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Contractual Compliance Newsletter: Read | Subscribe 

General Compliance Updates

NORC Whois Data Accuracy Study Design [PDF, 353K]

Draft Advisory Regarding Registrar Best Practices to Protect Registrants upon Initiation of a Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (“UDRP”) complaint [PDF, 21K]

The purpose of the Draft Advisory is to assist ICANN-accredited registrars in protecting their registrants. Registrants can lose domain names subject to UDRP proceedings if the registrant is not aware of the UDRP complaint. The following advisory will outline Best Practices registrars should take to protect their customers by ensuring their customers receive notice of UDRP complaints involving their domain names.

The comment period is to allow interested parties 30 days to comment on the Draft Advisory. Interested parties have until 30 November 2008 to submit comments at compliance-comments@icann.org. ICANN will consider all comments received at the close of the 30-day comment period. The public can view posted comments at http://forum.icann.org/lists/compliance-comments.

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I. Introduction

II. Contractual Compliance Program Expectations and Concerns

III. Philosophy

IV. Vision

V. Operating Plan

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I. Introduction

ICANN is pleased to present its updated Contractual Compliance Program Philosophy, Vision and 2008 Operating Plan (Contractual Compliance Program) for consideration and comment.

Although ICANN published a description of the contractual compliance program in 2005 and has routinely pursued contractual compliance issues in the past, the updated Contractual Compliance Program includes a detailed operating plan for achieving stated goals and closely reflects the expectations of the Internet Community.

The updated Contractual Compliance program was developed after careful analysis of the 2005 contractual compliance program, which contains practical processes and sound concepts, and information received from the Internet community regarding contractual compliance expectations and concerns. The information received from the Internet Community, as summarized below, was gathered from informal conversations, group discussions and public meetings while in Sao Paulo, Brazil at the December 2006 Annual Meeting, from comments collected from various constituencies via e-mail and at the 2007 North American Registry/Registrar Gathering.

Consistent with ICANN's mission and core values, the updated Contractual Compliance Program clearly articulates a long-term vision that will enhance ICANN's ability to preserve and enhance the operational stability, reliability, security, and global interoperability of the Internet. Additionally, the updated Contractual Compliance Program includes reporting relevant material on ICANN's website.

Although ICANN staff identified numerous contractual compliance-related goals based on the information provided by the Internet community, the highest priority goals are enumerated in the updated Contractual Compliance Program 2008 Operating Plan.

Written comments concerning the updated Contractual Compliance Program are encouraged and will be accepted at http://blog.icann.org.

II. Contractual Compliance Program Expectations and Concerns

This proposed plan was informed by significant consultation with ICANN constituency and community members as well as ICANN staff. The specific inputs, received from the Internet Community were gathered from: informal conversations, group discussions and public meetings while in Sao Paulo, Brazil at the December 2006 Annual Meeting, from comments collected from various constituencies via e-mail, and at the 2007 North American Registry/Registrar Gathering.

Registrar Constituency

• Strong interest in seeing ICANN's contractual compliance program implemented as soon as possible.

• Interest in preventing competitive advantages for non-compliant registrars and their resellers.

• Concern about the fair application of contractual compliance policies among all registrars.

Registry Constituency

• Interest in seeing a contractual compliance program that ensures that ICANN, registrars and registries adhere to the terms and conditions of their agreements.

Intellectual Property, ISP and Business Constituencies

• Eagerness to see contractual compliance program implemented.

• Interest in making sure all registries and registrars adhere to requirements that impact the Intellectual Property, ISP and Business communities.

• Strong interest in assisting with contractual compliance related policy development.

• Need for the development of an escalated process for parties that are out of compliance with ICANN agreements.

In particular, the Intellectual Property Constituency had the following concerns:

• Interest in seeing the contractual compliance program address issues concerning non-cooperation of registrars and registries with Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) proceedings, inaccurate Whois data problems, the responsibility of registrars for non-compliant behavior of resellers and the Registrar Accreditation Agreement that appears to lack needed provisions.

ICANN's Operations Staff

• Interest in having contractual compliance program implemented as soon as possible.

• Sincere interest in seeing enforcement of contract terms for the benefit of the entire Internet community.

• Companywide interest in providing input regarding what should be audited first and how audits should be conducted.

• Strong interest in tracking statistical data regarding contractual compliance.

• Strong interest in seeing the development of an escalated process for parties that are out of compliance with ICANN agreements.

ICANN's General Counsel's Office

• Strong interest in seeing the General Counsel's Office and the Contractual Compliance Department work collaboratively to address contractual compliance matters.

• Strong interest in making sure established contractual compliance procedures are developed to ensure consistent handling of contractual compliance matters.

ICANN's Executive Management

• Strong interest in seeing an effective contractual compliance program, that includes written procedures and protocols, implemented as soon as practicable.

• Strong interest in making the operational goals, milestones and achievements regarding ICANN's contractual compliance program available to the Internet community via consistent reporting.

