1. Definitions
The Policy means ICM Registry’s Charter Eligibility Dispute Resolution Policy (“CEDRP”) approved by ICM Registry and effective as of September 1, 2011.
The Rules means the rules in this document.
The Forum and The Provider both refer to the National Arbitration Forum.
Respondent means the single person or entity listed in the registrar’s Whois database when the complaint is filed.
Complainant means the single person or entity claiming to have rights in the domain name in the .XXX TLD, or multiple persons or entities who have a sufficient nexus who can each claim to have rights to the domain name listed in the complaint.
Party means a Respondent or Complainant.
Evaluator means the person appointed by the Forum to adjudicate the dispute.
Registry refers to ICM Registry LLC.
In these Rules or in a Forum or Evaluator Order, documents are deemed Submitted when received by the Forum’s e-mail server.
Calendar Days means that all days, including weekends and international and national holidays, shall be counted in determining all deadlines and due dates.
Exceptions-Deadlines:
In the event that a deadline falls on a United States federal holiday, as defined by 5 U.S.C. §6103, the deadline shall be extended to the following Calendar Day.
In the event that a Calendar Day deadline falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the deadline shall be extended to the following Calendar Day.
2. Scope
The Forum will apply the Policy and the Rules in effect at the time a complaint is Submitted. The Rules may be amended by the Forum with approval from the Registry.
3. Communications
When forwarding a complaint, including any annexes, electronically to the Respondent, it shall be the Provider’s responsibility to:
send written notice of the complaint, including the deadline for responding and links for accessing the Policy and Rules, as well as means of contacting the Provider, in electronic form by e-mail to:
the e-mail addresses for the registrant, including technical, administrative, and billing contacts, as listed in the publicly available Whois;
any e-mail addresses for the registrant, including technical, administrative, and billing contacts, provided by the Registry to the Provider;
any e-mail address the Respondent has notified the Provider it prefers and, to the extent practicable, to all other e-mail addresses provided to the Provider by Complainant under Rule 4;
the registrar; and
the Registry
and either
send the complaint, including any annexes, to the e-mail addresses specified in Rule 3(a)(i)(1-3);
or
provide the complaint, including any annexes, via an online portal, in which case the link and instructions for use shall accompany the notice in Rule 3(a)(i)(1-3).
Any written communication to Complainant or Respondent provided for under these Rules shall be made electronically via the Internet, through e-mail or an online portal (a record of the transmissions being available).
Communications shall be made in English.
Either Party may update its contact details by notifying the Provider.
Once the case is commenced per Rule 5, any communication by
an Evaluator to any Party shall be copied to the Provider and to the other Party;
the Provider to any Party shall be copied to the other Party; and
a Party shall be copied to the other Party, the Evaluator and the Provider, as the case may be.
The parties may communicate with the Forum case coordinator assigned to their proceeding by phone or e-mail.
Any request by a party for any type of action by the Forum or Evaluator must be communicated in writing to the Forum and the opposing party(s).
No party may directly communicate with an Evaluator.
It shall be the responsibility of the sender to retain records of the fact and circumstances of sending, which shall be available for inspection by affected parties and for reporting purposes.
In the event a Party sending a communication receives notification of non-delivery of the communication, the Party shall promptly notify the Provider of the circumstances of the notification. Further proceedings concerning the communication and any response shall be as directed by the Evaluator (or the Provider).
4. The Complaint
Any person or entity may initiate an administrative proceeding by submitting a complaint, in English, in accordance with the Policy and these Rules, for a single domain name.
