ICANN Rules Paragraph 3
From the ADR Decisions.eu wiki
3. The Complaint.
(a) Any person or entity may initiate an administrative proceeding by submitting a complaint in accordance with the Policy and these Rules to any Provider approved by ICANN. (Due to capacity constraints or for other reasons, a Provider's ability to accept complaints may be suspended at times. In that event, the Provider shall refuse the submission. The person or entity may submit the complaint to another Provider.)
(b) The complaint including any annexes shall be submitted in electronic form and shall:
- (i) Request that the complaint be submitted for decision in accordance with the Policy and these Rules;
- (ii) 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;
- (iii) Specify a preferred method for communications directed to the Complainant in the administrative proceeding (including person to be contacted, medium, and address information) for each of (A) electronic-only material and (B) material including hard copy (where applicable);
- (iv) Designate whether Complainant elects to have the dispute decided by a single-member or a three-member Panel and, in the event Complainant elects a three-member Panel, provide the names and contact details of three candidates to serve as one of the Panelists (these candidates may be drawn from any ICANN-approved Provider's list of panelists);
- (v) 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 Paragraph 2(a);
- (vi) Specify the domain name(s) that is/are the subject of the complaint;
- (vii) Identify the Registrar(s) with whom the domain name(s) is/are registered at the time the complaint is filed;
- (viii) Specify the trademark(s) or service mark(s) on which the complaint is based and, for each mark, describe the goods or services, if any, with which the mark is used (Complainant may also separately describe other goods and services with which it intends, at the time the complaint is submitted, to use the mark in the future.);
- (ix) Describe, in accordance with the Policy, the grounds on which the complaint is made including, in particular,
- (1) the manner in which the domain name(s) is/are identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the Complainant has rights; and
- (2) why the Respondent (domain-name holder) should be considered as having no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name(s) that is/are the subject of the complaint; and
- (3) why the domain name(s) should be considered as having been registered and being used in bad faith
- (The description should, for elements (2) and (3), discuss any aspects of Paragraphs 4(b) and 4(c) of the Policy that are applicable. The description shall comply with any word or page limit set forth in the Provider's Supplemental Rules.);
- (x) Specify, in accordance with the Policy, the remedies sought;
- (xi) 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;
- (xii) State that a copy of the complaint, including any annexes, together with the cover sheet as prescribed by the Provider's Supplemental Rules, has been sent or transmitted to the Respondent (domain-name holder), in accordance with Paragraph 2(b);
- (xiii) State that Complainant will submit, with respect to any challenges to a decision in the administrative proceeding canceling or transferring the domain name, to the jurisdiction of the courts in at least one specified Mutual Jurisdiction;
- (xiv) 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 panelists, except in the case of deliberate wrongdoing, (b) the registrar, (c) the registry administrator, and (d) the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, as well as 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
- (xv) Annex any documentary or other evidence, including a copy of the Policy applicable to the domain name(s) in dispute and any trademark or service mark registration upon which the complaint relies, together with a schedule indexing such evidence.
(c) The complaint may relate to more than one domain name, provided that the domain names are registered by the same domain-name holder.
History
The revision of 30 October 2009 modified the the original wording of this paragraph 3 as follows:
- (a) (...)
- (b) The complaint including any annexes shall be submitted in hard copy and (except to the extent not available for annexes) in electronic form and shall:
- (...)
- (iii) Specify a preferred method for communications directed to the Complainant in the administrative proceeding (including person to be contacted, medium, and address information) for each of (A) electronic-only material and (B) material including hard copy (where applicable);
- (...)
- (xii) State that a copy of the complaint, including any annexes, together with the cover sheet as prescribed by the Provider's Supplemental Rules, has been sent or transmitted to the Respondent (domain-name holder), in accordance with Paragraph 2(b);
- (xiii) (...)
- (xiv) Conclude with the following statement followed by the signature (in any electronic format) of the Complainant or its authorized representative:
- (...)
In WIPO's corresponding letter to ICANN these amendments were explained as follows:
- Paragraph 3(b) has been modified to emphasize that the Complaint, including any annexes, shall be submitted to the Provider in complete form. In paragraph 3(b)(iii), after the phrase “material including hard copy”, the words “(where applicable)” have been inserted to indicate that, in many if not all cases, hard copy materials will as noted above no longer be relevant. Paragraph 3(xii) has been amended to expressly require that the Complainant’s statement in its complaint that it has sent or transmitted a copy of the complaint to the Respondent, extends to also include sending a copy of any complaint annexes to the Respondent.
- In paragraph 3(b)(xiv), the requirement for a “signature” has been modified to specify that such signature should be in electronic form. WIPO believes that it would be implicit in any requirement that a complaint be submitted to a provider in any electronic form (e.g., as a .PDF copy), when read in conjunction with a requirement for a signature on the complaint, that such “signature” would necessarily include a signature in such electronic format. However, having regard to a submitted comment on this issue, there may be value in clarifying expressly that the required “signature” should be in electronic format. (WIPO believes that the practical meaning of such requirement is clear on its face and does not additionally require express definition in paragraph 1 of the Rules. Furthermore, given the possibility of technological developments in this area, and also of the possibility of variations in interpretation across differing jurisdictions, it may be preferable to refrain from imposing specific national or regional definitions.)
Notes
(to be added)
