Summary of Changes and FAQ for New UDRP Rules and Supplemental Rules

Summary of Changes and FAQ for new UDRP Rules and Supplemental Rules

Effective July 31, 2015

Complaint Filing and Verification

·  When a Complainant files their UDRP complaint, they should NOT send a copy to the Registrar or Registrant.

·  When the Forum receives a Complaint, the Forum will immediately (during business hours) request a lock on the domain name from the Registrar and will send them a copy of the Complaint at that time.

·  The Registrar must lock the domain name within 2 business days (as observed in their location). Any lifting of a privacy service must be done before the Registrar replies to the Provider indicating the lock is in place. If the Registrar wishes to notify their client of the complaint, they may do so AFTER the lock is in place.

·  The Provider then does the deficiency check using the information in the Whois.

·  The Provider then serves the complaint on the Respondent as usual.

Response Period and Extensions

·  If a respondent needs additional time to respond, they can obtain four days by simply emailing the Forum and the complainant and notifying both that additional time is needed. The Forum will email back with the new due date, which will then be reflected on the Portal.

·  If more than four days are needed, the usual process for requesting and paying for an extension will apply, however, the Respondent does not need to try to seek a stipulation first. All requirements to copy the other party on requests will still apply.

Settlement

·  The parties may jointly agree to Stay the case for any reason they choose, including Settlement; as a result the Settlement process is not intertwined with the Stay process (additionally, parties may agree to Settle without first requesting a Stay, assuming a decision doesn’t issue in the meantime—decisions frequently issue “early.”).

·  Note that Stays continue to result in an automatic dismissal of the case, so if you plan to Settle, submitting the Notice on the last day of a Stay would be inadvisable, is it will take time for the Registrar to implement the request.

·  The Settlement Notice should be filled out, with the most effort being on clarity as to the request of the registrar: which domain names, from which registrar, to which party, and which account (including contact information for the transferree).

·  The Notice MUST be signed by both parties.

·  The Complainant must notify the Forum when the request is implemented, even if the Registrar or Registrant also do so. The Forum may dismiss a complaint if we don’t hear anything from Complainant.