RULES FOR NAME REGISTRATION
WITHIN THE .RO DOMAIN AND ITS SUB-DOMAINS
Versiunea in limba romana (The version in Romanian)
The rules presented in this document apply to all requests of names within the .ro domain and its sub-domains:
.ro for any organisations or individuals
com.ro for bussines, firms, products and services of a commercial nature
org.ro for not-for-profit organizations, social organizations, civil groups
tm.ro for trademarks only. To register under the tm.ro subdomain, proof of a Romanian trademark
(OSIM, or another trademark organisation) must be submitted.
store.ro for shops, stores or other bussines offering goods to purchase
info.ro for information providers
nom.ro for those individuals wishing their own domain name
nt.ro for entities emphasizing data networking activities, especially with respect to the Internet
firm.ro for firms
www.ro for entities emphasizing activities related to the World Wide Web
arts.ro for entities emphasizing cultural activities
rec.ro for entities emphasizing recreation and entertainment activities
All NEW domain requests will conform to RFCs 1034, 1035, 1122, 1123 and any subsequent replacements.
The requests will be handled by an automaton/robot. This robot will apply a check against the list of existing domain names.
Applications for new domain name registration and nameserver and contact data modifications for existing domain names are sent only be e-mail to domain-admin@rnc.ro or by WEB form available at http://www.rnc.ro/new/newreg.shtml.
E-mail notifications are sent automatically by the robot to inform the applicant wether its application has been accepted or rejected. It is very important that you specify an operational e-mail address at the requester's e-mail in the application form.
Names within the .ro domain and its sub-domains may be registered for active usage (domain delegation) or for inactive usage (reserved domain names).
For registered active domain names there must be an operational primary and an operational secondary Domain Name System (DNS) name server. Both name servers need permanent IP connectivity to the Internet (for queries and zone transfers) in order that they can be easily checked for operational status and database accuracy at any time by ROTLD registry.
At the end of each month a periodic zone check is done for all the domains to collect errors, hostcount and other domain statistics.You are very kindly asked to allow zone transfer for the machines from 192.162.16.0/24 IP address class. These machines run software for the validation of the nameservers delegated to the .ro domains.
Any entity (organisation or individual) may register domain names, independent of the location of the entity. The administrative contact (admin-c) in the application form is responsible for a domain and is therefore required to be an employee of the organisation which will be the owner of the domain name.
The language for communication with the registrants and registrars is Romanian or English.
The registration fee is 61 USD, one time payment.
Invoices are sent to the billing contact as listed in the application form.
The payment is due in five days from the receipt of the invoice.
Applications for new domain names are processed in chronological order of receipt by ROTLD (first-come, first-served). More specific: e-mails are being processed in chronological order of arrival as they appear in the in-box of ROTLD. The entity seeking registration is fully responsible for its entries in the application form and is therefore required to supervise any records in the repository belonging to said entity. Applications for modifications (and deletions) of domain names are processed in a manner similar to that described above but exceptions to chronological order may be possible under certain circumstances and upon special request by registrants.
The registration of a domain name is made only after the payment has been received in full. An application can be canceled for lack of payment any time after payment is due, without prior notice.
Termination of registration: active or inactive registration of domain names may be erased from the repository (whois database) due to three reasons: a) when the registrant requests deletion of his entry; the request needs to be sent to ROTLD in written form, fax no. +40-1-2241084; b) when no or insufficient payment for registration/reservation is received; c. upon order by a court or governmental or administrative body.
Domain names which have been deleted will immediately become available for reuse by any party.
During the 'on hold' period active domain names will be set to inactive.
Responsibilities for domain: entities registering domain names are fully responsible for their right to said name. Submission of a domain registration constitutes warranty to ROTLD that entity has rights to use the submitted name, i.e. entities statements in the application form are required to be true and entity is required to have the right to use the Domain Name as requested in the application. Entity shall indemnify ROTLD from any litigation costs or damages resulting from entity's use of said name. ROTLD is hereby expressly exempted from any and all responsibility for the verification of rights to a name. Acceptance of an application and registration of a domain name constitutes no endorsement by ROTLD that registrant has a right to use the domain name in question under the laws of any state which might be applicable, e.g. with regard to names of natural or legal persons, trade names or trademarks.
Registering a domain name does not confer any legal rights to that name and any disputes between parties over the rights to use a particular name are to be settled between the contending parties using normal legal methodes.