• Interest in improving communications with consumer protection organizations around the world to enhance contractual compliance efforts by ICANN and encourage contractual compliance by registrars and registries.

• Strong interest in ensuring that contractual compliance activities are visible:
  • Compliance is essential to ICANN's reputation as a responsible corporate entity.

  • Compliance is important to Executive Management for enhancing business relationships.

  • Clarity of processes and responsibilities on the part of both ICANN and the Registrars and Registries is paramount to good business operations.

III. Philosophy

Since its inception, ICANN has successfully established market competition for domain name registrations, resulting in over 880 ICANN accredited registrars offering a range of registration services today. See http://www.icann.org/registrars/accredited-list.html for a complete list of ICANN accredited registrars. Not only have consumers benefited from the vast choice of registrars available, but registrar marketplace competition has resulted in competitive prices for registration services and registration service innovations. Due to competition, consumers have the option of purchasing a domain name, or purchasing a package of services such as web hosting services, web design services and varying service levels. Consumers have a diversity of options for the provision of registration services and they can easily change registrars if they choose to do so. See http://www.icann.org/transfers/policy-12jul04.htm for ICANN's Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy.

With this degree of competition and consumer choice in the registrar marketplace, it has become increasingly more critical that ICANN, registrars and registries comply with the terms of their agreements to ensure that the domain name system operates in a consistent, orderly manner resulting in clarity and certainty for the global Internet Community. ICANN's Contractual Compliance Program is intended to make certain that both ICANN and its contracted parties fulfill the requirements of their agreements.

Violations of ICANN's Registrar and Registry Agreements (the Agreements) can cause serious detriment to consumers and to the Internet community, both directly and indirectly, by damaging the competitive process that is crucial to a dynamic and healthy market. ICANN therefore seeks to achieve deliberate compliance with the Agreements by taking a firm approach to contractual compliance. ICANN aims to prevent violations of the Agreements from arising and, where they do occur, to address them so as to encourage compliance by the business concerned and registries and registrars generally. By aggressively pursuing possible violations, ICANN also seeks to identify areas for reform to be considered by the ICANN community.

In the past, ICANN's contractual compliance efforts have resulted in bringing noncompliant parties into compliance with informal means and without notification to the public. Despite these successes, the organization has received criticism regarding its perceived failure to enforce its contracts. It is ICANN's goal to incorporate a publication component to its Contractual Compliance Program to keep the public informed of ICANN's contractual compliance efforts and accomplishments. To that end, ICANN will publish contractual compliance audit findings as well as certain information regarding noncompliance that may be beneficial to the public.

The Contractual Compliance program also includes a public input component, so that members of the community can initiate an inquiry regarding alleged instances of noncompliance or constructively comment on any aspect of this program to provide for its ongoing improvement.

In an effort to help promote public understanding and provide direction concerning appropriate recourses for solving problems, ICANN will continue to develop comprehensive consumer guides to the public, answering frequently asked questions, and providing resources for common problems.

Based on market changes and the expectations of the Internet community, ICANN's philosophy regarding contractual compliance has evolved to include the implementation of clear procedures for consistent handling of compliance matters, active investigation of apparent violations, regular contractual compliance audits, including comprehensive Whois enforcement, a willingness to pursue breaches publicly, a strong interest in resolving matters informally and consistent reporting regarding compliance activities. Documented procedures for complaint handling and investigation are fundamental for ensuring fairness and efficiency.

ICANN will, in most cases, attempt to address instances of non-compliance informally with the affected party. When informal resolution methods are unsuccessful, in accordance with its procedures, ICANN will consider utilizing a series of escalating steps based on the seriousness of the breach, up to and including loss of accreditation or termination of an agreement. In keeping with its values of openness and transparency, ICANN will publish various statistics and reports relating to its contractual compliance work.

In accordance with this philosophy and its mission and core values, ICANN staff undertook in 2004 an examination of all agreements under which it conducts operations, with the purpose of designing a comprehensive contractual compliance program for the organization. As a result, ICANN established a new contractual compliance department dedicated to monitoring contract compliance, conducting compliance audits, analyzing compliance data, resolving compliance related disputes, developing procedures for consistent handling of compliance matters and reporting on compliance goals, milestones and achievements.

ICANN will prioritize the dedication of staff members and resources to accomplish the objectives of the contractual compliance program. The compliance staffing plan, including position descriptions, is described below. Finally, contractual compliance procedures will ensure that records of all activities and communications are kept, and regular reviews of the overall program by management are conducted to provide for continual improvement of the contractual compliance program.

IV. Vision

It is the aim of ICANN to maintain a comprehensive contractual compliance program that is based on contractual obligations, ethical practices and reasonableness that will ultimately benefit all members of the global Internet community by preventing harmful inconsistencies, unauthorized practices and unfair advantages.

