| gTLD | Full Legal Name | E-mail suffix | Detail | | .AQUITAINE | Région d’Aquitaine | tic.aquitaine.fr | View |
Table of Contents
1 - Support and interaction with the Trademark Clearinghouse
2 - Sunrise: Criteria; Conflict Resolution; Mechanisms
3 - Landrush
4 - Compliance Mechanisms. Ongoing Registrations
5 - Dispute Resolution (and Prevention) Mechanisms involving Rights Protection
5.1 - Trademark Post-Delegation Dispute Resolution Procedure (PDDRP)
5.2 - Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP)
5.3 - Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS)
5.4 -Trademark Claims
6 - Technical Implementation details
6.1 - Sunrise
6.1.1 - Sunrise EPP Extension Support
6.1.2 - Sunrise Registration Life Cycle Support
6.1.3 - Trademark Clearinghouse Support
6.1.4 - Support for Multiple Applications for the Same Domain Name
6.1.5 - Issue System
6.2 - Trademark Claims
7 - Resourcing Plan
7.1 - Initial Implementation
7.2 - Ongoing maintenance
The .AQUITAINE registry is committed to ensure that it fully complies and meets or exceeds the requirements of ICANN in terms of security, stability and resiliency, malicious abuse issues, and rights protection in relation to the expansion of the generic Top Level Domain name space by devising and implementing mechanisms in line with ICANN’s Consensus Policies and Temporary Policies. The Registry will provide for an environment for .AQUITAINE where opportunities for abuse and malevolent conduct will be significantly reduced. To this end, the .AQUITAINE registry will, inter alia, implement and adhere to all rights protection mechanisms that may be mandated from time to time by ICANN, pursuant to Specification 7 of the Draft New gTLD Agreement.
The .AQUITAINE back-end registry service provider, AFNIC, has extensive knowledge, awareness and understanding of existing rights protection mechanisms designed by ICANN and it is a core objective of the .AQUITAINE registry to guarantee effective and timely implementation of said mechanisms. The registry will implement mechanisms designed to prevent abusive registrations, and identify and address the abusive use of registered domain names on an on-going basis.
The Registry Operator has closely followed ICANNʹs policy development in relation to the adequate and effective protection of the legal rights of trade mark owners in the new gTLD environment including the work of the Implementation Recommendation Team (ʺIRTʺ) formed by ICANNʹs Intellectual Property Constituency in accordance with the 6 March 2009 ICANN Board resolution at the request of the community seeking solutions for potential risks to trade mark holders in the implementation of new gTLDs.
As the .AQUITAINE registry back-end service provider, AFNIC is at the forefront of innovation in the domain name industry and has appointed for that purpose a committee of industry experts and academics (the Scientific Council) to help AFNIC to carry out its mission of innovation, security and high levels of service. AFNIC has contributed to the creation and the implementation of dedicated rights protection mechanisms for the ccTLDs AFNIC is responsible for and has a dedicated Legal and Registration Policy Department with pertinent skills and experience in the field of rights protection mechanisms to prevent abusive registrations and identify and address the abusive use of registered names on an on-going basis.
AFNIC will seek to deploy this experience in the .AQUITAINE with a view to ensuring effective, timely and sufficient protection of the rights of others.
------------------------
1 - Support and interaction with the Trademark Clearinghouse
The .AQUITAINE registry will ensure that it fully supports and interacts with the Trademark Clearinghouse, a central repository for information to be authenticated, stored, and disseminated, pertaining to the rights of trade mark holders.
The Registry Operator will use the Trademark Clearinghouse to support its initial launch period rights protection mechanisms which will consist of, at a minimum, a Sunrise process and a Trademark Claims service.
------------------------
2 - Sunrise: Criteria; Conflict Resolution; Mechanisms
The .AQUITAINE registry will implement a Sunrise process for registration under .AQUITAINE for a period of 90 days and subject to the .AQUITAINE sunrise eligibility requirements (SERs) . The Sunrise Registration Process will incorporate a Sunrise Dispute Resolution Policy (SDRP).
The Sunrise will have five Categories:
* Local Authorities and regional public services established in the administrative region of Aquitaine;
* Quality designation including AOC (“Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée” - Certified designation of origin), AOP (“Appellation d’Origine Protégée” - Protected designation of origin) and IGP (“Indication Géographique Protégée” ⁄ Protected Designation of Origin) of the Aquitaine region;
* Trademarks, (with full compliance with the Trademark Clearinghouse process) giving priority to Trademarks registered in France at INPI (“Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle”), European Trademarks registered with OHIM (“Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market”), and International Trademarks in force in France according to the Madrid system;
* Company names having their headquarters or principal place of business within the territory of Aquitaine;
* Surname of individuals residing within the territory of Aquitaine.