Domain Names are allocated to the Holder (domain owner). If the application was filed by another party on behalf of the Holder, the person who holds the Domain Name is the third party beneficiary of the contract between the Applicant and ROTLD. Holding the Domain Name is conditioned upon the Holder's acceptance of the Rules for name registration within the .ro domain and its sub-domains and the Registration Agreement available at http://www.rnc.ro/new/agreement.html .
Transfer of domain names: the holder of a name submits a written and signed document (fax to +40-1-2241084) to the registry authorizing another entity to apply for a modification of the entries in the repository of a specific domain name.
Solving conflicts: when a domain name has been registered by another entity or is in progress of registering, it is the responsibility of the entity seeking the registration to research the existing repository and pursue any litigation which may be necessary against the existing registrant, should said entity believe that existing registrant has no right to said domain. Entities and registrants acknowledge and agree that ROTLD cannot act as arbiter of disputes arising out of the registration of and use of domain names. Registration of a pending application for a domain name will be suspended by ROTLD in case of a conflict with another pending application or an already registered active or inactive domain name until the conflicting registrants present a written and duly signed settlement of the conflict or a court decision resolving the dispute in favor of one of the conflicting parties.
Liability of ROTLD: as far as permitted by law, the ROTLD registry will not be liable for any loss of use, interruption of business, or any indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages of any kind (including lost profits) regardless of the form of action whether in contract, tort (including negligence), or otherwise, even if the ROTLD registry has been advised of the possibility of such damages.
ROTLD assumes no liability for trademark disputes other than to provide the contact information to both parties.
Acceptable characters allowed for domain names are alpha-numeric characters (a-z, A-Z, 0-9) and dash (-). A domain name cannot begin or end with a dash.We recomend you to use only lower case characters, because domain names are case insensitive. A domain name must have less than 26 characters, not including .ro
When an entity loses its right to use a domain name, e. g because said entity has had no legitimate right to register a domain name, no refund of any pre-paid fees will be made.
ROTLD may issue warnings in case of obvious possible name conflicts or when names are likely to conflict with another name, trade mark, well known names, name of famous individuals, etc. ROTLD, however, has no obligation to issue such warnings. After a warning has been issued, the corresponding application for a domain name is interrupted until confirmation by the registrant is received. ROTLD may, however, at its own discretion interrupt the registration until the entity seeking for registration submits within reasonable time to ROTLD a written confirmation of the holder of the conflicting name, trade mark, well known names, name of famous individuals, etc. that the application is valid and that the holder agrees with the application.
When an entity submits grossly erroneous and/or misleading application forms, the registry may cancel the registration process for such an entity. In this situation the ROTLD registry reserves the rights to ask for additional information and/or documents.
ROTLD registers domain names in its own repository (whois.rotld.ro server) which answers authoritatively for .RO domain names. This information may also be retrieved from a search engine run by ROTLD, which can be queried by means of the command 'whois -h whois.rotld.ro . This query supplies the name of the domain, its administrative, technical and billing contacts and pointers to hosts providing name service for the domain.
ROTLD reserves the right to make entries in the WHOIS data bases publicly available in any electronic and written form.
This domain name policy shall be governed by and construed according to Romanian law. The courts of Bucharest shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any disputes that may arise out of or in connection with this domain name policy.
Reasons for rejecting domain name applications are:
incomplete entries in the application form;
the data provided in the application form is false, it is not accurate, or it is misleading;
domain names containing more than 24 characters;
domain names containing special characters except the hyphen (-);
domain names containing hyphen as first or last character;
domain names which are identical with an already registered domain name;
domain names which are identical with a previously applied valid name;
administrative contact is not a member of the entity stated as the organization which is the domain owner (not applicable to natural persons);
domain names of bad taste;
names incorporating foul languages;
names that are injurious to public order or to public sensibilities;
misleading or deceptive domain names;
domainnames with offending character;
domainnames with obscene or pornographic words;
names of famous individuals;
outstanding payments.
34. The ROTLD registry may cancel a registration or suspend delegation of a name:
if the name is adminstered in a way likely to endanger operation of the DNS;
if the basis on which the name was registered has changed, e.g. the organisation making the application no longer exists, or the contact data was modified to inaccurate or false data;
it is drawn to ROTLD attention that the name is being used in a manner likely to cause confusion to Internet users;
where ROTLD has been informed that legal action has been commenced regarding use of the name;
where attempts exists to register names in order to resell them.
in cases of conflicts of a domain name between parties, until the dispute is resolved;
the use of the domain name is misleading other Internet users;
where ROTLD is of the opinion that one of the above events is likely to occur.

