ICC to administer new Internet domain name disputes

The dispute resolution procedure is part of a comprehensive programme designed to protect the rights and interests of individuals or entities who oppose the registration of any domain name “strings” submitted for registration, as alternatives to the commonly known .com and .org extensions become possible.

ICANN today kicked off a seven-month objection period and made publicly available a list of all 1,930 gTLD ‘strings,’ for which complete applications were filed.

Under the programme, ICC has accepted to process cases under the following two categories of objection.

1. “Limited public interest objections” – whereby proposed names are considered to be contrary to generally accepted legal norms relating to morality and public order, recognized under principles of international law.

2. “Community objections”, a substantial opposition to the gTLD application from a significant portion of the community to which the string may be explicitly or implicitly targeted.

The ICC International Centre for Expertise (the Centre) will administer cases under its Rules for Expertise which have been updated to include an appendix to govern the financial aspect of the proceedings. The Centre has also published a Practice Note to supplement the Rules.

During the process, which will provide parties with a binding, expert determination, the Centre will be responsible for appointing experts, supervising proceedings and determining costs.

In the course of proceedings, parties, will be encouraged to try to find a settlement of their dispute through direct negotiations or mediation if they so wish. For this purpose parties could benefit from ICC’s international mediation experience under the ICC ADR Rules.

“We have worked with parties, counsel and experts from all around the world to administer domestic and international dispute resolution procedures,” said Hannah Tuempel, Manager of the ICC International Centre for Expertise. “We are delighted to be able to put our experience and case management know-how to the use of the international domain name community. As with any case filed with ICC, we shall make every effort to ensure it is managed with the greatest efficiency”.

Detailed information on the new service including a full listing of the final determinations of experts can be found on the ICC website.

Further information can also be found on the ICANN website.

Click here to view all applied for gTLD strings visit.