Each application will be individually validated against both the general requirements of .AQUITAINE registration policies and the specific requirements of each Category. Priority will be differentiated by Category each one having absolute priority over the next one.
Within each Category all validated applications will be deemed to carry the same rights. Conflicts will be handled on a ʺfirst come, first servedʺ basis.
When rejecting an application, the applicant will have one week to notify its intention to appeal the decision (before an independent Mediation and Arbitration Center). In that case, no application for the same name from the same or lower rank in Sunrise priority will be approved, pending the Appeal. If the Appeal decisions ruling that the Registry failed to apply the Sunrise Registration Policies in an adequate manner, will result in the restoration of the domain name which processing will then resume according to the Sunrise Registration Policies (within the category or lower priority categories)
The registry will also offer the Trademark Claims mechanism as provided by the Trademark Clearinghouse. This service will be provided not just for the Sunrise period, but also afterwards, during the Ongoing Registration Phase.
------------------------
3. Landrush
Finally, we should underline that there is an additional Category running after the Sunrise: the Landrush Category, where applicants can apply during 30 days for the name they wish, at a higher price, on a first come- first served basis.
------------------------
4 - Compliance Mechanisms. Ongoing Registrations
Once in Ongoing (live) Registration mode, the .AQUITAINE Registry will perform ex-post validation based on Whois data and use of the domain name against the Registrations Policies.
Checks will be performed by the Registry legal agent both based on complaints and ex-officio, on statistically targeted random checks. Registry will start with 50 random cases per week, and will adapt the practices according to the experience gained (it is expected that the number will decrease over time, as reputation and enforcement will make compliance easier over time).
Checks will be carried both on compliance with .AQUITAINE policy and at the same time on registrant data accuracy.
In case the Registry legal agent discover a problem, the registrant will be contacted to clarify⁄correct the situation. If not solved in due time (30 days), the name will be put on registry hold for 30 additional days. Unless the situation is corrected by this deadline, the name will be removed.
------------------------
5 - Dispute Resolution (and Prevention) Mechanisms involving Rights Protection
------------------------
5.1 - Trademark Post-Delegation Dispute Resolution Procedure (PDDRP)
The .AQUITAINE registry is committed to prevent the occurrence of the type of circumstances the PDDRP is designed to address. The registry completely understands the PDDRP mechanism and its rationale. and is fully committed to comply with the PDDRP and to implement decisions rendered under the PDDRP on an on-going basis and to fully cooperate in this respect.
------------------------
5.2 - Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP)
Whilst the role of registry operators is rather limited under the UDRP as responsibility for implementation is primarily placed on registrars, the .AQUITAINE registry is committed to fully cooperate so as to ensure the implementation of all UDRP decisions.
The UDRP was adopted in 1999 by ICANN as a means of providing trade mark owners with a relatively fast and cheap alternative dispute resolution mechanism to tackle cases of abusive use of their trade marks in a domain name. The Registry Operator will monitor and maintain a record of all UDRP decisions involving a domain name registered under the .AQUITAINE.
As the .AQUITAINE registry back-end registry service provider, AFNIC has implemented alternative dispute resolution procedures similar to the UDRP, including the so-called SYRELI procedure (Système de Résolution des Litiges), introduced on 21 October 2011 which applies to disputes involving domain names registered within the ccTLDs under the responsibility of AFNIC. This procedure is administered by AFNIC itself and illustrates how the .AQUITAINE registry back-end service provider is at the forefront of the protection of rights of third parties in the domain name space.
While compliance with the UDRP as it is now lies on registrars’ side, .AQUITAINE is not willing to accept non-compliant registrars preventing its implementation. In addition to ICANN-applied sanctions, .AQUITAINE will suspend the ability to register new domain names under .AQUITAINE for those registrars failing to implement UDRP decisions.
In order to do this, .AQUITAINE will implement a specific complaints form for successful UDRP complainants facing non-cooperative registrars for .AQUITAINE names. Upon evidence of non-compliance the offending registrar would be prevented from registering any new .AQUITAINE name for three months after effective compliance the first time, and six months in case of repeated failures to comply. This measure is more effective and less harmful for the end users than termination, and will be included in the .AQUITAINE RRA.
------------------------
5.3 - Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS)
In light of the anticipated expansion of the Domain Name System with the future delegation of new Top Level Domains, The IRT proposed in its Final Report of 29 May 2009 a new mechanism to tackle those ʺcases in which there is no genuine contestable issue as to the infringement and abuse that is taking placeʺ. This new rights protection mechanism was retained by ICANN and the .AQUITAINE registry is fully aware of all requirements of the URS and will implement decisions under the URS on an on-going basis and in a timely fashion.
