GNSO Initial Report on Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy: Clarification of Reasons for Denial

The GNSO Initial Report on Inter/Registrar Transfer Policy: Clarification of Reasons for Denial [PDF, 229K] has been posted for comment.

In September 2007, a report into the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy (the rules for transfer of domain names between registrars) asked ICANN to draw up an Issues Report to review possible changes. Four clauses in the policy were identified as being unclear when it came to denying a transfer, something that had led to a variation in practices between registrars.

The Issues Report [pdf] went into greater overall detail and was then put out for comment to the GNSO's constituences. That process is captured in an Initial Report [pdf] which is now being put out for public comment as the first step in a Policy Development Process (PDP) per ICANN's bylaws. The report concludes that there is general support for more work being done on clarifying the language in the policy. Some suggested wording for those changes is contained in the constituency comments in an appendix at the end of the Initial Report.

Comments are sought specifically on the interpretation and phrasing of the four reasons for transfer denials, as further elaborated in the report.

A summary/analysis of comments to this public comment period will form part of a final report to the GNSO Council chair near the end of April. The Issues Report and this Final Report will then form the basis of discussion by the GNSO Council toward possible changes.

The comment period will be from 18 March 2008 to 7 April 2008. Comments may be submitted by email to transfer-policy-2008@icann.org and may be viewed at http://forum.icann.org/lists/transfer-policy-2008/.