ICANN and Governance

ICANN: Locking of a Domain Name Subject to UDRP Proceedings Policy Development Process (PDP) Recommendations for Board Consideration

ICANN logoPurpose (Brief):

Obtain community input on the Locking of a Domain Name subject to UDRP Proceedings Policy Development Process recommendations adopted by the GNSO Council prior to ICANN Board consideration.

Current Status:

The Locking of a Domain Name subject to UDRP Proceedings PDP Working Group delivered its Final Report [PDF, 1.01 MB] to the GNSO Council on 5 July 2013. The report and its recommendations were adopted unanimously by the GNSO Council on 1 August. As required by the ICANN Bylaws, public notice is hereby provided of the policies that are considered for adoption as well as an opportunity to comment on the adoption of the proposed policies, prior to consideration by the ICANN Board of these recommendations.

Next Steps:

ICANN Staff will prepare a summary of the public comments received that will be submitted to the Board in conjunction with the Locking of a Domain Name subject to UDRP Proceedings recommendations adopted by the GNSO Council.

 

Detailed Information
Section I: Description, Explanation, and Purpose:

The Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) unanimously approved at its meeting on 1 August 2013 the recommendations of the Locking of a Domain Name subject to UDRP Proceedings PDP Working Group. The 17 recommendations, which are pending for Board action, are intended to clarify and standardize the process for locking of a domain name subject to UDRP Proceedings, including:

  • Definition of ‘locking’
  • Requiring registrar to apply lock within 2 business days following request for verification
  • Removing obligation for complainant to notify the respondent at the time of filing, but add automatic extension of 4 days to response time upon request
  • Step by step clarification of requirements of different parties involved
  • Development of educational and informational materials to assist in informing affected parties of new requirements and recommended best practices

For the full details of these recommendations, you are strongly encouraged to review section 7 of the Final Report [PDF, 1.01 MB].

You are invited to submit your comments before final consideration of these recommendations by the ICANN Board.

Section II: Background:

Currently there is no requirement to lock names in period between filing complaint and commencement of proceedings and no definition of ‘status quo’, which has resulted in different interpretations and confusion of the policy. To address this issue, the GNSO Council decided to initiate a Policy Development Process on 15 December 2011. As part of its deliberations, the WG was required to consider the following questions:

1. Whether the creation of an outline of a proposed procedure, which a complainant must follow in order for a registrar to place a domain name on registrar lock, would be desirable.

2. Whether the creation of an outline of the steps of the process that a registrar can reasonably expect to take place during a UDRP dispute would be desirable.

3. Whether the time frame by which a registrar must lock a domain after a UDRP has been filed should be standardized.

4a. Whether what constitutes a “locked” domain name should be defined.

4b. Whether, once a domain name is ‘locked’ pursuant to a UDRP proceeding, the registrant information for that domain name may be changed or modified.

5. Whether additional safeguards should be created for the protection of registrants in cases where the domain name is locked subject to a UDRP proceeding.

The Working Group published its Initial Report for public comment on 15 March 2013 (see www.icann.org/en/news/public-comment/locking-domain-name-15mar13-en.htm), followed by its Final Report on 5 July 2013.

omment / Reply Periods (*)

Comment Open Date:
2 August 2013
Comment Close Date:
23 August 2013 – 23:59 UTC
Reply Open Date:
24 August 2013
Reply Close Date:
13 September 2013 – 23:59 UTC
Important Information Links

This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
www.icann.org/en/news/public-comment/locking-domain-name-recommendations-02aug13-en.htm