May, 2008 : ICANN Sends Notice of Breach to Registrar

ICANN sent a notice of breach [PDF, 81K] to ICANN-accredited registrar Red Register, Inc. based on Red Register, Inc.'s failure to comply with the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy ("UDRP"). Specifically, Red Register failed to comply with UDRP Rule 16(a) and paragraph 4(k) of the UDRP despite repeated requests by ICANN and the National Arbitration Forum (“NAF”). These rules require registrars to communicate plans to implement UDRP Provider decisions and implement those decisions.

Consistent with the breach provisions of the Registrar Accreditation Agreement ("RAA"), ICANN requested that Red Register, Inc. act within 15 days to cure the cited breaches. If Red Register, Inc. fails to cure the breaches cited in ICANN’s notice of breach, ICANN will pursue all remedies available under the terms of the RAA, including termination.

The ICANN Board adopted the UDRP and UDRP Rules on 26 August 1999. In addition, ICANN approved the form of implementation documents on 24 October 1999. The RAA requires all accredited registrars to comply with board adopted Consensus policies.

As part of ICANN’s ongoing work to develop and maintain a tough, but fair, contractual compliance program designed to create an even playing field for registrars and registries, ICANN:

• Conducts registrar and registry audits to assess compliance with contractual terms;
• Conducts registrar and registry investigations after receiving information indicating that contract violations have occurred;
• Publishes a monthly newsletter to provide information regarding contractual compliance program activities at http://icann.org/compliance/newsletter/index.htm; and
• Assists thousands of consumers in resolving domain name-related complaints annually.

For more information about the Contractual Compliance Program mission and other details, please visit https://www.icann.org/compliance.