The complaint, including any annexes, shall be submitted in electronic form and shall:
Request that the complaint be submitted for decision in accordance with the Policy and these Rules;
Provide the name, postal and e-mail addresses, and the telephone and telefax numbers of the Complainant and of any representative authorized to act for the Complainant in the administrative proceeding;
Specify the preferred e-mail address(es) the Complainant wishes the Provider and Respondent to use for case-related communication;
Provide the name of the Respondent (domain-name holder), and all information (including any postal and e-mail addresses and telephone and telefax numbers) known to Complainant regarding how to contact Respondent or any representative of Respondent, including contact information based on pre-complaint dealings, in sufficient detail to allow the Provider to send the complaint as described in Rule 3(a);
Specify the domain name that is the subject of the complaint;
Identify the registrar with whom the domain name is registered at the time the complaint is filed;
Provide a statement of the grounds upon which the Complaint is based setting forth facts showing the Complainant is entitled to relief, such as:
the respondent registered or used the domain name in a manner inconsistent with community eligibility as further described in the CEDRP policy; or
for a complaint prior to September 1, 2012, a sunrise AT or AD applicant received an improper registration.
(The description should discuss all aspects of Policy Section 2 that are applicable to the claim.)
Specify, in accordance with the Policy Section 3, the remedies sought;
Identify any other legal proceedings that have been commenced or terminated in connection with or relating to any of the domain name(s) that are the subject of the complaint;
Conclude with the following statement followed by the signature (in any electronic format) of the Complainant or its authorized representative:
“Complainant agrees that its claims and remedies concerning the registration of the domain name, the dispute, or the dispute’s resolution shall be solely against the domain name holder and waives all such claims and remedies against (a) the dispute-resolution provider and Evaluators, except in the case of deliberate wrongdoing, (b) the registrar, (c) the registry administrator, and (d) the Registry, their directors, officers, employees, and agents.”
“Complainant certifies that the information contained in this complaint is to the best of Complainant’s knowledge complete and accurate, that this complaint is not being presented for any improper purpose, such as to harass, and that the assertions in this complaint are warranted under these Rules and under applicable law, as it now exists or as it may be extended by a good-faith and reasonable argument.”; and
Annex any documentary or other evidence, including any trademark or service mark registration upon which the complaint relies, together with a schedule indexing such evidence.
The complaint must be accompanied by the appropriate fee as listed in Rule 19.
The complaint may not exceed fifteen (15) pages.
The complaint must be sent to the Forum by e-mail (domaindispute@adrforum.com) or filed online through the Forum’s online filing platform at http://domains.adrforum.com.
The complaint (as required by Rule 3(b)(i)-(x)) must be a separate file (file must not include Annexes from Rule 3(b)(xi)).
All documents must be in a format as specified in Annex A to these Rules, unless approved by the Forum in advance.
Individual files must not exceed the file size restrictions as set forth in Annex A to these Rules unless approved by the Forum in advance. The Annexes may be divided into multiple files as needed.
No individual email, including attachments, may exceed the email size restrictions set forth in Annex A to these Rules unless approved by the Forum in advance. Multiple emails may be used to transmit a single set of complaint documents; the subject line of each email relating to a single complaint must reference the fact that multiple emails have been sent (refer to Annex A for suggested wording)
The Forum may rename electronic files compatible with internal naming conventions, for ease of internal and Evaluator use.
5. Notification of Complaint
The Provider shall review the complaint for administrative compliance with the Policy and these Rules and, if in compliance, shall request the Registry to lock the domain name and maintain the status quo, per Policy Section 5. The Registry shall respond to the Provider’s request within five (5) Calendar days.
If the Provider finds the complaint to be administratively deficient, it shall promptly notify the Complainant of the nature of the deficiencies identified. The Complainant shall have five (5) Calendar days within which to correct any such deficiencies, after which the administrative proceeding will be deemed withdrawn without prejudice to submission of a different complaint by Complainant.
Once the complaint is compliant and the domain name locked, the Provider shall provide the complaint, including any annexes, electronically to the Respondent and shall send written notice of the complaint to the Respondent, in the manner prescribed by Rule 3(a), within three (3) Calendar days of notice of the lock under Policy Section 5 and Rule 5(a).
The date of commencement of the administrative proceeding shall be the date on which the Provider completes its responsibilities under Rule 3(a) in connection with sending the complaint to the Respondent.