Within 24 hours of receipt of the Notice of Complaint from the URS Provider by email, the .AQUITAINE registry will lock the disputed domain name thereby restricting all changes to the registration data, including transfer and deletion of the disputed domain name. In such instance, the disputed domain name will continue to resolve. Upon locking the disputed domain name, the Registry Operator will immediately send a Notice of Lock to the URS Provider.
The obligations placed on registry operators by the URS also include an obligation to suspend a disputed domain name immediately upon receipt of a determination in favour of a complainant, so that the disputed domain name remains suspended for the reminder of the registration period and does not resolve to the original website.
------------------------
5.4 -Trademark Claims Service
As the .AQUITAINE registry back-end registry service provider, AFNIC has experience of similar mechanisms through its use of the Clearing House for Intellectual Property (CHIP) which it appointed to manage the Claims Mechanisms for several of its ccTLDs (.pm, .re, .tf, .wf and .yt). When a domain name is registered in one of said ccTLDs that corresponds to a trade mark in the CHIP database, an automatic notification is sent to the trade mark owner registered in the CHIP and, provided that the email address of the domain name registrant or administrative contact is available, an additional notification will be sent to these email addresses as well.
This experience will prove very pertinent in the implementation of the Trademark Claims service for .AQUITAINE.
As noted above, .AQUITAINE intends to extend the Trademark Claims services beyond the mandatory Sunrise period, and into the Ongoing Registration phase. The purpose of this service is to provide clear notice to a prospective registrant of the scope of a particular trade mark ownerʹs rights in order to minimize the chilling effect on registrants (Trademark Claims Notice).
The .AQUITAINE registry will comply with all requirements set out by ICANN in relation to the Trademark Claims service and described in clause 6.1 of the Schedule relating to the Trademark Clearinghouse of the New gTLD Applicant Guidebook in its version of 11 January 2012 or in any subsequent version published by ICANN.
------------------------
6 - Technical Implementation details
------------------------
6.1 - Sunrise
The .AQUITAINE Shared Registration System (SRS) fully supports the requirements of the above mentioned Sunrise policy and phases via features described in this section.
------------------------
6.1.1 - Sunrise EPP Extension Support
The system supports an EPP extension for submission of trademark data along with domain applications during launch phases such as Sunrise. Please refer to the answer to question 25 (Extensible Provisioning Protocol) for more information about the extension.
------------------------
6.1.2 - Trademark Clearinghouse Support
The .AQUITAINE Shared Registration System (SRS) is prepared for accessing APIs of the Trademark Clearinghouse in order to validate the trademark information submitted by the registrar during Sunrise. In addition, the system also contains provisions to make use of the Trademark Clearinghouse APIs for providing a Trademark Claims Service (see below for more information on this service).
Since Trademark Clearinghouse Service Providers have not been assigned by ICANN at the time of writing, the concrete technical specifications for these APIs are not yet known. While basic provisions have been made in the .AQUITAINE Shared Registration System (SRS), the details will therefore have to be finalised once the Service Providers have been announced. As described below, respective developer resources are allocated to perform this task.
------------------------
6.1.3 - Support for Multiple Applications for the Same Domain Name
The .AQUITAINE Shared Registration System (SRS) is designed to maintain multiple domain objects representing the same domain name at a given point in time. This feature is required to store multiple applications for the same name during launch phases like Sunrise.
To distinguish between the various applications of the name in the database (as well as in external APIs), each application is assigned a unique domain ID. These domain IDs are returned to registrars in the responses to domain applications via EPP and may subsequently be used, among other things, to inquire an applicationʹs review status. Also, review results are reported back to registrars via poll messages carrying the unique domain ID. Registrars can utilize the ID to clearly associate results with their applications.
------------------------
6.1.4 - Issue System
When manual review of Sunrise applications is required, this typically involves a specific support team workflow that, among other things, consists of
* storing application data in a database,
* making application data available to the support staff via a web interface back office tool (BO)
* assigning the task of reviewing applications for a certain domain name to a specific support member (for the purpose of clear responsibilities),
* having the application reviewed by the assigned person, who in the process may
* request additional information or documentation from the registrant,
* adds such documentation, as well as comments concerning the review, to the application,
* make a decision about the applicationʹs outcome or
* forward the task to a different support person with better insight or higher decision privileges (who may then make the final decision).
To support this workflow, the .AQUITAINE Shared Registration System (SRS) is equipped with a built-in Issue System integrated in its Back-Office (BO) that offers registry personnel a convenient web interface to review domain name applications and approve or reject them accordingly.
