The most recent source for .aero domains dispute policy can be found at:
www.information.aero/registration/policies/
In general, there are three dispute-resolution policies in effect for .aero.
- Eligibility Reconsideration Policy (ERP)
- Charter Eligibility Dispute Resolution Policy (CEDRP)
- Uniform Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP)
.aero Eligibility Reconsideration Policy (ERP)
This Policy is incorporated in all applications for an Aviation Community Membership ID ("Application") and in agreements with registrants concerning .aero domain name registrations. It operates between (a) the Sponsor of the .aero domain TLD and (b) the applicant for an Aviation Community Membership ID or the holder of a .aero domain name registration, as the case may be. An Aviation Community Membership ID is a necessary prerequisite for registering or maintaining a .aero domain name registration. "You" and "your" refer to the applicant or the registrant, as the case may be. "Us" "our" and "we" refer to the Sponsor.
1. Purpose. This Eligibility Reconsideration Policy ("Policy") is incorporated by reference into your application for an Aviation Community Membership ID and into any registration agreement you may have for a .aero domain name. It sets out the terms and conditions in connection with any challenge you may wish to make in relation to a decision by us:
(a) that you do not or that you no longer meet the .aero eligibility requirements as described in the .aero Domain Management Policy ("Eligibility Requirements"); or
(b) if you are the holder of a .aero domain name, to revoke your domain name licence ("Decision").
The proceedings initiated by your challenge to our Decision will be conducted according to the Rules for Eligibility Reconsideration Policy ("ERP Rules"), and the selected administrative dispute resolution service provider's supplemental rules.
2. Your representations. By applying to obtain an Aviation Community Membership ID, applying to register a domain name, or by applying to renew a registered domain name, you represent and warrant to us that (a) the statements made in your Application are complete and accurate; (b) you meet the Eligibility Requirements; and (c) the domain name and your use of the domain name complies with the .aero Domain Management Policy.
3. Mandatory administrative proceeding. You are required to initiate a mandatory administrative proceeding in the event that you wish to challenge our Decision ("Request for Reconsideration"). These proceedings, which will take the form of a reconsideration of our Decision, will be conducted before a provider that has been appointed as a provider of dispute resolution services under this Policy ("Provider"). A list of Providers is available at http://www.information.aero/registration/policies/.
4. Procedure.
(a) Selection of Provider. You shall select the Provider from those on the list of Providers available at http://www.information.aero/registration/policies/ by submitting the Request for Reconsideration to that Provider. The selected Provider will administer the proceeding.
(b) Initiation of proceeding and process and appointment of the Panel. The ERP Rules state the process for initiating and conducting a proceeding and for appointing the panel that will hear and determine the Request for Reconsideration ("Panel").
(c) Fees. All fees charged by a Provider in connection with the Request for Reconsideration by a Panel shall be paid in accordance with the ERP Rules and the selected Provider's supplemental rules.
(d) How to demonstrate that you meet the Eligibility Requirements or that your domain name complies with the .aero Domain Management Policy. You should refer to the ERP Rules in determining how your Request for Reconsideration should be prepared.
(e) Our involvement in the administrative proceedings. We may, but we are not required to, participate in the administration or conduct of any proceeding before a Panel. We agree to be bound by the decision rendered by the Panel whether or not we participate.
(f) Remedy. The remedy available to you pursuant to any proceeding before a Panel shall be limited to the issue, or the retention, of an Aviation Community Membership ID; or the acceptance by us that the domain name complies with the .aero Domain Management Policy.
(g) Notification and publication. The Provider shall notify us of any decision made by a Panel with respect to your Request for Reconsideration. All decisions under this Policy will be published in full over the Internet, except when a Panel determines in an exceptional case to redact portions of its decision.
5.Stay. If we notify you of our Decision, then we will not cancel any domain name you were holding on the basis of the contested Aviation Community Membership ID or is otherwise affected by our decision:
(a) for 30 days from the date of our Decision; and
(b) if you submit a Request for Reconsideration within the time limit referred to in paragraph 5(a), then until the Provider notifies us of the decision made by the Panel.
6. Policy modifications. We may modify this Policy at any time. We will post our revised Policy here at least 10 days before it becomes effective. Unless this Policy has already been invoked by the submission of a Request for Reconsideration 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 Request for Reconsideration is heard, all such changes will be binding upon you with respect to any Request for Reconsideration you may wish to submit subsequently. If you object to a change in this Policy, your sole remedy is to cancel your .aero domain name, provided that you will not be entitled to a refund of any fees you paid. The revised Policy will apply to you until you cancel or fail to renew your .aero domain name.
Charter Eligibility Dispute Resolution Policy
Challenges to Registrations in Violation of Charter
I. IN GENERAL
Disputes concerning domain name registrations made in violation of the Sponsored TLD Charter defined in Attachment 1 of the Agreement shall be resolved under the Charter Eligibility Dispute Resolution Policy (the "CEDRP").
II. CHARTER ELIGIBILITY DISPUTE RESOLUTION POLICY
A. General Information
All registrants in the Sponsored TLD are bound by the CEDRP. The CEDRP applies to challenges to registered domain names on the grounds that the registrant does not meet the eligibility requirements set forth in the Sponsored TLD Charter (the "Eligibility Requirements"). Challenges based on other grounds, including claims that a registration violates restrictions established by the Sponsor under its delegated authority, are not subject to the CEDRP.
Any person or entity may bring a challenge to a registered domain name, under the CEDRP.
To invoke the CEDRP, the challenger must submit a complaint to a CEDRP dispute resolution provider approved by ICANN (the "CEDRP Providers") in accordance with the Rules for Charter Eligibility Dispute Resolution Policy (the "CEDRP Rules").
