Domain Name Disputes
The Pitcairn Islands Office does not, and cannot, screen, review, evaluate or investigate the legal right of registrants to register or use a .PN domain name.
If you believe a .PN domain name registrant is using the domain name in a manner that infringes upon, dilutes or otherwise harms any of your rights, you should contact the registrant directly. The Pitcairn Islands Office will provide registrant contact information upon written request to The Pitcairn Islands Office at the address at the end of this Dispute Policy setting forth the (1) .PN domain name in dispute, (2) the nature of the dispute and (3) the name, address and telephone number of an authorized contact person for the party asserting the dispute.
The Pitcairn Islands Office has adopted the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy established by ICANN and encourages third parties to resolve disputes with registrants through the process described in the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy. Please refer to Sections 6 and 7 of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy regarding our involvement in a dispute between a registrant and a third party.
Uniform
Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy
(As Approved by ICANN on
October 24, 1999)
1.Purpose.
This Uniform Domain Name
Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Policy") has been adopted by the
Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN"), is incorporated
by
reference into your Registration Agreement, and sets forth the terms
and
conditions in connection with a dispute between you and any party other
than us (the registrar) over the registration and use of an Internet
domain
name registered by you. Proceedings under Paragraph 4 of this Policy
will
be conducted according to the Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute
Resolution
Policy (the "Rules of Procedure"), which are available here, and
the selected administrative-dispute-resolution service provider's
supplemental
rules.
2.Your Representations.
By applying to register
a domain name, or by asking us to maintain or renew a domain name
registration,
you hereby represent and warrant to us that (a) the statements that you
made in your Registration Agreement are complete and accurate; (b) to
your
knowledge, the registration of the domain name will not infringe upon
or
otherwise violate the rights of any third party; (c) you are not
registering
the domain name for an unlawful purpose; and (d) you will not knowingly
use the domain name in violation of any applicable laws or regulations.
It is your responsibility to determine whether your domain name
registration
infringes or violates someone else's rights.
3.Cancellations,
Transfers,
and Changes.
We will cancel, transfer
or otherwise make changes to domain name registrations under the
following
circumstances:
a.subject to the provisions of Paragraph 8, our receipt of written or appropriate electronic instructions from you or your authorized agent to take such action;
b.our receipt of an order from a court or arbitral tribunal, in each case of competent jurisdiction, requiring such action; and/or
c.our receipt of a decision of an Administrative Panel requiring such action in any administrative proceeding to which you were a party and which was conducted under this Policy or a later version of this Policy adopted by ICANN. (See Paragraph 4(i) and (k) below.)
We may also cancel, transfer or otherwise make changes to a domain name registration in accordance with the terms of your Registration Agreement or other legal requirements.
4.Mandatory
Administrative
Proceeding.
This Paragraph sets forth
the type of disputes for which you are required to submit to a
mandatory
administrative proceeding. These proceedings will be conducted before
one
of the administrative-dispute-resolution service providers listed here
(each, a "Provider").
a.Applicable Disputes.
You are required to submit
to a mandatory administrative proceeding in the event that a third
party
(a "complainant") asserts to the applicable Provider, in compliance
with
the Rules of Procedure, that
i.your domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the complainant has rights; and
ii.you have no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; and
iii.your domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.
In the administrative proceeding, the complainant must prove that each of these three elements are present.
b.Evidence of
Registration
and Use in Bad Faith.