The Issue System
* offers an SSL-secured web interface accessible by .AQUITAINE registry staff only;
* allows searching for applications by various criteria (e.g. domain name or current workflow⁄approval state);
* allows a registry support person to find newly submitted or otherwise unassigned applications and take responsibility for them;
* offers a two-level review workflow that allows the delegation of preselection tasks to the first level support staff, after which a final decision - if still required - can be made by second level personnel;
* conveniently displays all application details, including registrant information, the supplied trademark information, as well as the results of the verification of that trademark data with the Trademark
Clearinghouse;
* fully tracks and documents application status and history, allowing for a complete audit in case of legal inquiries and
* is fully integrated with the registry backend, i.e. it automatically notifies the SRS about the reviewersʹ decisions and immediately activates the respective domain in case of an approval. The Issue System also triggers the creation of appropriate EPP poll message in order to keep registrars
informed about the outcome of their applications.
------------------------
6.2 - Trademark Claims
As stated above, beyond the requirements set forth by ICANN in Specification 7 of the Registry Agreement, the .AQUITAINE Registry will implement a continuous Trademark Claims Service to ensure that even after Sunrise, registrants are notified whenever their registered domain name potentially violates a trademark holderʹs rights as stored in the Trademark Clearinghouse. Likewise, the service makes the trademark holder aware of any domain registrations that potentially infringe on his trademarks registered with the Trademark Clearinghouse.
For the purpose of implementing this service, the .AQUITAINE SRS will interconnect with the API provided by the Trademark Clearinghouse Service Provider once its details are developed and publicized by ICANN.
When a match of a registered name is found via the API provided by the Trademark Clearinghouse, the Trademark Claims Service is supposed to provide clear notice to a prospective registrant of the scope of the mark holderʹs rights. The registrant will in turn be required to provide statement that
* he received notification that the mark is included in the Trademark Clearinghouse,
* he received and understood the notice and,
* his registration and use of the requested domain name will not infringe on the rights that are subject of the notice.
The registrant will be directed to the Trademark Clearinghouse Database information referenced in the Trademark Claims Notice to enhance understanding of the Trademark rights being claimed by the trademark holder. Also, if a domain name is registered in the Clearinghouse, the Registry will, through an interface with the Clearinghouse, promptly notify the mark holders(s) of the registration after it becomes effective.
------------------------
7 - Resourcing Plan
The .AQUITAINE registry, have an adequate level of resources on hand and committed to carry out the implementation of all rights protection mechanisms set out in this response to answer 29.
The .AQUITAINE registry back-end service provider, AFNIC, has a substantial knowledge, awareness and experience of targeted and pragmatic rights protection mechanisms and will deploy this experience to (1) prevent abusive registrations, and (2) identify and address the abusive use of registered domain names on an on-going basis.
The .AQUITAINE registry considers training to be a major focus of its human resources management policy. It therefore applies an ambitious training policy in line with its strategy, with developments in domain name services and with technology. The Registry Operator is committed to the development of the skills of its employees and the promotion of their efficiency and adaptability by providing training to its employees in order to ensure the most efficient implementation of all right protection mechanisms.
------------------------
7.1 - Initial Implementation
Thanks to the experience and prior investment by its Registry Service Provider (AFNIC), the .AQUITAINE Registry already supports the above mentioned functions and their support systems.
One aspect to be considered for resource planning is the Registry systemʹs connection to the Trademark Clearinghouse; since the involved API isnʹt fully defined at the time of writing, some software development will have to be done in order to integrate the Clearinghouse into the sunrise workflow, as well as to incorporate it into the designated Trademark Claims Service. It is estimated that a Software Developer will be allocated to work 10 man.day on the development of this feature.
Staff that are already on hand will be assigned this work as soon as ICANN releases the relevant technical specifications.
------------------------
7.2 - Ongoing maintenance
The operation of the above mentioned mechanisms will be ensured by a team of highly experienced individuals with a distinct track record in handling dispute and managing TLDs in a manner that very significantly minimize conflict. These individuals have learned directly for launch management and dispute resolution around the .FR TLD.
This team will be composed of administrative and expert-level staff for respectively handling and advising on issues and cases. Their skill set will primarily be made of administrative and legal training, as well as domain name policy expertise.