Registration Agreement
Versiunea in limba romana (The version in Romanian)
1. AGREEMENT. In this Registration Agreement ("Agreement") "you" and "your" refer to each customer, "we", us" and "our" refer to ICI (National Institute for R$D in Informatics), the ROTLD registry. This Agreement explains our obligations to you, and explains your obligations to us for various Services. By using the Services under this Agreement, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to be bound by all terms and conditions of this Agreement and any pertinent rules or policies that are or may be published by us.

2. REGISTRATION RULES. The rule for name registration within the .ro domain and its subdomains, which can be accessed on the World Wide Web through http://www.rnc.ro/new/rules-ro.html, as amended from time to time, form part of this agreement.

3. SELECTION OF A DOMAIN NAME. We cannot and do not check to see whether the domain name you select, or the use you make of the domain name, infringes legal rights of others. We urge you to investigate to see whether the domain name you select or its use infringes legal rights of others. You may wish to consider seeking one or more trademark registrations in connection with your domain name. You should be aware that there is the possibility we might be ordered by a court to cancel, modify, or transfer your domain name. You should be aware that if we are sued or threatened with lawsuit in connection with your domain name, we may turn to you to hold us harmless and indemnify us.

4. FEES, PAYMENT AND TERM. As consideration for the services you have selected, you agree to pay us the applicable service(s) fees. All fees payable hereunder are non-refundable unless we provide otherwise. As further consideration for the Services, you agree to: (1) provide certain current, complete and accurate information about you as required by the registration process and (2) maintain and update this information as needed to keep it current, complete and accurate. You hereby grant us the right to disclose to third parties such Information. The Registrant, by completing and submitting the Domain Name Registration Form ("Registration Form"), represents that the statements in its application are true and that the registration of the selected Domain Name, so far as the Registrant is aware, does not interfere with or infringe upon the rights of any third party. The Registrant also represents that the Domain Name is not being registered for any unlawful purpose and it will not be used in violation of any applicable laws or regulations..

5. MODIFICATIONS TO AGREEMENT. You agree, during the period of this Agreement, that we may: (1) revise the terms and conditions of this Agreement; and (2) change the services provided under this Agreement. Any such revision or change will be binding and effective immediately on posting of the revised Agreement or change to the service(s) on our web site, or on notification to you by e-mail or regular mail as per the Notices section of this agreement, Section 20. You agree to review our web site, including the Agreement, periodically to be aware of any such revisions. If you do not agree with any revision to the Agreement, you may terminate this Agreement at any time by providing us with notice by e-mail or regular mail as per the Notices section of this agreement, Section 20. Notice of your termination will be effective on receipt and processing by us. You agree that, by continuing to use the Services following notice of any revision to this Agreement or change in service(s), you abide by any such revisions or changes.

6. DOMAIN NAME DISPUTES. You agree that, if the registration or reservation of your domain name is challenged by a third party, you will be subject to the Dispute Policy in effect at the time of the dispute. You agree that in the event a domain name dispute arises with any third party, you will indemnify and hold us harmless pursuant to the terms and conditions contained in the Dispute Policy.