The Provider shall immediately notify the Complainant, the Respondent, the applicable registrar(s), and the Registry of the date of commencement of the administrative proceeding.
6. The Response
Within thirty (30) Calendar days of the date of commencement of the administrative proceeding the Respondent shall submit a response to the Provider, with a copy to the Complainant, at the email address specified in Rule 4(b), in English.
The response, including any annexes, shall be submitted in electronic form and shall:
Respond specifically to the statements and allegations contained in the complaint and include any and all bases for the Respondent (domain-name holder) to retain registration and use of the disputed domain name;
Provide the name, postal and e-mail addresses, and the telephone and telefax numbers of the Respondent (domain-name holder) and of any representative authorized to act for the Respondent in the administrative proceeding;
Specify the preferred e-mail address(es) the Respondent wishes the Provider and Complainant to use for case-related communication;
Identify any other legal proceedings that have been commenced or terminated in connection with or relating to any of the domain name(s) that are the subject of the complaint;
Conclude with the following statement followed by the signature (in any electronic format) of the Respondent or its authorized representative:
“Respondent certifies that the information contained in this Response is to the best of Respondent’s knowledge complete and accurate, that this Response is not being presented for any improper purpose, such as to harass, and that the assertions in this Response are warranted under these Rules and under applicable law, as it now exists or as it may be extended by a good-faith and reasonable argument.”; and
Annex any documentary or other evidence upon which the Respondent relies, together with a schedule indexing such documents.
At the request of the Respondent, the Provider may, in exceptional cases, extend the period of time for the filing of the response. The period may also be extended by written stipulation between the Parties, provided the stipulation is approved by the Provider.
If a Respondent does not submit a response, in the absence of exceptional circumstances, the Evaluator shall decide the dispute based upon the complaint.
The response may not exceed fifteen (15) pages.
The method used by the Forum to communicate to the Respondent will be:
the e-mail address listed in the registrar’s Whois at the time the complaint is filed; or
the e-mail address(es) provided by Respondent to the Forum.
The response must be sent to the Forum by e-mail (domaindispute@adrforum.com) or filed online through the Forum’s online filing platform at http://domains.adrforum.com.
The response (see sub-paragraph (b) above) must be a separate file (file must not include Annexes);
All documents must be in a format as specified in Annex A to these Rules, unless approved by the Forum in advance;
Individual files must not exceed the file size restrictions as set forth in Annex A to these Rules unless approved by the Forum in advance. The Annexes may be divided into multiple files as needed;
No individual email, including attachments, may exceed the email size restrictions set forth in Annex A to these Rules unless approved by the Forum in advance; multiple emails may be used to transmit a single set of Response documents; and
The Forum may rename electronic files compatible with internal naming conventions, for ease of internal and Evaluator use.
7. Extensions and Stays
Extensions for Filing a Response
Rule 6(c) provides that the Respondent may request additional time to Submit a response, or may be given additional time if the parties stipulate to an extension and the Forum approves. Any request by the Respondent for an extension or any joint request by the parties for an extension must:
be Submitted in writing to the Forum and the parties within the time for the Response to be Submitted;
state the exceptional circumstances warranting the request for an extension;
state the length of the extension being requested (no more than twenty (20) additional Calendar Days); and
be Submitted with an extension fee of one hundred dollars ($100).
The Forum may exercise its discretion in determining whether exceptional circumstances exist warranting an extension and if so, the length of the extension. No request for an extension will be approved if any of the conditions set forth in Rule 7(a) have not been performed.
Stays of the Administrative Proceeding
Parties may jointly request a stay for a one-time period of forty-five (45) Calendar Days, provided that both Parties have agreed to the stay in writing and that the Parties Submit the signed agreement to the Forum; an electronic signature (refer to Annex A) will be accepted. This request may be granted at the discretion of the Forum. A Model Form is available on the Forum’s website: http://domains.adrforum.com;
Prior to expiration of the Stay, at least one party must request in writing that the case be reinstated. Absent this written request, the Forum will automatically dismiss the case without prejudice; and
If a Evaluator has been appointed by the Forum, a request that the administrative proceeding be stayed shall be granted at the discretion of the appointed Evaluator.
