Friday, February 1, 2013

Objection And Dispute Resolution For ICANN’s New GTLDs Registrations


It has been now notified by ICANN that the objection period has been extended to 13 March 2013. Once the objection filing period closes, all objections received will move through a dispute resolution process which will take approximately five months to resolve in most circumstances.

If you need professional legal services for making or defending various objections and disputes under the new GTLDs process, you may contact us if you deem it appropriate.

This dispute resolution mechanism has been incorporated into the new GTLDs process to safeguard the interests of brand, trademark and other rights holders. Any objection by a right holder would be analysed by a pre defined and qualified panel of experts in the relevant subject area. Further, even dispute resolution service providers have also been notified by ICANN and all disputes would be referred to these providers alone.

Objection can be filed in the categories of String Confusion, Legal Rights Objections, Limited Public Interest and Community. If you want to file a formal objection to a new GTLD application, you must contact the appropriate dispute resolution service provider and file your objection electronically. The language to be used is English. If your objection falls in different categories, you have to file each objection separately and pay the accompanying filing fees for each.

While filing such objection(s), you must add your name and contact information as the objector along with a statement as to why you believe you meet the standing requirements. Further, a description of the basis for your objection must be given that must include a statement giving the grounds on which you are objecting and a detailed explanation of the validity of your objection and why it should be upheld. Do not forget to add copied of relevant documents that support your objection. Objections are limited to 5000 words or 20 pages, which ever is less.

You may also be on the receiving end. You may have to defend the objections raised by others against your new GTLDs applications. Within thirty days of the closing of the objections filing window, ICANN will post a Dispute Announcement and notify the providers to begin the objection proceedings. If you are an applicant and have received notice from a provider that you have had an objection filed against your application, you will have 30 calendar days to file your response. If you do not respond within 30 days, you will be in default and the objector will prevail.

If your application has been objected to, you can work to reach a settlement with the objector. This would result in either a withdrawal of the objection or a withdrawal of your new GTLD application. You can also file a response to the objection and enter the dispute resolution process. You can withdraw your new GTLD application, in which case the objector will prevail by default and your application will not proceed.

Perry4Law would like to remind that if you fail to file a response to an objection, the objector will prevail by default. So you must defend and oppose any objection raised by a third party.

Perry4Law and PTLB wish all the best to all parties to the new GTLDs process.