B. Principal Documents
The following documents provide details:
1. Charter Eligibility Dispute Resolution Policy. The CEDRP is followed by all ICANN-Accredited Registrars with respect to the Sponsored TLD. The CEDRP is attached as Exhibit 1 to this Attachment, and is made a part of the registration agreement, enforceable by Sponsor, between the Registered Name Holder and either Sponsor or the applicable registrar (see Subsection 3.7).
2. Rules for Charter Eligibility Dispute Resolution Policy. The CEDRP Rules will be followed by all CEDRP Providers. The CEDRP Rules will be developed by the CEDRP Providers in consultation with the Sponsor and ICANN. Such CEDRP Providers may supplement these rules, as appropriate.
3. List of CEDRP Providers. The then-current list of CEDRP Providers will be identified on ICANN's web site and will be made available to Sponsor to post on its web site.
EXHIBIT 1
Charter Eligibility Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Policy")
This Policy is to be incorporated in all agreements with registrants concerning domain-name registrations in the Sponsored TLD (the "Registration Agreement"). "You" and "your" refer to the registrant. "Us" "our" and "we" refer to [either Sponsor or the applicable registrar (see Subsection 3.7)].
1. Purpose. This Charter Eligibility Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Policy") is incorporated by reference into your Registration Agreement, and sets forth the terms and conditions in connection with disputes over the registration and use of an Internet domain name, registered by you in the Sponsored TLD. The proceedings under Paragraph 4 of this Policy will be conducted according to the Rules for Charter Eligibility Dispute Resolution Policy (the "CEDRP Rules"), and the selected administrative dispute resolution service provider's supplemental rules. For the purposes of this Policy, the term "Registered Name" means a domain name registration in the Sponsored TLD.
2. Your Representations. By applying to register a domain name within the Sponsored TLD (a "Registered Name"), or by asking us to maintain or renew a Registered Name, you hereby represent and warrant to us that, to your knowledge, the registration of your Registered Name conforms to the eligibility requirements set forth in the Sponsored TLD Charter (the "Eligibility Requirements").
3. Cancellations. We will cancel Registered Names upon our receipt of a decision of a CEDRP Provider 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. (See Paragraph 5(e) below.) We may also cancel a Registered Name registration in accordance with the terms of your Registration Agreement or other legal requirements.
4. Mandatory Administrative Proceeding. This paragraph sets forth the types of disputes for which you are required to submit to a mandatory administrative proceeding under this Policy. These proceedings will be conducted before a CEDRP Provider that has been approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN"). A list of CEDRP Providers is available at www.icann.org/cedrp/approved-providers.htm.
(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 CEDRP Provider, in compliance with the CEDRP Rules that your Registered Name does not meet the Eligibility Requirements; in the administrative proceeding, the Complainant must prove this element.
(b) Registered Name Disputes: Evidence of Registration in Violation of the Eligibility Requirements. For the purposes of Paragraph 4(a), if the Panel of the CEDRP Provider finds that your Registered Name does not meet the Eligibility Requirements, then such finding shall be evidence that your Registered Name violated the Eligibility Requirements. If the Panel finds that your Registered Name violated the Eligibility Requirements, the Panel shall exercise the remedy set forth in Section 5(e).
(c) Registered Name Disputes: How to Demonstrate Your Rights to and Legitimate Interests in the Registered Name in Responding to a Complaint. For the purposes of Paragraph 4(a), when you receive a complaint, you should refer to the CEDRP Rules in determining how your response should be prepared.
5. Procedure.
(a) Selection of CEDRP Provider. The Complainant shall select the CEDRP Provider from those on the list of CEDRP Providers available at www.icann.org/cedrp/approved-providers.htm by submitting the complaint to that CEDRP Provider. The selected CEDRP Provider will administer the proceeding.
(b) Initiation of Proceeding and Process and Appointment of the Panel. The CEDRP Rules state the process for initiating and conducting a proceeding and for appointing the panel that will decide the dispute (the "Panel").
(c) Fees. All fees charged by a CEDRP Provider in connection with any dispute before a Panel shall be paid in accordance with the CEDRP Rules.
(d) Our Involvement in Administrative Proceedings. We do not, and will not, participate in the administration or conduct of any proceeding before a Panel. In addition, we will not be liable as a result of any decisions rendered by the Panel.
(e) Remedy. The remedy available to a Complainant pursuant to any proceeding before a Panel shall be limited to the cancellation of your Registered Name.
(f) Notification and Publication. The CEDRP Provider shall notify us and ICANN of any decision made by a Panel with respect to a Registered Name. All decisions under this Policy will be published in full over the Internet, except when a Panel determines in an exceptional case to redact portions of its decision.
6. All Other Disputes and Litigation. All other disputes between you and any party other than us regarding your Registered Name 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.
7. Our Involvement in Disputes. We will not participate in any way in any dispute between you and any party other than us or the operator of the Sponsored TLD registry regarding the registration and use of your Registered 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.
8. Maintaining the Status Quo. We will not cancel, transfer, activate, deactivate, or otherwise change cpr144449003101 the status of any Registered Name under this Policy except as provided in Paragraph 3 above.
9. Changing Registrars During a Dispute. You may not transfer your Registered Name 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.
10. 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 least thirty (30) calendar days before it becomes effective. Unless this Policy has already been invoked by the submission of a complaint to a CEDRP 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 Registered Name 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 Registered Name, 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 Registered Name.
The most recent source for this dispute policy can be found at:
www.icann.org/en/help/dndr/udrp/policy
Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy
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 .aero 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 or the .aero Registry. (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/en/dndr/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 or the .aero Registry.
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 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.