Two phases need to be distinguished in terms of resourcing plan :
* for the first 3 months (duration of the Sunrise period) we estimate that - exceptionally - 2 FTE will be needed
* after the finalization of the sunrise and for the longer term ongoing operations of the TLD, we estimate that the management of rights protection will require no more than 1 FTE. These resources will be committed by the Registry Operator.
| gTLD | Full Legal Name | E-mail suffix | Detail | | .bzh | Association www.bzh | afnic.fr | View |
Table of Contents
1 - Support and interaction with the Trademark Clearinghouse
2 - Sunrise: Criteria; Conflict Resolution; Mechanisms
3 - Compliance Mechanisms. Ongoing Registrations
4 - Dispute Resolution (and Prevention) Mechanisms involving Rights Protection
4.1 - Trademark Post-Delegation Dispute Resolution Procedure (PDDRP)
4.2 - Registration Restrictions Dispute Resolution Procedure (RRDRP)
4.3 - Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP)
4.4 - Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS)
4.5 - Trademark Claims
5 - Technical Implementation details
5.1 - Sunrise
5.1.1 - Sunrise EPP Extension Support
5.1.2 - Sunrise Registration Life Cycle Support
5.1.3 - Trademark Clearinghouse Support
5.1.4 - Support for Multiple Applications for the Same Domain Name
5.1.5 - Issue System
5.2 - Trademark Claims
6 - Resourcing Plan
6.1 - Initial Implementation
6.2 - Ongoing maintenance
The .BZH registry is committed to ensure that it fully complies and meets or exceeds the requirements of ICANN in terms of security, stability and resiliency, malicious abuse issues, and rights protection in relation to the expansion of the generic Top Level Domain name space by devising and implementing mechanisms in line with ICANN’s Consensus Policies and Temporary Policies. The Registry will provide for an environment for .BZH where opportunities for abuse and malevolent conduct will be significantly reduced. To this end, the .BZH registry will, inter alia, implement and adhere to all rights protection mechanisms that may be mandated from time to time by ICANN, pursuant to Specification 7 of the Draft New gTLD Agreement.
The .BZH back-end registry service provider, AFNIC, has extensive knowledge, awareness and understanding of existing rights protection mechanisms designed by ICANN and it is a core objective of the .BZH registry to guarantee effective and timely implementation of said mechanisms. The registry will implement mechanisms designed to prevent abusive registrations, and identify and address the abusive use of registered domain names on an on-going basis.
The Registry Operator has closely followed ICANNʹs policy development in relation to the adequate and effective protection of the legal rights of trade mark owners in the new gTLD environment including the work of the Implementation Recommendation Team (ʺIRTʺ) formed by ICANNʹs Intellectual Property Constituency in accordance with the 6 March 2009 ICANN Board resolution at the request of the community seeking solutions for potential risks to trade mark holders in the implementation of new gTLDs.
As the .BZH registry back-end service provider, AFNIC is at the forefront of innovation in the domain name industry and has appointed for that purpose a committee of industry experts and academics (the Scientific Council) to help AFNIC to carry out its mission of innovation, security and high levels of service. AFNIC has contributed to the creation and the implementation of dedicated rights protection mechanisms for the ccTLDs AFNIC is responsible for and has a dedicated Legal and Registration Policy Department with pertinent skills and experience in the field of rights protection mechanisms to prevent abusive registrations and identify and address the abusive use of registered names on an on-going basis.
AFNIC will seek to deploy this experience in the .BZH with a view to ensuring effective, timely and sufficient protection of the rights of others.
------------------------
1 - Support and interaction with the Trademark Clearinghouse
The .BZH registry will ensure that it fully supports and interacts with the Trademark Clearinghouse, a central repository for information to be authenticated, stored, and disseminated, pertaining to the rights of trade mark holders.
The Registry Operator will use the Trademark Clearinghouse to support its initial launch period rights protection mechanisms which will consist of, at a minimum, a Sunrise process and a Trademark Claims service.
------------------------
2 - Sunrise: Criteria; Conflict Resolution; Mechanisms
The .BZH registry will implement a Sunrise process for registration under .BZH for a period of 3 months subject to the .BZH sunrise eligibility requirements (SERs) . The Sunrise Registration Process will incorporate a Sunrise Dispute Resolution Policy (SDRP).
The Sunrise phase will take prior rights into account. A priority order will be given in case of multiple requests, taking into account the interests of the community:
* Institutions that are representative of the linguistic and cultural community
* Public institutions
* Cultural and linguistic associations
* Prior rights related to intellectual property
* Trademarks with legal value in Brittany
* Other registred distinctive signs with legal value in Brittany
* Individual members of the cultural and linguistic community (booking of family name) who are also members of the association www.bzh.
These registrants will be allowed to apply for domain names directly related to their prior rights.
The application procedure will be automated to ensure a secure and transparent procedure. A WHOIS will be set up during the sunrise phase to allow participants to keep track of applications and enforce their prior rights in the event.
Each application will be individually validated against both the general requirements of .BZH registration policies and the specific requirements of each Category or Sub-Category. Priority will be differentiated by Category (and Sub-category) each one having absolute priority over the next one.
Within each Category (and Sub-category) all validated applications will be deemed to carry the same rights.