For the purposes of
Paragraph
4(a)(iii), the following circumstances, in particular but without
limitation,
if found by the Panel to be present, shall be evidence of the
registration
and use of a domain name in bad faith:
i.circumstances indicating that you have registered or you have acquired the domain name primarily for the purpose of selling, renting, or otherwise transferring the domain name registration to the complainant who is the owner of the trademark or service mark or to a competitor of that complainant, for valuable consideration in excess of your documented out-of-pocket costs directly related to the domain name; or
ii.you have registered
the
domain name in order to prevent the owner of the
trademark or service mark
from reflecting the mark in a corresponding domain
name, provided that you
have engaged in a pattern of such conduct; or
iii.you have registered
the
domain name primarily for the purpose of disrupting the
business of a competitor;
or
iv.by using the domain name, you have intentionally attempted to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to your web site or other on-line location, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the complainant's mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of your web site or location or of a product or service on your web site or location.
c.How to Demonstrate
Your
Rights to and Legitimate Interests in the Domain Name in Responding to
a Complaint.
When you receive a
complaint,
you should refer to Paragraph 5 of the Rules of Procedure in
determining
how your response should be prepared. Any of the following
circumstances,
in particular but without limitation, if found by the Panel to be
proved
based on its evaluation of all evidence presented, shall demonstrate
your
rights or legitimate interests to the domain name for purposes of
Paragraph
4(a)(ii):
i.before any notice to you of the dispute, your use of, or demonstrable preparations to use, the domain name or a name corresponding to the domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services; or
ii.you (as an individual, business, or other organization) have been commonly known by the domain name, even if you have acquired no trademark or service mark rights; or
iii.you are making a legitimate noncommercial or fair use of the domain name, without intent for commercial gain to misleadingly divert consumers or to tarnish the trademark or service mark at issue.
d.Selection of Provider.
The complainant shall
select
the Provider from among those approved by ICANN by submitting the
complaint
to that Provider. The selected Provider will administer the proceeding,
except in cases of consolidation as described in Paragraph 4(f).
e.Initiation of
Proceeding
and Process and Appointment of Administrative Panel.
The Rules of Procedure
state
the process for initiating and conducting a proceeding and for
appointing
the panel that will decide the dispute (the "Administrative Panel").
f.Consolidation.
In the event of multiple
disputes between you and a complainant, either you or the complainant
may
petition to consolidate the disputes before a single Administrative
Panel.
This petition shall be made to the first Administrative Panel appointed
to hear a pending dispute between the parties. This
administrative
Panel may consolidate before it any or all such disputes in its sole
discretion,
provided that the disputes being consolidated are governed by this
Policy
or a later version of this Policy adopted by ICANN.
g.Fees.
All fees charged by a
Provider
in connection with any dispute before an Administrative Panel pursuant
to this Policy shall be paid by the complainant, except in cases where
you elect to expand the administrative Panel from one to three
panelists
as provided in Paragraph 5(b)(iv) of the Rules of Procedure, in which
case
all fees will be split evenly by you and the complainant.
h.Our Involvement in
Administrative
Proceedings.
We do not, and will not,
participate in the Office or conduct of any proceeding before an
Administrative Panel. In addition, we will not be liable as a result of
any decisions rendered by the Administrative Panel.
i.Remedies.
The remedies available to
a complainant pursuant to any proceeding before an Administrative Panel
shall be limited to requiring the cancellation of your domain name or
the
transfer of your domain name registration to the complainant.
j.Notification and
Publication.
The Provider shall notify
us of any decision made by an Administrative Panel with respect to a
domain
name you have registered with us. All decisions under this Policy will
be published in full over the Internet, except when an Administrative
Panel
determines in an exceptional case to redact portions of its decision.
k.Availability of Court
Proceedings.
The mandatory
administrative
proceeding requirements set forth in Paragraph 4 shall not prevent
either
you or the complainant from submitting the dispute to a court of
competent
jurisdiction for independent resolution before such mandatory
administrative
proceeding is commenced or after such proceeding is concluded. If an
Administrative
Panel decides that your domain name registration should be canceled or
transferred, we will wait ten (10) business days (as observed in the
location
of our principal office) after we are informed by the applicable
Provider
of the Administrative Panel's decision before implementing that
decision.