Consistent with, and in support of ICANN's mission, the contractual compliance program is designed to ensure adherence by all ICANN accredited registrars and registries with ICANN agreements thereby serving to preserve the DNS operational stability and promoting competition and choice for consumers.

Through the use of technology and skilled staff, ICANN:

1. Provides Clear Communications for Registrants and Other Interested Parties

   It is ICANN's goal to provide useful information to registrants on the ICANN website regarding potential resources available to address common issues (i.e., domain name transfer policy information, how to find out who your registrar is, who can assist in addressing a customer service problem, what are the requirements of the consensus policies, what does ICANN have authority to address regarding compliance with the RAA agreement.) http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-06mar07.htm

2. Monitors Contract Compliance

   Based on the terms and conditions of the registrar and registry agreements, ICANN will conduct annual audits to monitor compliance.

3. Analyzes Contractual Compliance Data To Assess Trends

   On a quarterly basis, registrar and registry complaints received by ICANN will be analyzed to determine if trends exist that warrant policy recommendations or further analysis.

4. Aggressively Pursues Cases Of Non-Compliance

   Serious harm to consumers and the Internet community may be caused by a registrar's or a registry's failure to adhere to an ICANN agreement. Accordingly, cases of suspected non-compliance will be investigated and pursued in a timely and predictable manner. ICANN's pursuit of non-compliant parties may include the publication of relevant compliance documents.

5. Attempts To Resolve Contractual Compliance Related Disputes Before Pursuing Litigation

   It is not the primary goal of ICANN to terminate registrar or registry agreements. As such, ICANN will attempt to amicably resolve contractual compliance related disputes prior to pursuing any remedies available under the agreements.

6. Maintains The Highest Standards Of Integrity, Accountability And Professionalism

   It is the aim of ICANN to meet the highest ethical standards and consistently work to strengthen contractual compliance accountability. ICANN is committed to treating all parties with fairness, dignity and respect.

7. Develops Procedures For Consistent Handling of Contractual Compliance Matters

   It is the aim of ICANN to have written procedures for all contractual compliance related processes and activities to ensure consistency, reliability and fairness.

8. Provides Consistent Reporting Of Contract Compliance Related Activities

   Consistent with ICANN's interest in maintaining transparency, ICANN's contractual compliance goals, progress and achievements will be made known to the public through semi-annual Contractual Compliance Program Reports.

V. Operating Plan

Based on ICANN's review of previous contractual compliance efforts and the Internet community's comments regarding contractual compliance, the 2008 Contractual Compliance Operating Plan was developed to ensure that ICANN successfully reaches its Contractual Compliance goals for 2008. The Operating plan, enumerated below, includes annual goals, day- to-day responsibilities, measurement tools and reporting against stated goals.

2008 Contractual Compliance Goals

• In the near term, ICANN will aggressively work to complete the following goals in order to achieve our long-term vision: Continue audit activities per the 2008 registrar and registry audit schedules, which are intended to result in meaningful service improvements by the registrar and registry communities and increase contractual compliance.
• Review and edit contractual compliance procedures and processes as needed for the consistent handling of compliance related matters, i.e., consumer complaints processing procedures, compliance escalation procedures and debt collection procedures.
• Publish a monthly contractual compliance newsletter that provides information and updates regarding audit activities, consumer complaint statistics and compliance related advisories.
• Sufficiently staff the contractual compliance department to ensure that all compliance-related duties and responsibilities are completed in a timely manner and with the required degree of expertise.

How will we achieve our goals? (Measurement)

Through Operations Project Management, ICANN has established performance measures to track and monitor the progress of all enumerated goals on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis. Goals and performance measures are reviewed regularly to determine if targets are being met and to assess whether changes in approach are necessary to meet ICANN's stated goals.

How will you know we achieved our goals? (Reporting)

Through ICANN’s Dashboard, the Contractual Compliance Department will provide complaint statistics and statistics regarding the number of compliance notices transmitted to registrars and registries on a monthly basis.

ICANN will publish, on a semi-annual basis, Contractual Compliance Program Reports that clearly identify contractual compliance goals, milestone and achievements as well as provide information regarding whether ICANN's contractual compliance statistics have improved when compared to prior years.

Ongoing Day-to-Day Contractual Compliance Responsibilities

• Pursue known cases of non-compliance by registrars and registries and recommend corrective action when appropriate, up to and including termination.
• Manage consumer complaints. Although ICANN does not provide substantive responses to thousands of customer complaints received regarding matters that fall outside of ICANN's agreements, ICANN forwards those customer complaints to the appropriate registrars and registries for handling.
• Analyze consumer complaints on a quarterly basis to assess trends and recommend policy changes when appropriate.
• Enhance/Upgrade computer software systems to efficiently manage consumer complaints and track statistics.
• Manage Uniform Dispute Resolution Process issues
• Develop, conduct and manage registrar and registry audits
• Report findings
• Maintain current contractual compliance related information on ICANN's website.