Priorities should solve most of multiple applications. In case priorities cannot provide a resolution, the following procedures will be applied (in that order): agreement between registrants, random selection, mediation, arbitration, auction.
An agreement between registrants means that one registrant will keep the domain name while the other or others will withdraw their application (and get a refund accordingly).
Random selection is optional: the contenders must unanimously accept to use the procedure.
In case of disagreement, mediation then arbitration would then be implemented at the expense of registrants. The registry will charge any cost borne by the procedure.
Mediation will be directly handled by the Registry. Arbitration will be carried out by an independent and experienced Mediation and Arbitration Authority. In that case, no application for the same name from the same or lower rank in Sunrise priority will be approved, pending the decision.
An auction will be made if all others means of resolution have failed.
The landrush phase will be running in parallel during the Sunrise and will be open to all eligible applicants (see question 20) for domain names not subject to prior rights, on a first-come, first-served basis. The domain names registered during this period will be activated at the end of the 3-month phase.
The registry will also offer the Trademark Claims mechanism as provided by the Trademark Clearinghouse. This service will be provided not just for the Sunrise period, but also afterwards, during the Ongoing Registration Phase.
------------------------
3 - Compliance Mechanisms. Ongoing Registrations
Once in Ongoing (live) Registration mode, the .BZH Registry will perform ex-post validation based on Whois data and use of the domain name against the Registrations Policies.
Checks will be performed by the registry staff, in particular the person in charge of legal issues, both based on complaints and ex-officio, on statistically targeted random checks. Registry will start with 50 such random cases per week, and will adapt the practices according to the experience gained (it is expected that the number will decrease over time, as reputation and enforcement will make compliance easier over time).
Checks will be carried both on compliance with .BZH policy and at the same time on registrant data accuracy.
In case the registry staff discover a problem, either on policy compliance or on data accuracy, they will escalate the issue to the members of the board and the registrant will be contacted to clarify⁄correct the situation. If not solved in due time (30 days), the name will be put on registry hold for 30 additional days. Unless the situation is corrected by this deadline, the name will be removed.
------------------------
4 - Dispute Resolution (and Prevention) Mechanisms involving Rights Protection
------------------------
4.1 - Trademark Post-Delegation Dispute Resolution Procedure (PDDRP)
The .BZH registry is committed to prevent the occurrence of the type of circumstances the PDDRP is designed to address. The registry completely understands the PDDRP mechanism and its rationale. and is fully committed to comply with the PDDRP and to implement decisions rendered under the PDDRP on an on-going basis and to fully cooperate in this respect.
------------------------
4.2 - Registration Restrictions Dispute Resolution Procedure (RRDRP)
The .BZH registry is committed to prevent the occurrence of the type of circumstances the RRDRP is designed to address. The registry completely understands the RRDRP mechanism and its rationale. and is fully committed to comply with the RRDRP and to implement decisions rendered under the RRDRP on an on-going basis and to fully cooperate in this respect.
------------------------
4.3 - Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP)
Whilst the role of registry operators is rather limited under the UDRP as responsibility for implementation is primarily placed on registrars, the .BZH registry is committed to fully cooperate so as to ensure the implementation of all UDRP decisions.
The UDRP was adopted in 1999 by ICANN as a means of providing trade mark owners with a relatively fast and cheap alternative dispute resolution mechanism to tackle cases of abusive use of their trade marks in a domain name. The Registry Operator will monitor and maintain a record of all UDRP decisions involving a domain name registered under the .BZH.
As the .BZH registry back-end registry service provider, AFNIC has implemented alternative dispute resolution procedures similar to the UDRP, including the so-called SYRELI procedure (Système de Résolution des Litiges), introduced on 21 October 2011 which applies to disputes involving domain names registered within the ccTLDs under the responsibility of AFNIC. This procedure is administered by AFNIC itself and illustrates how the .BZH registry back-end service provider is at the forefront of the protection of rights of third parties in the domain name space.
While compliance with the UDRP as it is now lies on registrars’ side, .BZH is not willing to accept non-compliant registrars preventing its implementation. In addition to ICANN-applied sanctions, .BZH will suspend the ability to register new domain names under .BZH for those registrars failing to implement UDRP decisions.
In order to do this, .BZH will implement a specific complaints form for successful UDRP complainants facing non-cooperative registrars for .BZH names. Upon evidence of non-compliance the offending registrar would be prevented from registering any new .BZH name for three months after effective compliance the first time, and six months in case of repeated failures to comply. This measure is more effective and less harmful for the end users than termination, and will be included in the .BZH RRA.
