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Eligibility Requirements Dispute Resolution Policy

  1. This policy has been adopted by all accredited domain-name registrars for domain names ending in .name.
  2. The policy is between the registrar and its customer (the domain-name holder or registrant). Thus, the policy uses "we" and "our" to refer to the registrar and it uses "you" and "your" to refer to the domain-name holder.

[This Policy is to be incorporated in all Registration Agreements between registrars and registrants concerning domain-name registrations, SLD E-mail address registrations, and Defensive Registrations in the .name top-level domain.]

1. Purpose. This Eligibility Requirements 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 certain kinds of disputes between you and any party other than us (the registrar) over the registration and use of an Internet domain name, second level domain e-mail ("SLD E-mail") address or Defensive Registration (as described in the eligibility requirements for the .name TLD, posted at <URL>, hereafter referred to as the "Eligibility Requirements") registered by you in the .name TLD. This Policy does not apply to non-SLD E-mail addresses, or other e-mail addresses not registered in the .name TLD. The proceedings under Paragraph 4 of this Policy will be conducted according to the Rules for Eligibility Requirements Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Rules of Procedure"), which are available at <URL>, and the selected administrative dispute resolution service provider's supplemental rules. This Policy is in addition to the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy ("UDRP"), posted at <URL>, which also applies to you. For the purposes of this Policy, the term "Registered Name" means a registered domain name on the second or third level, or SLD E-mail address registration in the .name TLD.

2. Your Representations. By applying to register a Defensive Registration or Registered Name, or by asking us to maintain or renew a Defensive Registration or Registered Name, you hereby represent and warrant to us that, to your knowledge, the registration of your Defensive Registration or Registered Name conforms to the Eligibility Requirements. It is your responsibility to determine whether your Defensive Registration or Registered Name meets these Eligibility Requirements.

3. Cancellations, Transfers, and Changes. In addition to the circumstances described in Paragraph 3 of the UDRP, we will cancel, transfer or otherwise make changes to Defensive Registrations or Registered Names upon 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 Paragraphs 5(f) and 5(h) below.) We may also cancel, transfer or otherwise make changes to a Defensive Registration or Registered Name registration in accordance with the terms of your Registration Agreement or other legal requirements.

4. Mandatory Administrative Proceeding. This paragraph sets forth the types of disputes for which you are required to submit to a mandatory administrative proceeding under this Policy. These proceedings will be conducted before an ERDRP administrative dispute resolution provider which has been approved by ICANN (a "Provider"). A list of Providers is available at <URL>.

(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) for challenges to Registered Names, your Registered Name does not meet the Eligibility Requirements;

(ii) for challenges to Phase I Defensive Registrations (as defined in the Eligibility Requirements), your Phase I Defensive Registration does not meet the Eligibility Requirements for Phase I Defensive Registrations; and/or

(iii) for challenges to Phase I Defensive Registration and/or Phase II Defensive Registrations (as defined in the Eligibility Requirements), the complainant meets the Eligibility Requirements to register a Personal Name (as defined in the Eligibility Requirements) that would otherwise be blocked by your Defensive Registration.

In the administrative proceeding, the complainant must prove these elements.

(b) Registered Name Disputes: Evidence of Registration in Violation of the Eligibility Requirements. For the purposes of Paragraph 4(a)(i), if the Panel finds that:

(i) the name corresponding to the Registered Name is not your legal name (possibly with additional characters as permitted by the Eligibility Requirements);

(ii) the name corresponding to the Registered Name is not the name of a fictional character in which you have trademark or service mark rights (possibly with additional characters as permitted by the Eligibility Requirements); and

(iii) you (as an individual) have not been commonly known by the name corresponding to the Registered Name (possibly with additional characters as permitted by the Eligibility Requirements);

then such finding shall be evidence that your Registered Name violated the Eligibility Requirements. If the Panel finds that your Registered Name violated the Eligibility Requirements, the Panel shall exercise the remedies set forth in Section 5(f)(i).

(c) Registered Name Disputes: How to Demonstrate Your Rights to and Legitimate Interests in the Registered Name in Responding to a Complaint. For the purposes of Paragraph 4(a)(i), when you receive a complaint, you should refer to Paragraph 5 of the Rules of Procedure in determining how your response should be prepared.

(d) Phase I and Phase II Defensive Registrations: The Effect on Your Defensive Registration in the Event that a Complainant Establishes Rights to and Legitimate Interests in the Registered Name. In the event that the Panel determines that a complainant may register a Personal Name (as defined in the Eligibility Requirements) that conflicts with your Defensive Registration, then the Panel shall exercise the remedies set forth in Paragraph 5(f)(ii).

(e) Phase I Defensive Registrations: The Effect on Your Phase I Defensive Registrations in the Event that a Complainant Claims That You Did Not Meet the Eligibility Requirements. In the event that the Panel determines that your Phase I Defensive Registration did not meet the applicable Eligibility Requirements, then the Panel shall exercise the remedies set forth in Paragraph 5(f)(iii).

5. Procedure.

(a) Selection of Provider. The complainant shall select the Provider from those on the list of Providers available at by submitting the complaint to that Provider. The selected Provider will administer the proceeding, except in cases of consolidation as described in Paragraph 5(c).

(b) 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").

(c) 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. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if you seek to register a Personal Name that conflicts with a Defensive Registration(s) that is held by more than one registrant, you must name all such registrants as parties to your administrative proceeding.

