Public Comment
Preliminary Issue Report on a Policy Development Process to Review the Transfer Policy
Open Date
12 October 2020 23:59 UTC
Close Date
30 November 2020 23:59 UTC
Staff Report Due
14 December 2020 23:59 UTC
Brief Overview
Purpose: This Public Comment proceeding seeks to obtain community input on the Preliminary Issue Report on a Policy Development Process to Review the Transfer Policy.
Current Status: In accordance with the GNSO Policy Development Process (PDP) rules, ICANN org is publishing the Preliminary Issue Report for Public Comment to allow for community input on additional information, or the correction or updating of any information provided so far. ICANN org is seeking in particular input on the draft policy questions proposed in Section 3.5 of this Preliminary Issues Report, as well as the text provided in the draft Preliminary Charter in Annex A.
Next Steps: Following review of the Public Comments received, ICANN org will update the Preliminary Issue Report and submit a summary of the comments received together with the Final Issue Report to the GNSO Council for its consideration and potential action.
Your Comment: Your submission, including your name, will be published in the Public Comment archive on ICANN org's website. If you have any questions regarding Public Comment, please contact public-comment@icann.org.
Section I: Description and Explanation
At its meeting on 24 June 2020, the GNSO Council voted to request the preparation of a Preliminary Issue Report on the issues identified in the Transfer Policy Initial Scoping Paper, to assist in determining whether a PDP or series of PDPs should be initiated regarding changes to the Transfer Policy.
This Preliminary Issue Report on a Policy Development Process to Review the Transfer Policy examines, et.al, the issues identified in the Transfer Policy Initial Scoping Paper and includes:
- Gaining & Losing Registrar Form of Authorization ("FOA")
- Auth Code Management
- Change of Registrant
- Transfer Emergency Action Contact ("TEAC")
- Transfer Dispute Resolution Policy ("TDRP")
- Reversing/NACKing Transfers
- ICANN-Approved Transfers
- EPDP Rec. 27
Section 3 of this Report explores the above-referenced issues individually and provides references to documents and processes that could inform future policy work.
Section II: Background
The Transfer Policy, formerly referred to as the Inter‐Registrar Transfer Policy (IRTP), is an ICANN consensus policy that went into effect on November 12, 2004. The policy governs the procedure and requirements for registrants to transfer their domain names from one registrar to another, also referred to as an inter-registrar transfer. The goal of the Transfer Policy was to provide for enhanced domain name portability, resulting in greater consumer and business choice and enabling registrants to select the registrar that offers the best services and price for their needs.
On April 22, 2019, ICANN Org delivered the Transfer Policy Status Report to the GNSO Council. ICANN Org delivered the Transfer Policy Status Report pursuant to Recommendation 17 of the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy (IRTP) Part D PDP Working Group's Final Report, which provides, "[t]he Working Group recommends that contracted parties and ICANN should start to gather data and other relevant information that will help inform a future IRTP review team in its efforts."
During its meeting on September 19, 2019, the GNSO Council agreed to launch a call for volunteers for a Transfer Policy Review Scoping Team, comprised of interested and knowledgeable GNSO Members that were tasked with advising the GNSO Council by providing recommendations on the following:
- approach to the review (for example, by initiating a new PDP);
- composition of the review team or PDP working group, and
- scope of the review and future policy work related to the Transfer Policy.
On April 6, 2020, the Transfer Policy Review Scoping Team delivered its Transfer Policy Review Scoping Paper to the GNSO Council for its consideration.
This Preliminary Issue Report addresses eight issues associated with the Transfer Policy, seven of which were specifically identified by the Transfer Policy Review Scoping Team.
Section III: Relevant Resources
Section IV: Additional Information
Transfer Policy: https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/transfer-policy-2016-06-01-en
Transfer Policy Status Report: https://www.icann.org/uploads/ckeditor/IRTPPSRRevised_GNSO_Final.pdf
Transfer Policy Review Scoping Paper: https://gnso.icann.org/sites/default/files/file/field-file-attach/transfer-policy-review-scoping-team-06apr20-en.pdf
Comments Closed
Report of Public Comments