This is an update on the ongoing situation with registrar RegisterFly.
On Wednesday 2 May 2007, ICANN asked for RegisterFly to be found in contempt for failing to comply with the preliminary injunction issued on 26 April 2007.
If approved at a court hearing this week, the contempt order will enable ICANN to seize from RegisterFly the data needed to effect a full and complete transfer of the company’s domains to other registrars.
In the meantime, ICANN has received four expressions of interest for the transfer provider role it outlined recently. Once selected, the transfer provider will contact each RegisterFly customer affected and provide them with details to move their domain to a new registrar of their choice.
ICANN expects to receive full and complete applications for the role this week and will make a decision very shortly afterwards.
Working with registries
ICANN is also working with registries to make the transfer process as smooth and efficient as possible. With regard to the thousands of domains affected by the “ProtectFly” proxy registration system, where the registrants’ actual names are not included in the domain’s records and so swift transfer is more difficult, ICANN is doing all it can to gain access to registrants’ full details for those domains. If this proves not to be possible, a system will be introduced to enable registrants to authenticate themselves and regain access where necessary.
At the same time, ICANN continues to urge RegisterFly to co-operate with a bulk transfer of all RegisterFly registrations to a different ICANN-accredited registrar. Such a transfer would benefit registrants since it would eliminate the necessity for the transfer provider discussed above.
ICANN continues to act with all due haste and with registrants’ best interests at heart. We will keep registrants’ informed of any significant events as they happen this week on this blog and on ICANN’s public participation site.
Are you a RegisterFly customer caught up in the situation?
ICANN has produced an extensive and regularly updated FAQ in order to provide answers to the most asked questions. Due to the large number of people affected, we would ask that you please read this FAQ before posting queries or contacting staff as it should provide the answer you are looking for and also free up time for ICANN staff to tackle the core problems with RegisterFly.
If you feel that a vital question is missing, please formulate it and post it in a comment below and we will endeavour to answer it. If the question is likely to of use to a wider group of people, we will add it to the FAQ.