8. Withdrawal
Prior to Commencement
Before the five (5) Calendar Day deficiency period described in Rule 5(b) expires, the Complainant may withdraw the complaint without prejudice. A withdrawal request must be Submitted to the Forum in writing and signed by the Complainant. An electronic signature complying (refer to Annex A) will be accepted. Upon the Forum’s receipt of the withdrawal request, the complaint will be withdrawn without prejudice and the administrative proceeding will be terminated;
The Complainant may re-initiate a proceeding, which was properly withdrawn pursuant to Rule 8(a)(i), within thirty (30) Calendar Days. A re-initiation fee of one hundred dollars ($100 USD) must accompany the request to re-initiate the proceeding; and
If the Complaint was withdrawn pursuant to Rule 8(a)(i) and if the Complainant does not re-initiate the Complaint at the end of thirty (30) Days, a subsequent Complaint will be treated as a new complaint and must be accompanied by payment of the appropriate fees.
After Commencement and Prior to Response:
After commencement, but before the Forum has received a Response that complies with Rule 6, the complaint may be withdrawn by the Complainant. A withdrawal request must be Submitted to the Forum in writing and signed by the Complainant; an electronic signature (refer to Annex A) will be accepted. A complaint dismissed by the Forum pursuant to Rule 8(b)(i) will be dismissed without prejudice unless the Complainant requests a dismissal with prejudice in the initial request; and
After commencement, but before the Forum has received a Response that complies with Rule 6, the complaint may be withdrawn pursuant to a joint request made by both parties. A withdrawal request must be Submitted to the Forum in writing and signed by both Parties; electronic signatures (refer to Annex A) will be accepted. A complaint dismissed by the Forum pursuant to Rule 8(b)(ii) will be dismissed with prejudice unless the parties stipulate the dismissal will be without prejudice.
After Response is Received: After a response that complies with Rule 6 has been received by the Forum, but before an Evaluator decision is issued, the complaint may be withdrawn if both parties agree to the withdrawal. A withdrawal request must be Submitted to the Forum in writing and signed by both parties; electronic signatures (refer to Annex A) will be accepted. A complaint dismissed by the Forum pursuant to Rule 8(c) will be dismissed with prejudice unless the Parties agree that it shall be dismissed without prejudice.
The Complaint cannot be withdrawn after an Evaluator decision is communicated to the Parties, the Registry, and the registrar.
9. Submission of other Written Statements and Documents;
No Amendment to the Complaint
A party may Submit additional written statements and documents to the Forum and the opposing party(s) within five (5) Calendar Days after the date the Response was received by the Forum, or, if no Response has been filed, the last date the Response was due to be received by the Forum.
Each additional submission pursuant to Rule 9(a) must:
be timely received by the Forum;
be accompanied by an additional submission fee of four hundred dollars ($400 USD);
include proof of service of these submissions upon the opposing party(s); and
be Submitted electronically via email to the case coordinator and/or to domaindispute@adrforum.com or uploaded through the Forum’s online portal.
The party(s) not filing the original additional submission under 9(a) may file additional written statements and documents to the Forum within five (5) Calendar Days after the date the original additional submission was received by the Forum.
Each additional submission pursuant to Rule 9(c) must:
be timely received by the Forum;
include proof of service of these submissions upon the opposing party(s); and
be Submitted electronically via email to the case coordinator and/or to domaindispute@adrforum.com.
Each party is limited to one additional submission under either 9(a) or 9(c), but not both.
Additional submissions must not amend the complaint or response.
10. The Record of the Administrative Proceeding.
The complaint, response, and additional written statements and documents provided in Rule 9 constitute the complete record to be considered by the Evaluator.
11. Appointment of the Evaluator
The Forum shall appoint a single Evaluator within five (5) Calendar days of whichever is later:
the Response period under Rule 6 elapses without a Response;
the receipt of a Response under Rule 6; or
any Additional Submission compliant with Rule 9.
