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Information Concerning Approval Process for
.US Dispute Resolution Service Providers
On 21 February 2002, the United States Department of Commerce adopted
the United States Dispute
Resolution Policy (usDRP) for all registrars serving the .us
domain. The policy will became fully operational on 24 April 2002.
Although the policy provides that most domain-name disputes will
be resolved by the courts, it also calls for administrative dispute-resolution
proceedings to enable streamlined, economical resolution of disputes
arising from alleged "abusive registrations." Under the
policy, each administrative proceeding will be administered by a
dispute-resolution service provider approved by Neustar.
Organizations seeking provisional approval as service providers
under the dispute resolution policy should take the following steps:
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Become familiar with the United
States Dispute Resolution Policy and the Rules for United States
Dispute Resolution Policy.
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Contact Jeffrey J. Neuman (jeff.neuman@Neustar.us;
+1 571 434 5400) to discuss the procedures for submitting an
application for approval.
- After discussing procedures with Mr. Neuman, submit an application
to him by e-mail (jeff.neuman@Neustar.us)
and postal mail:
Jeffrey J. Neuman, Esq.
Neustar, Inc.
46000 Center Oak Plaza
Sterling, VA 20166
Applications should contain:
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An overview of the applicant's capabilities and background
in providing alternative dispute-resolution (ADR) services,
including a description of the appliant's track record of handling
the clerical aspects of expedited ADR proceedings.
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A list of the names and qualifications of the panelists the
applicant proposes to include on its published list and a description
of the screening requirements applicant has used in selecting
panelists to be included on its list.
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A description of training and educational measures the applicant
proposes to employ for listed panelists with respect to domain-name
disputes, the usDRP Policy, and the usDRP Rules.
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A commitment by the applicant not to prevent or discourage
any of its listed panelists from serving as panelists for domain-name
disputes administered by other approved providers.
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A copy of the applicant's proposed supplemental rules (including
fee schedule).
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Documentation of applicant's proposed internal operating procedures.
If requested, Neustar will hold this documentation in confidence.
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A proposed schedule for applicant's implementation of its program
for administering proceedings under the policy, including a
statement of applicant's administrative capacity in terms of
number of proceedings initiated on a monthly basis.
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A statement of any requested limitiations on the number of
proceedings that applicant handles, either during a start-up
period or on a permanent basis.
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A description of how the applicant proposes to administer proceedings,
including its interactions with parties, registrars, Neustar,
and other approved providers.
- A description of how the applicant intends to publish decisions
of panels in proceedings it administers and a commitment to provide
Neustar with copies of all portions of decisions of panels not
published.
In general, Neustar examines the applications to determine whether
the applicant has demonstrated its ability to handle proceedings in
an expedited, global, online context in an orderly and fair manner.
Attributes that are especially important include:
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Applicant should have a track record in competently handling
the clerical aspects of ADR proceedings. Neustar considers proper
review of pleadings for administrative compliance and reliable
and well-documented distribution of documents to the parties
and panels to be essential capabilities for providers. In the
absence of a well-established track record in handling the clerical
function, a detailed plan for providing those abilities ordinarily
must be submitted.
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Applicant should propose a list of highly qualified neutrals
who have agreed to serve as panelists. Applicant's list should
include at least twenty persons. Applicants are expected thoroughly
to train the listed neutrals concerning the policy, the uniform
rules, the technology of domain names, and the basic legal principles
applicable to domain-name disputes. Accordingly, excessively
long lists of neutrals are discouraged. The applicant should
either present a list of panelists from multiple countries or,
if the applicant initially presents a single-country list, propose
a plan to expand its list to become multinational.
- Applicant's supplemental rules and internal procedures should
demonstrate that applicant understands the workings of the policy
and unifom rules.
Please also note that Neustar's top priority is to ensure that
the usDRP operates in a fair and orderly manner. Neustar's intent
is to only add providers when the fair and orderly operation of the
usDRP requires that a particular provider be added. Even then, Neustar's
intent is to add providers only at a measured pace.
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