7. DISPUTE POLICY. On learning of a dispute about an Internet Domain Name registered under a .ro Top Level Domain, between the organisation or individual and another laying claim to a stronger right to register it, ROTLD will assist the parties by providing mediation. ROTLD will seek to establish whether a mutally acceptable resolution to the dispute can be found by the impartial intervention of the staff of ROTLD. Unde the rules for name registration within the .ro domain and its subdomains, ROTLD may suspend delegation of an Internet Domain Name in certain circumstances: (1) the domain name is being used in a manner likely to cause confusion to
Internet users; (2) the domain name is administered in a way likely to endanger operation of the DNS. If the mediation is not successful, either the compliant or the registrant can submit the dispute to a court of Bucharest, Romania.

8. AGENTS. You agree that, if an agent for you (i.e., an Internet Service Provider, employee, etc.) purchased our Services on your behalf, you are nonetheless bound as a principal by all terms and conditions herein, including the Dispute Policy.

9. ANNOUNCEMENTS. We reserve the right to distribute information to you that is pertinent to the quality or operation of our services and those of our service partners. These announcements will be predominately informative in nature and may include notices describing changes, upgrades, new products or other information to add security or to enhance your identity on the Internet.

10. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. You agree that our entire liability, and your exclusive remedy, with respect to any Services(s) provided under this Agreement and any breach of this Agreement is solely limited to the amount you paid for such Service(s). We and our contractors shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages resulting from the use or inability to use any of the Services or for the cost of procurement of substitute services. We disclaim any and all loss or liability resulting from, but not limited to: (1) loss or liability resulting from access delays or access interruptions; (2) loss or liability resulting from data non-delivery or data mis-delivery; (3) loss or liability resulting from errors, omissions, or misstatements in any and all information or services(s) provided under this Agreement; (4) loss or liability resulting from the development or interruption of your Web site or email service. The registrant agrees that we will not be liable for any loss of registration and use of registrant's domain name, or for interruption of business, or any indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages of any kind (including lost profits) regardless of the form of action whether in contract, tort (including negligence), or otherwise, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

11. INDEMNITY. You agree to release, indemnify, and hold us, our contractors, agents, employees, officers, directors and affiliates harmless from all liabilities, claims and expenses, including attorney's fees, of third parties relating to or arising under this Agreement, the Services provided hereunder or your use of the Services, including without limitation infringement by you, or someone else using the E-mail Service with your computer, of any intellectual property or other proprietary right of any person or entity, or from the violation of any of our operating rules or policy relating to the service(s) provided. You also agree to release, indemnify and hold us harmless pursuant to the terms and conditions contained in the Dispute Policy. When we are threatened with suit by a third party, we may seek written assurances from you concerning your promise to indemnify us; your failure to provide those assurances may be considered by us to be a breach of your Agreement and may result in deactivation of your domain name.

12. BREACH. You agree that failure to abide by any provision of this Agreement, any operating rule or policy or the Dispute Policy provided by us, may be considered by us to be a material breach and that we may provide a written notice, describing the breach, to you. If within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of such notice, you fail to provide evidence, which is reasonably satisfactory to us, that you have not breached your obligations under the Agreement, then we may delete the registration or reservation of your domain name or terminate your e-mail account without further notice. Any such breach by you shall not be deemed to be excused simply because we did not act earlier in response to that, or any other breach by you.

13. NO GUARANTY. You agree that, by registration or reservation of your chosen domain name, such registration or reservation does not confer immunity from objection to either the registration, reservation, or use of the domain name.

14. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES. You agree and warrant that the information that you provide to us to register or reserve your domain name or register for other Services is, to the best of your knowledge and belief, accurate and complete, and that any future changes to this information will be provided to us in a timely manner according to the modification procedures in place at that time. You agree that your use of our Services is solely at your own risk. You agree that such Service(s) is provided on an "as is," "as available" basis. We expressly disclaims all warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. We make no warranty that the Services will meet your requirements, or that the Service(s) will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error free; nor do we make any warranty as to the results that may be obtained from the use of the Service(s) or as to the accuracy or reliability of any information obtained through the our e-mail service or that defects in the Services software will be corrected. You understand and agree that any material and/or data downloaded or otherwise obtained through the use of the our e-mail service is done at your own discretion and risk and that you will be solely responsible for any damage to your computer system or loss of data that results from the download of such material and/or data. We make no warranty regarding any goods or services purchased or obtained through the e-mail service or any transactions entered into through the e-mail service. No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained by you from us or through the e-mail service shall create any warranty not expressly made herein. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties, so some of the above exclusions may not apply to you.

