ICANN Announcements

Read ICANN Announcements to stay informed of the latest policymaking activities, regional events, and more.

Bulk Transfer of Maxim Internet Domains to NameScout

15 July 2009

As a result of the de-accreditation of registrar Maxim Internet, Inc., ICANN initiated a process to identify a gaining registrar to receive Maxim Internet's gTLD names. In accordance with ICANN's De-Accredited Registrar Transition Procedure (see http://www.icann.org/en/processes/registrars/de-accredited-registrar-transition-procedure-01oct08.pdf [PDF, 120K]), on 15 June 2009, ICANN initiated a Request for Statements of Interest (RFI) from registrars interested in receiving the names.

ICANN received 13 statements of interest from registrars in response to the RFI. As a result of the procedure, ICANN selected NameScout Corp. to receive the bulk transfer from Maxim Internet.

The gTLD registries that have registered Maxim Internet names have taken steps to effect the bulk transfers. Former registrant-customers of Maxim Internet should soon receive notices of the transfer from NameScout. Customer questions about the transfer should be directed to NameScout. Contact information is provided below.

FAQs

Q. Why was this transfer authorized by ICANN?

A. Maxim Internet's Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) was terminated by ICANN to protect registrants who might be harmed by the insolvency of Maxim Internet. (The notice of termination is posted at http://www.icann.org/correspondence/burnette-to-palm-10jun09.pdf [PDF, 68K].) As a result, Maxim Internet is no longer permitted to register or manage gTLD registrations. ICANN initiated this process to identify a new ICANN-accredited registrar to manage the registrations formerly managed by Maxim Internet.

Q. Will NameScout attempt to contact the affected registrants? What should current/former Maxim Internet customers do?

A. Former customers of Maxim Internet should receive a notice of the transfer and instructions for continued management of their names from NameScout. Affected customers who do not receive notices from NameScout should contact NameScout directly, at:

Telephone: +1-613-768-5140
Email: service@namescout.com
Web: http://www.namescout.com

Q. Do registrants have to pay a fee for the bulk transfer?

A. No, there is no cost to registrants for the bulk transfer. Unlike a normal inter-registrar transfer, the registration terms will not be extended by a year. Accordingly, it is important to contact NameScout if your registration will expire soon in order to maintain your registration.

Q. Why do former Maxim Internet customers need to contact NameScout?

A. Maxim Internet did not forward billing information to NameScout. Accordingly, all registrants must provide updated billing information or transfer their names to other registrars.

Q. What if former Maxim Internet customers want to use a different registrar?

A. Registrants will continue to be able to transfer their registrations to other registrars under the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy (see http://www.icann.org/en/transfers/). Note that NameScout may deny transfers for the first 60 days following the bulk transfer, at NameScout's discretion. This 60-day period is permissible under the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy, and is intended to help protect registrants. Names that will expire during the first 60 days following the transfer to NameScout should be renewed by the registrant by contacting NameScout at:

Telephone: +1-613-768-5140
Email: service@namescout.com
Web: http://www.namescout.com

Q. How will Maxim Internet customers know if a message purportedly from NameScout is legitimate?

A. The message from NameScout should direct you to their website hosted at http://www.namescout.com or refer you to other contact information provided above. If you believe a message purportedly from NameScout is not legitimate, you should navigate to their web page directly, at http://namescout.com For general advice about avoiding phishing email messages, you may also wish to refer to the materials prepared by the Anti-Phishing Working Group (see http://www.antiphishing.org/consumer_recs.html).