(d) Fees. All fees charged by a Provider in connection with any dispute before an Administrative Panel shall be paid in accordance with Paragraph 19 of the Rules.

(e) 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.

(f) Remedies. The remedies available to a complainant pursuant to any proceeding before an Administrative Panel shall be limited to:

(i) for disputes over Registered Names,

(A) requiring the cancellation of your Registered Name,

(B) if the complainant represents and warrants that the complainant meets the Eligibility Requirements for a domain name or SLD E-mail registration corresponding to the Registered Name, then the complainant may request that your Registered Name be transferred to the complainant, subject to the complainant's payment of registration fees and satisfaction of other procedures for registration, and

(C) if the complainant does not represent that the complainant meets the Eligibility Requirements for a domain name or SLD E-mail registration corresponding to the Registered Name, then the complainant may elect to register the Registered Name as a Defensive Registration blocking the challenged name, provided that upon cancellation of your Registered Name the complainant pays Defensive Registration fees, meets the Common Defensive Registration Eligibility Requirements and otherwise meets the requirements for a Defensive Registration; or

(ii) for challenges to Phase I or Phase II Defensive Registrations,

(A) the payment by you of the fees charged by the Provider in connection with the dispute,

(B) to the extent the complainant represents and warrants that the complainant meets the Eligibility Requirements, the complainant may obtain any Registered Names that would otherwise be blocked by your Defensive Registration, provided the Registered Name or Names are not blocked by other Defensive Registrations and the complainant pays any applicable registration fees and satisfies other registration procedures. In the event that the challenged Defensive Registration was a combined second and third level Defensive Registration, then such Defensive Registration shall be cancelled, and

(C) if the challenge is the third successful challenge to your Defensive Registration, then your Defensive Registration will be cancelled; or

(iii) for successful challenges to Phase I Defensive Registrations on the basis that you did not meet the applicable Eligibility Requirements you will thereafter be required to demonstrate, at your expense, and as set forth in the Rules of Procedure, that you meet the Eligibility Requirements for Phase I Defensive Registrations for all Phase I Defensive Registrations that you have registered within .name with us or with any other registrar. In the event that you are unable to demonstrate the foregoing with respect to any such Phase I Defensive Registration(s), those Defensive Registration(s) will be canceled.

(g) Notification and Publication. The Provider shall notify us of any decision made by an Administrative Panel with respect to a Defensive Registration or Registered Name. 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.

(h) 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 Defensive Registration or Registered Name 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 the registry 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 Defensive Registration or Registered Name.

6. All Other Disputes and Litigation. All other disputes between you and any party other than us regarding your Defensive Registration or Registered Name 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.

7. Our Involvement in Disputes. We will not participate in any way in any dispute between you and any party other than us or the operator of the .name registry regarding the registration and use of your Defensive Registration or Registered 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.

8. Maintaining the Status Quo. We will not cancel, transfer, activate, deactivate, or otherwise change the status of any Defensive Registration or Registered Name under this Policy except as provided in Paragraph 3 above.

9. Transfers During a Dispute.

(a) Transfers of a Defensive Registration or Registered Name to a New Holder. You may not transfer your Defensive Registration or Registered Name 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 Defensive Registration or Registered Name unless the party to whom the Defensive Registration or Registered Name 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 Defensive Registration or Registered Name to another holder that is made in violation of this subparagraph.

(b) Changing Registrars. You may not transfer your Defensive Registration or Registered Name 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 Defensive Registration or domain name or Registered Name to another registrar during a pending court action or arbitration, provided that the Defensive Registration or Registered 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.

10. 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 http://www.nic.name 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 Defensive Registration or Registered Name 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 Defensive Registration or Registered Name 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 Defensive Registration or Registered Name.

Domain Name System
Internationalized Domain Name ,IDN,"IDNs are domain names that include characters used in the local representation of languages that are not written with the twenty-six letters of the basic Latin alphabet ""a-z"". An IDN can contain Latin letters with diacritical marks, as required by many European languages, or may consist of characters from non-Latin scripts such as Arabic or Chinese. Many languages also use other types of digits than the European ""0-9"". The basic Latin alphabet together with the European-Arabic digits are, for the purpose of domain names, termed ""ASCII characters"" (ASCII = American Standard Code for Information Interchange). These are also included in the broader range of ""Unicode characters"" that provides the basis for IDNs. The ""hostname rule"" requires that all domain names of the type under consideration here are stored in the DNS using only the ASCII characters listed above, with the one further addition of the hyphen ""-"". The Unicode form of an IDN therefore requires special encoding before it is entered into the DNS. The following terminology is used when distinguishing between these forms: A domain name consists of a series of ""labels"" (separated by ""dots""). The ASCII form of an IDN label is termed an ""A-label"". All operations defined in the DNS protocol use A-labels exclusively. The Unicode form, which a user expects to be displayed, is termed a ""U-label"". The difference may be illustrated with the Hindi word for ""test"" — परीका — appearing here as a U-label would (in the Devanagari script). A special form of ""ASCII compatible encoding"" (abbreviated ACE) is applied to this to produce the corresponding A-label: xn--11b5bs1di. A domain name that only includes ASCII letters, digits, and hyphens is termed an ""LDH label"". Although the definitions of A-labels and LDH-labels overlap, a name consisting exclusively of LDH labels, such as""icann.org"" is not an IDN."