The Forum shall maintain and publish a list of Evaluators and their qualifications to which any party will be directed on the Forum’s web site, http://domains.adrforum.com. The Forum will appoint an Evaluator from this list and will notify the Parties of the name of the Evaluator assigned and the date on which a decision, absent exceptional circumstances, is expected.
12. Impartiality and Independence
An Evaluator shall be impartial and independent and shall have, before accepting appointment, disclosed to the Provider any circumstances giving rise to justifiable doubt as to the Evaluator’s impartiality or independence. If, at any stage during the administrative proceeding, new circumstances arise that could give rise to justifiable doubt as to the impartiality or independence of the Evaluator, that Evaluator shall promptly disclose such circumstances to the Provider. In such event, the Provider shall have the discretion to appoint a substitute Evaluator.
All Forum Evaluators will take an oath to be neutral and independent.
An Evaluator will be disqualified if circumstances exist that create a conflict of interest or cause the Evaluator to be unfair and biased, including but not limited to the following:
The Evaluator has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party or personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts;
The Evaluator has served as an attorney to any party or the Evaluator has been associated with an attorney who has represented a party during that association;
The Evaluator, individually or as a fiduciary, or the Evaluator’s spouse or dependent has a direct financial interest in a matter before the Evaluator;
The Evaluator or the Evaluator’s spouse, or a person within the third degree of relationship to either of them, or the spouse of such a person:
Is a party to the proceeding, or an officer, director, or trustee of a Party; or
Is acting as a lawyer or representative in the proceeding.
A party may challenge the selection of an Evaluator, provided that a decision has not already been published, by filing with the Forum a written request stating the circumstances and specific reasons for the disqualification.
A request to challenge must be filed in writing with the National Arbitration Forum within five (5) Calendar Days of the date of receipt of the notice of the selection.
Provided a decision has not already been published by the selected Evaluator, the Forum will promptly review the challenge and determine whether circumstances exist requiring Evaluator disqualification in accord with this rule.
No Party or anyone acting on its behalf may have any unilateral communication with the Evaluator. All communications between a Party and the Evaluator or the Provider shall be made to a case coordinator appointed by the Forum.
13. General Powers of the Evaluator
The Evaluator shall conduct the administrative proceeding in such manner as it considers appropriate in accordance with the Policy and these Rules.
In all cases, the Evaluator shall ensure that the Parties are treated with equality and that each Party is given a fair opportunity to present its case.
The Evaluator shall ensure that the administrative proceeding takes place with due expedition. It may, at the request of a Party or on its own motion, extend, in exceptional cases, a period of time fixed by these Rules or by the Evaluator.
The Evaluator shall determine the admissibility, relevance, materiality and weight of the evidence.
14. Default
In the event that a Party, in the absence of exceptional circumstances, does not comply with any of the time periods established by these Rules or the Evaluator, the Evaluator shall proceed to a decision on the complaint.
If a Party, in the absence of exceptional circumstances, does not comply with any provision of, or requirement under, these Rules or any request from the Evaluator, the Evaluator shall draw such inferences therefrom as it considers appropriate.
15. Evaluator Decisions
A Evaluator shall decide a complaint on the basis of the statements and documents submitted and in accordance with the Policy, these Rules and any rules and principles of law that it deems applicable.
In the absence of exceptional circumstances, the Evaluator shall forward its decision on the complaint to the Provider within fourteen (14) days of its appointment pursuant to Rule 11.
The Evaluator’s decision shall be in writing, provide the reasons on which it is based (in summary format, if preferred, under Policy Section 4(d)), indicate the date on which it was rendered and identify the name of the Evaluator.
If the Evaluator concludes that the dispute is not within the scope of one of the causes of action listed in Policy Section 2, it shall so state.
Evaluator decisions will be of a length that the Evaluator deems appropriate.