------------------------
4.4 - Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS)
In light of the anticipated expansion of the Domain Name System with the future delegation of new Top Level Domains, The IRT proposed in its Final Report of 29 May 2009 a new mechanism to tackle those ʺcases in which there is no genuine contestable issue as to the infringement and abuse that is taking placeʺ. This new rights protection mechanism was retained by ICANN and the .BZH registry is fully aware of all requirements of the URS and will implement decisions under the URS on an on-going basis and in a timely fashion.
Within 24 hours of receipt of the Notice of Complaint from the URS Provider by email, the .BZH registry will lock the disputed domain name thereby restricting all changes to the registration data, including transfer and deletion of the disputed domain name. In such instance, the disputed domain name will continue to resolve. Upon locking the disputed domain name, the Registry Operator will immediately send a Notice of Lock to the URS Provider.
The obligations placed on registry operators by the URS also include an obligation to suspend a disputed domain name immediately upon receipt of a determination in favour of a complainant, so that the disputed domain name remains suspended for the reminder of the registration period and does not resolve to the original website.
------------------------
4.5 -Trademark Claims Service
As the .BZH registry back-end registry service provider, AFNIC has experience of similar mechanisms through its use of the Clearing House for Intellectual Property (CHIP) which it appointed to manage the Claims Mechanisms for several of its ccTLDs (.pm, .re, .tf, .wf and .yt). When a domain name is registered in one of said ccTLDs that corresponds to a trade mark in the CHIP database, an automatic notification is sent to the trade mark owner registered in the CHIP and, provided that the email address of the domain name registrant or administrative contact is available, an additional notification will be sent to these email addresses as well.
This experience will prove very pertinent in the implementation of the Trademark Claims service for .BZH.
As noted above, .BZH intends to extend the Trademark Claims services beyond the mandatory Sunrise period, and into the Ongoing Registration phase. The purpose of this service is to provide clear notice to a prospective registrant of the scope of a particular trade mark ownerʹs rights in order to minimize the chilling effect on registrants (Trademark Claims Notice).
The .BZH registry will comply with all requirements set out by ICANN in relation to the Trademark Claims service and described in clause 6.1 of the Schedule relating to the Trademark Clearinghouse of the New gTLD Applicant Guidebook in its version of 11 January 2012 or in any subsequent version published by ICANN.
------------------------
5 - Technical Implementation details
------------------------
5.1 - Sunrise
The .BZH Shared Registration System (SRS) fully supports the requirements of the above mentioned Sunrise policy and phases via features described in this section.
------------------------
5.1.1 - Sunrise EPP Extension Support
The system supports an EPP extension for submission of trademark data along with domain applications during launch phases such as Sunrise. Please refer to the answer to question 25 (Extensible Provisioning Protocol) for more information about the extension.
------------------------
5.1.2 - Trademark Clearinghouse Support
The .BZH Shared Registration System (SRS) is prepared for accessing APIs of the Trademark Clearinghouse in order to validate the trademark information submitted by the registrar during Sunrise. In addition, the system also contains provisions to make use of the Trademark Clearinghouse APIs for providing a Trademark Claims Service (see below for more information on this service).
Since Trademark Clearinghouse Service Providers have not been assigned by ICANN at the time of writing, the concrete technical specifications for these APIs are not yet known. While basic provisions have been made in the .BZH Shared Registration System (SRS), the details will therefore have to be finalised once the Service Providers have been announced. As described below, respective developer resources are allocated to perform this task.
------------------------
5.1.3 - Support for Multiple Applications for the Same Domain Name
The .BZH Shared Registration System (SRS) is designed to maintain multiple domain objects representing the same domain name at a given point in time. This feature is required to store multiple applications for the same name during launch phases like Sunrise.
To distinguish between the various applications of the name in the database (as well as in external APIs), each application is assigned a unique domain ID. These domain IDs are returned to registrars in the responses to domain applications via EPP and may subsequently be used, among other things, to inquire an applicationʹs review status. Also, review results are reported back to registrars via poll messages carrying the unique domain ID. Registrars can utilize the ID to clearly associate results with their applications.
------------------------
5.1.4 - Issue System
When manual review of Sunrise applications is required, this typically involves a specific support team workflow that, among other things, consists of
* storing application data in a database,
* making application data available to the support staff via a web interface back office tool (BO)
* assigning the task of reviewing applications for a certain domain name to a specific support member (for the purpose of clear responsibilities),
* having the application reviewed by the assigned person, who in the process may
* request additional information or documentation from the registrant,
* adds such documentation, as well as comments concerning the review, to the application,
* make a decision about the applicationʹs outcome or
* forward the task to a different support person with better insight or higher decision privileges (who may then make the final decision).