We will then implement the decision unless we have received from you
during
that ten (10) business day period official documentation (such as a
copy
of a complaint, file-stamped by the clerk of the court) that you have
commenced
a lawsuit against the complainant in a jurisdiction to which the
complainant
has submitted under Paragraph 3(b)(xiii) of the Rules of Procedure. (In
general, that jurisdiction is either the location of our principal
office
or of your address as shown in our Whois database. See Paragraphs 1 and
3(b)(xiii) of the Rules of Procedure for details.) If we receive such
documentation
within the ten (10) business day period, we will not implement the
Administrative
Panel's decision, and we will take no further action, until we receive
(i) evidence satisfactory to us of a
resolution between the
parties;
(ii) evidence satisfactory to us that your lawsuit has been dismissed
or
withdrawn; or (iii) a copy of an order from such court dismissing your
lawsuit or ordering that you do not have the right to continue to use
your
domain name.
5.All Other Disputes
and
Litigation.
All other disputes between
you and any party other than us regarding your domain name registration
that are not brought pursuant to the mandatory administrative
proceeding
provisions of Paragraph 4 shall be resolved between you and such other
party through any court, arbitration or other proceeding that may be
available.
6.Our Involvement in
Disputes.
We will not participate
in any way in any dispute between you and any party other than us
regarding
the registration and use of your domain name. You shall not name us as
a party or otherwise include us in any such proceeding. In the event
that
we are named as a party in any such proceeding, we reserve the right to
raise any and all defenses deemed appropriate, and to take any other
action
necessary to defend ourselves.
7.Maintaining the
Status
Quo.
We will not cancel,
transfer,
activate, deactivate, or otherwise change the status of any domain name
registration under this Policy except as provided in Paragraph 3 above.
8.Transfers During a Dispute.
a.Transfers of a Domain
Name
to a New Holder.
You may not transfer your
domain name registration to another holder (i) during a pending
administrative
proceeding brought pursuant to Paragraph 4 or for a period of fifteen
(15)
business days (as observed in the location of our principal place of
business)
after such proceeding is concluded; or (ii) during a pending court
proceeding
or arbitration commenced regarding your domain name unless the party to
whom the domain name registration is being transferred agrees, in
writing,
to be bound by the decision of the court or arbitrator. We reserve the
right to cancel any transfer of a domain name registration to another
holder
that is made in violation of this subparagraph.
b.Changing Registrars.
You may not transfer your
domain name registration to another registrar during a pending
administrative
proceeding brought pursuant to Paragraph 4 or for a period of fifteen
(15)
business days (as observed in the location of our principal place of
business)
after such proceeding is concluded. You may transfer Office of
your domain name registration to another registrar during a pending
court
action or arbitration, provided that the domain name you have
registered
with us shall continue to be subject to the proceedings commenced
against
you in accordance with the terms of this Policy. In the
event that you transfer
a domain name registration to us during the pendency of a court action
or arbitration, such dispute shall remain subject to the domain name
dispute
policy of the registrar from which the domain name registration was
transferred.
9.Policy Modifications.
We reserve the right to
modify this Policy at any time with the permission of ICANN. We will
post
our revised Dispute Policy at least thirty (30) calendar days before it
becomes effective. Unless this Policy has already been invoked by the
submission
of a complaint to a Provider, in which event the version of the Policy
in effect at the time it was invoked will apply to you until the
dispute
is over, all such changes will be binding upon you with respect to any
domain name registration dispute, whether the dispute arose before, on
or after the effective date of our change. In the event that you object
to a change in this Policy, your sole remedy is to cancel your domain
name
registration with us, provided that you will not be entitled to a
refund
of any fees you paid to us. The revised Policy will apply to you until
you cancel your domain name registration.
ADDRESS
AND CONTACT INFORMATION
Pitcairn Islands Office
Private Box 105 696,
Auckland,
New Zealand
e-mail: registrations@pitcairn.gov.pn
Ph: +64 9 366 0186 fax:
+64 9 366 0187