15. REVOCATION. You agree that we may delete your domain name or terminate your right to use other Services if the information that you provided to register or reserve your domain name or register for other Services, or subsequently to modify it, contains false or misleading information, or conceals or omits any information we would likely consider material to our decision to register or reserve your domain name. You agree that we may, in our sole discretion, delete or transfer your domain name at any time.

16. RIGHT OF REFUSAL. We, in our sole discretion, reserve the right to refuse to register or reserve your chosen domain name or register you for other Services, or to delete your domain name within thirty (30) calendar days from receipt of your payment for such services. In the event we do not register or reserve your domain name or register you for other Services, or we delete your domain name or other Services within such thirty (30) calendar day period, we agree to refund your applicable fee(s). You agree that we shall not be liable to you for loss or damages that may result from our refusal to register or reserve, or delete your domain name or register you for other Services.

17. SEVERABILITY. You agree that the terms of this Agreement are severable. If any term or provision is declared invalid or unenforceable, that term or provision will be construed consistent with applicable law as nearly as possible to reflect the original intentions of the parties, and the remaining terms and provisions will remain in full force and effect.

18. NON-AGENCY. Nothing contained in this Agreement shall be construed as creating any agency, partnership, or other form of joint enterprise between the parties.

19. NON-WAIVER. Our failure to require performance by the Registrant of any provision hereof shall not affect the full right to require such performance at any time thereafter; nor shall the waiver by us of a breach of any provision hereof be taken or held to be a waiver of the provision itself.

20. NOTICES. Any notice, direction or other communication given under this Agreement shall be in writing and given by sending it via e-mail or via regular mail. In the case of e-mail, valid notice shall only have been deemed to have been given when an electronic confirmation of delivery has been obtained by the sender, in the case of notice to us to net-admin@rnc.ro or, in the case of notice to you, at the e-mail address provided by you in your WHOIS record or as updated from time to time. Mail shall be sent to ICI-RNC and to you at the mailing address provided in your Affiliate application or as updated from time to time.

21. ENTIRETY. You agree that this Agreement, the rules and policies published are the complete and exclusive agreement between you and us regarding our Services. This Agreement supersede all prior agreements and understandings, whether established by custom, practice, policy or precedent.

22. GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement shall be governed by and interpreted and enforced in accordance with the LAWS OF Romania, applicable therein without reference to rules governing choice of laws. Any action relating to this Agreement must be brought in Bucharest and you irrevocably consent to the jurisdiction of such courts.

23. INFANCY. You attest that you are of legal age to enter into this Agreement.

24. Acceptance of Agreement. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ THIS AGREEMENT AND AGREE TO ALL ITS TERMS AND CONDITIONS. YOU HAVE INDEPENDENTLY EVALUATED THE DESIRABILITY OF PARTICIPATING IN THE AFFILIATE NETWORK AND ARE NOT RELYING ON ANY REPRESENTATION, GUARANTEE OR STATEMENT OTHER THAN AS SET FORTH IN THIS AGREEMENT.

Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy
The .ro ccTLD Registry (ROTLD) does not act as arbitrator of disputes between domain name holders and third party complainants arising out of the registration or the use of a domain name.

In the event that a dispute arises between a domain name holder and a third party complainant, the ROTLD Registry will assist the two parties to arrive at a mutually acceptable resolution to the dispute.

As a general rule, the Registry ROTLD will take action on a matter when it is clear that a registrant is breaching the Registration Agreement.

When a mutual resolution is not successful, the complain is the subject of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy endorsed and approved by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers).




Uniform Domain Name
Dispute Resolution Policy
Policy Adopted: August 26, 1999
Implementation Documents Approved: October 24, 1999



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

2. This policy has been adopted by all accredited domain-name registrars for domain names ending in .com, .net, and .org. It has also been adopted by certain managers of country-code top-level domains (e.g., .nu, .tv, .ws).

3. The policy is between the registrar (or other registration authority in the case of a country-code top-level domain) 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.