16. Communication of Decision to Parties
Within three (3) Calendar days after receiving the decision from the Evaluator, the Provider shall communicate the full text of the decision to each Party, the applicable registrar, and the Registry. Information regarding the decision may be published by the Registry or the Provider on an aggregate basis, in a manner that does not personally identify the parties involved with the dispute.
17. Correction of Clerical Mistakes
Clerical mistakes or clerical errors in the Evaluator’s decision arising from oversight or omission by the Evaluator may be corrected by the Forum.
18. Conclusion of the Proceedings.
Once the Evaluator’s decision is issued, the case is closed with the Forum. No further submissions or requests will be considered.
19. Fees (U.S. Dollars)
The Fees for a (single-domain name) complaint shall be one thousand three hundred dollars ($1,300.00).
No action shall be taken on a complaint until the Forum has received from Complainant the initial fee.
If the Forum has not received the fee within five (5) Calendar days of receiving the complaint, the complaint shall be deemed withdrawn and the administrative proceeding terminated.
Fees to be paid to the Forum as provided in these Rules must be paid in U.S. Dollars and are non-refundable.
Payment shall be made in one of the following forms:
Credit card (via email or the Forum’s secure, online filing platform);
Certified check; or
Personal/business check.
If any form of payment is cancelled, stopped, returned unpaid or dishonored, without prior written authorization from the Forum, the Forum reserves the right to charge a service fee of fifty ($50) for each cancelled, stopped, returned or dishonored payment.
20. Settlement or Other Grounds for Termination
If, before the Evaluator’s decision, the Parties agree on a settlement, the Evaluator shall terminate the administrative proceeding.
If, before the Evaluator’s decision is made, it becomes unnecessary or impossible to continue the administrative proceeding for any reason, the Evaluator shall terminate the administrative proceeding, unless a Party raises justifiable grounds for objection within a period of time to be determined by the Evaluator.
21. Effect of Court Proceedings
In the event of any legal proceedings initiated prior to or during an administrative proceeding in respect of a domain name dispute that is the subject of the complaint, the Evaluator shall have the discretion to decide whether to suspend or terminate the administrative proceeding.
In the event that a Party initiates any legal proceedings during the pendency of an administrative proceeding in respect of a domain name dispute that is the subject of the complaint, it shall promptly notify the Evaluator and the Provider.
22. Exclusion of Liability
Except in the case of deliberate wrongdoing, neither the Provider nor an Evaluator shall be liable to a Party for any act or omission in connection with any administrative proceeding under these Rules.
23. Amendments
The version of these Rules in effect at the time of the submission of the complaint to the Provider shall apply to the administrative proceeding commenced thereby. These Rules may not be amended without the express written approval of the Registry.
24. Effective Date
These Rules apply to all cases filed on or after September 1, 2011.
ANNEX A TO PROVIDER’S CEDRP RULES
The purpose of this annex is to define technical requirements for electronic submissions.
Types of Files Supported
The National Arbitration Forum will accept files having the following extensions. If you have a file in a format not specified, you must have
advance permission from the National Arbitration Forum or your submission may be rejected.
File Size Restrictions
Email Size Restrictions
SUGGESTIONS AND REMINDERS
Multiple Email Suggestions
The Forum suggests that each email relating to a single case be notated in the subject line with a single representative domain name by which all of the emails can be linked; if an FA number has already been assigned, the Forum requests that the parties use that number in the subject line of all correspondence.
The Forum suggests that each email relating to a single case bear a notation in the subject line indicating the number of emails in the batch.
The Forum suggests that each email relating to a single case indicate what the party is filing.
Example: COMPLAINT regarding <domain.com> 1 of 3
Example: RESPONDENTS ADDITIONAL SUBMISSION FA####### 1 of 1
Electronic Signatures
The Forum recommends the following:
A scanned signature inserted into the appropriate place in a document.
The use of /s/ to indicate an electronic signature (i.e. /s/ John Doe)
The National Arbitration Forum does not accept links to files located on external servers and is not responsible for gathering electronic files. All files must be sent to the Forum following the CEDRP and these Rules.