To support this workflow, the .BZH Shared Registration System (SRS) is equipped with a built-in Issue System integrated in its Back-Office (BO) that offers registry personnel a convenient web interface to review domain name applications and approve or reject them accordingly.
The Issue System
* offers an SSL-secured web interface accessible by .BZH registry staff only;
* allows searching for applications by various criteria (e.g. domain name or current workflow⁄approval state);
* allows a registry support person to find newly submitted or otherwise unassigned applications and take responsibility for them;
* offers a two-level review workflow that allows the delegation of preselection tasks to the first level support staff, after which a final decision - if still required - can be made by second level personnel;
* conveniently displays all application details, including registrant information, the supplied trademark information, as well as the results of the verification of that trademark data with the Trademark Clearinghouse;
* fully tracks and documents application status and history, allowing for a complete audit in case of legal inquiries and
* is fully integrated with the registry backend, i.e. it automatically notifies the SRS about the reviewersʹ decisions and immediately activates the respective domain in case of an approval. The Issue System also triggers the creation of appropriate EPP poll message in order to keep registrars
informed about the outcome of their applications.
------------------------
5.2 - Trademark Claims Service
As stated above, beyond the requirements set forth by ICANN in Specification 7 of the Registry Agreement, the .BZH Registry will implement a continuous Trademark Claims Service to ensure that even after Sunrise, registrants are notified whenever their registered domain name potentially violates a trademark holderʹs rights as stored in the Trademark Clearinghouse. Likewise, the service makes the trademark holder aware of any domain registrations that potentially infringe on his trademarks registered with the Trademark Clearinghouse.
For the purpose of implementing this service, the .BZH SRS will interconnect with the API provided by the Trademark Clearinghouse Service Provider once its details are developed and publicized by ICANN.
When a match of a registered name is found via the API provided by the Trademark Clearinghouse, the Trademark Claims Service is supposed to provide clear notice to a prospective registrant of the scope of the mark holderʹs rights. The registrant will in turn be required to provide statement that
* he received notification that the mark is included in the Trademark Clearinghouse,
* he received and understood the notice and,
* his registration and use of the requested domain name will not infringe on the rights that are subject of the notice.
The registrant will be directed to the Trademark Clearinghouse Database information referenced in the Trademark Claims Notice to enhance understanding of the Trademark rights being claimed by the trademark holder. Also, if a domain name is registered in the Clearinghouse, the Registry will, through an interface with the Clearinghouse, promptly notify the mark holders(s) of the registration after it becomes effective.
------------------------
6 - Resourcing Plan
The .BZH registry, have an adequate level of resources on hand and committed to carry out the implementation of all rights protection mechanisms set out in this response to answer 29.
The .BZH registry back-end service provider, AFNIC, has a substantial knowledge, awareness and experience of targeted and pragmatic rights protection mechanisms and will deploy this experience to (1) prevent abusive registrations, and (2) identify and address the abusive use of registered domain names on an on-going basis.
The .BZH registry considers training to be a major focus of its human resources management policy. It therefore applies an ambitious training policy in line with its strategy, with developments in domain name services and with technology. The Registry Operator is committed to the development of the skills of its employees and the promotion of their efficiency and adaptability by providing training to its employees in order to ensure the most efficient implementation of all right protection mechanisms.
------------------------
6.1 - Initial Implementation
Thanks to the experience and prior investment by its Registry Service Provider (AFNIC), the .BZH Registry already supports the above mentioned functions and their support systems.
One aspect to be considered for resource planning is the Registry systemʹs connection to the Trademark Clearinghouse; since the involved API isnʹt fully defined at the time of writing, some software development will have to be done in order to integrate the Clearinghouse into the sunrise workflow, as well as to incorporate it into the designated Trademark Claims Service. It is estimated that a Software Developer will be allocated to work 10 man.day on the development of this feature.
Staff that are already on hand will be assigned this work as soon as ICANN releases the relevant technical specifications.
------------------------
6.2 - Ongoing maintenance
The operation of the above mentioned mechanisms will be ensured by a team of highly experienced individuals with a distinct track record in handling dispute and managing TLDs in a manner that very significantly minimize conflict. These individuals have learned directly for launch management and dispute resolution around the .FR TLD.
This team will be composed of administrative and expert-level staff for respectively handling and advising on issues and cases. Their skill set will primarily be made of administrative and legal training, as well as domain name policy expertise.
Two phases need to be distinguished in terms of resourcing plan :
* for the first 3 months (duration of the Sunrise and Landrush period) we estimate that - exceptionally - 4 FTE will be needed
* after the finalization of the sunrise and for the longer term ongoing operations of the TLD, we estimate that the management of rights protection will require no more than 0.75 FTE. These resources will be committed by the Registry Operator.