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Generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) Registry Agreements

gTLD Registry Agreements establish the rights, duties, liabilities, and obligations ICANN requires of registry operators to run gTLDs.

ICM Overview: Agreement Changes Reflecting GAC Advice

ICM Overview: Agreement Changes Reflecting GAC Advice

ICM Overview:
Agreement Changes Reflecting GAC Advice




 (Produced by ICM in support of their application  |  5 January 2007)

In its Wellington Communiqué (Wellington, New Zealand; 28 March 2006), the GAC noted the range of public interest benefits identified by ICM during the RFP process, and requested “confirmation from the Board that any contract currently under negotiation between ICANN and ICM Registry would include enforceable provisions covering all of ICM Registry’s commitment.”

I. The Registry Agreement obligates ICM to fulfill all of its commitments by including the “catch all” provision requested by the GAC.

In addition, the ICM charter and a new section of Appendix S specifically obligate ICM to:

  1. Provide financial support for child safety organizations, child pornography reporting services, and user empowerment technology development.
  2. Develop and promulgate best practices to promote child safety and prevent child pornography.
  3. Prohibit child pornography, including practices that appeal to pedophiles or suggest the presence of child pornography on the site.
  4. Require registrants to label their sites, and any site to which a user entering the registrant’s xxx URL into a browser is automatically redirected.
  5. Authenticate prospective registrants, and maintain confirmed authentication information.
  6. Develop, and create automated tools to proactively monitor registrant compliance with registry policies related to labeling and the prohibition of child pornography.
  7. Enter into monitoring and oversight arrangements with independent associations, acceptable to ICANN, who will be responsible for oversight of Registry Operator’s compliance with its obligation to prohibit child pornography and require labeling.
  8. Create easy to use mechanisms for user reporting of non compliance with registry policies, and designate a compliance manager to receive and respond to such reports and administer procedures for curing non-compliance and penalties, including cancellation of registration, for failure to cure.
  9. Designate an Ombuds-person to address concerns about enforcement of registry policies and handling of complaints related to registrant non-compliance.
  10. Publish a modified UDRP applicable to abusive registrations of third party names.
  11. Develop and post prior to launch a Country and Geographic Designators Reserved List, based on industry best practices and provide a mechanism for the GAC and/or an individual government to reserve (at no cost) names that match words of cultural and/or religious significance.

II. The Registry Agreement is enforceable.

The Agreement gives ICANN unique tools to monitor ICM’s compliance and enforce ICM’s obligations. These tools give ICANN a practical ability to step in effectively to ensure that ICM complies with its obligations and to terminate ICM’s operation of .xxx in the case of material non-compliance.

  1. Gives ICANN the right to disapprove:
  • ICM’s selection of entities to provide the required monitoring services.
  • Any change in the sponsoring organization.
  • Proposed changes in control of ICM Registry;
  • Obligates ICM to provide a draft contract between IFFOR and Registry Operator to ICANN, and to negotiate in good faith prior to launch to address any reasonable concern that the contract creates compliance issues and/or a risk that policy obligations will not be fulfilled.
  • Obligates ICM to establish a thirty-day “quick look” opportunity for ICANN to review policies prior to implementation, and negotiate in good faith prior to implementing such policies to resolve any concerns about such policies.
  • Obligates ICM to provide quarterly written reports for one year, and as reasonably requested thereafter, detailing and demonstrating reasonable progress towards fulfilling policy commitments .
  • Empowers ICANN to terminate the agreement for failure to cure any fundamental and material breach, backed up by a mandatory escrow of registry data.
  • Authorizes ICANN to seek specific performance of ICM’s obligations under the Registry Agreement;
  • Permits ICANN to seek punitive, exemplary, and other damages for repeated/willful breach
  • Enables ICANN to enforce its rights through binding arbitration.