating andconducting a proceeding and for appointing the panel that will decide thedispute (the "Administrative Panel").

f.Consolidation. In the event of multiple disputes between you and acomplainant, either you or the complainant may petition to consolidatethe disputes before a single Administrative Panel. This petition shallbe made to the first Administrative Panel appointed to hear a pending disputebetween the parties. This Administrative Panel may consolidate before itany or all such disputes in its sole discretion, provided that the disputesbeing consolidated are governed by this Policy or a later version of thisPolicy adopted by ICANN.

g.Fees. All fees charged by a Provider in connection with any disputebefore an Administrative Panel pursuant to this Policy shall be paid bythe complainant, except in cases where you elect to expand the AdministrativePanel from one to three panelists as provided in Paragraph5(b)(iv) of the Rules of Procedure, in which case all fees will besplit evenly by you and the complainant.

h.Our Involvement in Administrative Proceedings. We do not, and willnot, participate in the administration or conduct of any proceeding beforean Administrative Panel. In addition, we will not be liable as a resultof any decisions rendered by the Administrative Panel.

i.Remedies. The remedies available to a complainant pursuant to any proceedingbefore an Administrative Panel shall be limited to requiring the cancellationof your domain name or the transfer of your domain name registration tothe complainant.

j.Notification and Publication. The Provider shall notify us of any decisionmade by an Administrative Panel with respect to a domain name you haveregistered with us. All decisions under this Policy will be published infull over the Internet, except when an Administrative Panel determinesin an exceptional case to redact portions of its decision.

k.Availability of Court Proceedings. The mandatory administrative proceedingrequirements set forth in Paragraph 4 shall not preventeither you or the complainant from submitting the dispute to a court ofcompetent jurisdiction for independent resolution before such mandatoryadministrative proceeding is commenced or after such proceeding is concluded.If an Administrative Panel decides that your domain name registration shouldbe canceled or transferred, we will wait ten (10) business days (as observedin the location of our principal office) after we are informed by the applicableProvider of the Administrative Panel's decision before implementing thatdecision. We will then implement the decision unless we have received fromyou during that ten (10) business day period official documentation (suchas a copy of a complaint, file-stamped by the clerk of the court) thatyou have commenced a lawsuit against the complainant in a jurisdictionto which the complainant has submitted under Paragraph3(b)(xiii) of the Rules of Procedure. (In general, that jurisdictionis either the location of our principal office or of your address as shownin our Whois database. See Paragraphs1 and 3(b)(xiii)of the Rules of Procedure for details.) If we receive such documentationwithin the ten (10) business day period, we will not implement the AdministrativePanel'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 orordering that you do not have the right to continue to use your domainname.

6.Our Involvement in Disputes.
We will not participate in any way in any dispute between you and any partyother than us regarding the registration and use of your domain name. Youshall 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 reservethe right to raise any and all defenses deemed appropriate, and to takeany other action necessary to defend ourselves.

7.Maintaining the Status Quo.
We will not cancel, transfer, activate, deactivate, or otherwise changethe status of any domain name registration under this Policy except asprovided in Paragraph 3 above.

8.TransfersDuring a Dispute.

a.Transfers of a Domain Name to a New Holder. You may not transfer yourdomain name registration to another holder (i) during a pending administrativeproceeding brought pursuant to Paragraph 4 or for a periodof fifteen (15) business days (as observed in the location of our principalplace of business) after such proceeding is concluded; or (ii) during apending court proceeding or arbitration commenced regarding your domainname unless the party to whom the domain name registration is being transferredagrees, 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 registrationto another holder that is made in violation of this subparagraph.

b.Changing Registrars. You may not transfer your domain name registrationto another registrar during a pending administrative proceeding broughtpursuant 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 ofyour domain name registration to another registrar during a pending courtaction or arbitration, provided that the domain name you have registeredwith us shall continue to be subject to the proceedings commenced againstyou in accordance with the terms of this Policy. In the event that youtransfer a domain name registration to us during the pendency of a courtaction or arbitration, such dispute shall remain subject to the domainname dispute policy of the registrar from which the domain name registrationwas transferred.