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Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy

(As Approved by ICANN on October 24, 1999)

1. Purpose. This Uniform Domain Name 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 a dispute between you and any party other than us (the registrar) over the registration and use of an Internet domain name registered by you. Proceedings under Paragraph 4 of this Policy will be conducted according to the Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Rules of Procedure"), which are available at www.icann.org/udrp/udrp-rules-24oct99.htm, and the selected administrative-dispute-resolution service provider's supplemental rules.

2. Your Representations. By applying to register a domain name, or by asking us to maintain or renew a domain name registration, you hereby represent and warrant to us that (a) the statements that you made in your Registration Agreement are complete and accurate; (b) to your knowledge, the registration of the domain name will 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 applicable laws or regulations. It is your responsibility to determine whether your domain 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 registrations under the following circumstances:

a. subject to the provisions of Paragraph 8, our receipt of written or appropriate electronic instructions from you or your authorized agent to take such action;
b. our receipt of an order from a court or arbitral tribunal, in each case of competent jurisdiction, requiring such action; and/or

c. 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 Paragraph 4(i) and (k) below.)

We may also cancel, transfer or otherwise make changes to a domain name registration in accordance with the terms of your Registration Agreement or other legal requirements.
4. Mandatory Administrative Proceeding.

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

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) your domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service 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.

In the administrative proceeding, the complainant must prove that each of these three elements are present.
b. Evidence of Registration and Use in Bad Faith. For the purposes of Paragraph 4(a)(iii), the following circumstances, in particular but without limitation, if found by the Panel to be present, shall be evidence of the registration and use of a domain name in bad faith:

(i) circumstances indicating that you have registered or you have acquired the domain name primarily for the purpose of selling, renting, or otherwise transferring the domain name registration to the complainant who is the owner of the trademark or service mark or to a competitor of that complainant, for valuable consideration in excess of your documented out-of-pocket costs directly related to the domain name; or
(ii) you have registered the domain name in order to prevent the owner of the trademark or service mark from reflecting the mark in a corresponding domain name, provided that you have engaged in a pattern of such conduct; or

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

c. How to Demonstrate Your Rights to and Legitimate Interests in the Domain Name in Responding to a Complaint. When you receive a complaint, you should refer to Paragraph 5 of the Rules of Procedure in determining how your response should be prepared. Any of the following circumstances, in particular but without limitation, if found by the Panel to be proved based on its evaluation of all evidence presented, shall demonstrate your rights or legitimate interests to the domain name for purposes of Paragraph 4(a)(ii):
(i) before any notice to you of the dispute, your use of, or demonstrable preparations to use, the domain name or a name corresponding to the domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services; or
(ii) you (as an individual, business, or other organization) have been commonly known by the domain name, even if you have acquired no trademark or service mark 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 or to tarnish the trademark or service mark at issue.

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

f. 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.

g. Fees. All fees charged by a Provider in connection with any dispute before an Administrative Panel pursuant to this Policy shall be paid by the complainant, except in cases where you elect to expand the Administrative Panel from one to three panelists as provided in Paragraph 5(b)(iv) of the Rules of Procedure, in which case all fees will be split evenly by you and the complainant.

h. 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.

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

j. Notification and Publication. The Provider shall notify us of any decision made by an Administrative Panel with respect to a domain name you have registered with us. 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.

k. 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 domain name registration 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 our 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 domain name.

5. All Other Disputes and Litigation. All other disputes between you and any party other than us regarding your domain name registration 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.
6. Our Involvement in Disputes. We will not participate in any way in any dispute between you and any party other than us regarding the registration and use of your domain 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.

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

8. Transfers During a Dispute.

a. Transfers of a Domain Name to a New Holder. You may not transfer your domain name registration 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 domain name unless the party to whom the domain name registration 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 domain name registration to another holder that is made in violation of this subparagraph.
b. Changing Registrars. You may not transfer your domain name registration 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 domain name registration to another registrar during a pending court action or arbitration, provided that the domain 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. In the event that you transfer a domain name registration to us during the pendency of a court action or arbitration, such dispute shall remain subject to the domain name dispute policy of the registrar from which the domain name registration was transferred.

9. 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 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 domain name registration 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 domain name registration 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 domain name registration.


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Page Updated 04-June-00