Dispute Resolution Mechanisms Registry Operator will comply with the following dispute resolution mechanisms as they may be revised from time to time: the Trademark Post-Delegation Dispute Resolution Procedure (PDDRP) and the Registration Restriction Dispute Resolution Procedure (RRDRP) adopted by ICANN (posted at xxxx://xxx.xxxxx.xxx/en/resources/registries/pddrp and xxxx://xxx.xxxxx.xxx/en/resources/registries/rrdrp, respectively). Registry Operator agrees to implement and adhere to any remedies ICANN imposes (which may include any reasonable remedy, including for the avoidance of doubt, the termination of the Registry Agreement pursuant to Section 4.3(e) of the Agreement) following a determination by any PDDRP or RRDRP panel and to be bound by any such determination; and the Uniform Rapid Suspension system (“URS”) adopted by ICANN (posted at xxxx://xxx.xxxxx.xxx/en/resources/registries/urs), including the implementation of determinations issued by URS examiners. CONTINUED OPERATIONS INSTRUMENT The Continued Operations Instrument shall (a) provide for sufficient financial resources to ensure the continued operation of the critical registry functions related to the TLD set forth in Section 6 of Specification 10 to this Agreement for a period of three (3) years following any termination of this Agreement on or prior to the fifth anniversary of the Effective Date or for a period of one (1) year following any termination of this Agreement after the fifth anniversary of the Effective Date but prior to or on the sixth (6th) anniversary of the Effective Date, and (b) be in the form of either (i) an irrevocable standby letter of credit, or (ii) an irrevocable cash escrow deposit, each meeting the requirements set forth in item 50(b) of Attachment to Module 2 – Evaluation Questions and Criteria – of the gTLD Applicant Guidebook, as published and supplemented by ICANN prior to the date hereof (which is hereby incorporated by reference into this Specification 8). Registry Operator shall use its best efforts to take all actions necessary or advisable to maintain in effect the Continued Operations Instrument for a period of six (6) years from the Effective Date, and to maintain ICANN as a third party beneficiary thereof. If Registry Operator elects to obtain an irrevocable standby letter of credit but the term required above is unobtainable, Registry Operator may obtain a letter of credit with a one-year term and an “evergreen provision,” providing for annual extensions, without amendment, for an indefinite number of additional periods until the issuing bank informs ICANN of its final expiration or until ICANN releases the letter of credit as evidenced in writing, if the letter of credit otherwise meets the requirements set forth in item 50(b) of Attachment to Module 2 – Evaluation Questions and Criteria – of the gTLD Applicant Guidebook, as published and supplemented by ICANN prior to the date hereof; provided, however, that if the issuing bank informs ICANN of the expiration of such letter of credit prior to the sixth (6th) anniversary of the Effective Date, such letter of credit must provide that ICANN is entitled to draw the funds secured by the letter of credit prior to such expiration. The letter of credit must require the issuing bank to give ICANN at least thirty (30) calendar days’ notice of any such expiration or non-renewal. If the letter of credit expires or is terminated at any time prior to the sixth (6th) anniversary of the Effective Date, Registry Operator will be required to obtain a replacement Continued Operations Instrument. ICANN may draw the funds under the original letter of credit, if the replacement Continued Operations Instrument is not in place prior to the expiration of the original letter of credit. Registry Operator shall provide to ICANN copies of all final documents relating to the Continued Operations Instrument and shall keep ICANN reasonably informed of material developments relating to the Continued Operations Instrument. Registry Operator shall not agree to, or permit, any amendment of, or waiver under, the Continued Operations Instrument or other documentation relating thereto without the prior written consent of ICANN (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld). If, notwithstanding the use of best efforts by Registry Operator to satisfy its obligations under the preceding paragraph, the Continued Operations Instrument expires or is terminated by another party thereto, in whole or in part, for any reason, prior to the sixth anniversary of the Effective Date, Registry Operator shall promptly (i) notify ICANN of such expiration or termination and the reasons therefor and (ii) arrange for an alternative instrument that provides for sufficient financial resources to ensure the continued operation of the critical registry functions related to the TLD set forth in Section 6 of Specification 10 to this Agreement for a period of three (3) years following any termination of this Agreement on or prior to the fifth anniversary of the Effective Date or for a period of one (1) year following any termination of this Agreement after the fifth anniversary of the Effective Date but prior to or on the sixth (6) anniversary of the Effective Date (an “Alternative Instrument”). Any such Alternative Instrument shall be on terms no less favorable to ICANN than the Continued Operations Instrument and shall otherwise be in form and substance reasonably acceptable to ICANN. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Specification 8, at any time, Registry Operator may replace the Continued Operations Instrument with an Alternative Instrument that (i) provides for sufficient financial resources to ensure the continued operation of the critical registry functions related to the TLD set forth in Section 6 of Specification 10 to this Agreement for a period of three (3) years following any termination of this Agreement on or prior to the fifth anniversary of the Effective Date or for a period one (1) year following any termination of this Agreement after the fifth anniversary of the Effective Date but prior to or on the sixth (6) anniversary of the Effective Date, and (ii) contains terms no less favorable to ICANN than the Continued Operations Instrument and is otherwise in form and substance reasonably acceptable to ICANN. In the event Registry Operator replaces the Continued Operations Instrument either pursuant to paragraph 2 or this paragraph 3, the terms of this Specification 8 shall no longer apply with respect to the original Continuing Operations Instrument, but shall thereafter apply with respect to such Alternative Instrument(s), and such instrument shall thereafter be considered the Continued Operations Instrument for purposes of this Agreement. REGISTRY OPERATOR CODE OF CONDUCT In connection with the operation of the registry for the TLD, Registry Operator will not, and will not allow any parent, subsidiary, Affiliate, subcontractor or other related entity, to the extent such party is engaged in the provision of Registry Services with respect to the TLD (each, a “Registry Related Party”), to: directly or indirectly show any preference or provide any special consideration to any registrar with respect to operational access to registry systems and related registry services, unless comparable opportunities to qualify for such preferences or considerations are made available to all registrars on substantially similar terms and subject to substantially similar conditions; register domain names in its own right, except for names registered through an ICANN accredited registrar; provided, however, that Registry Operator may (a) reserve names from registration pursuant to Section 2.6 of the Agreement and (b) may withhold from registration or allocate to Registry Operator up to one hundred (100) names pursuant to Section 3.2 of Specification 5; register names in the TLD or sub-domains of the TLD based upon proprietary access to information about searches or resolution requests by consumers for domain names not yet registered (commonly known as, “front-running”); or allow any Affiliated registrar to disclose Personal Data about registrants to Registry Operator or any Registry Related Party, except as reasonably necessary for the management and operations of the TLD, unless all unrelated third parties (including other registry operators) are given equivalent access to such user data on substantially similar terms and subject to substantially similar conditions. If Registry Operator or a Registry Related Party also operates as a provider of registrar or registrar-reseller services, Registry Operator will, or will cause such Registry Related Party to, ensure that such services are offered through a legal entity separate from Registry Operator, and maintain separate books of accounts with respect to its registrar or registrar-reseller operations. If Registry Operator or a Registry Related Party also operates as a provider of registrar or registrar-reseller services, Registry Operator will conduct internal reviews at least once per calendar year to ensure compliance with this Code of Conduct. Within twenty (20) calendar days following the end of each calendar year, Registry Operator will provide the results of the internal review, along with a certification executed by an executive officer of Registry Operator certifying as to Registry Operator’s compliance with this Code of Conduct, via email to an address to be provided by ICANN. (ICANN may specify in the future the form and contents of such reports or that the reports be delivered by other reasonable means.) Registry Operator agrees that ICANN may publicly post such results and certification; provided, however, ICANN shall not disclose Confidential Information contained in such results except in accordance with Section 7.15 of the Agreement. Nothing set forth herein shall: (i) limit ICANN from conducting investigations of claims of Registry Operator’s non-compliance with this Code of Conduct; or (ii) provide grounds for Registry Operator to refuse to cooperate with ICANN investigations of claims of Registry Operator’s non-compliance with this Code of Conduct. Nothing set forth herein shall limit the ability of Registry Operator or any Registry Related Party, to enter into arms-length transactions in the ordinary course of business with a registrar or reseller with respect to products and services unrelated in all respects to the TLD. Registry Operator may request an exemption to this Code of Conduct, and such exemption may be granted by ICANN in ICANN’s reasonable discretion, if Registry Operator demonstrates to ICANN’s reasonable satisfaction that (i) all domain name registrations in the TLD are registered to, and maintained by, Registry Operator for the exclusive use of Registry Operator or its Affiliates, (ii) Registry Operator does not sell, distribute or transfer control or use of any registrations in the TLD to any third party that is not an Affiliate of Registry Operator, and (iii) application of this Code of Conduct to the TLD is not necessary to protect the public interest. REGISTRY PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS DNS. Refers to the Domain Name System as specified in RFCs 1034, 1035, and related RFCs. DNSSEC proper resolution. There is a valid DNSSEC chain of trust from the root trust anchor to a particular domain name, e.g., a TLD, a domain name registered under a TLD, etc.
Dispute Resolution Mechanism a. Any dispute regarding the administration of the Institute at the Company or plant level shall be subject to expedited resolution by the Chairs of the Union and Company Negotiating Committees and the Executive Director of ICD who shall apply the policies, rules and regulations of the Governing Board and the provisions of this Section in ruling on any such dispute. Rulings of the Executive Director may be appealed to the Governing Board, but shall become and remain effective unless stayed or reversed by the Governing Board. b. Within sixty (60) days of the Effective Date, the parties will develop an expedited dispute resolution mechanism that resolves disputes within two (2) weeks.
Informal Dispute Resolution (a) Prior to the initiation of formal dispute resolution procedures (i.e., arbitration), the Parties shall first attempt to resolve their dispute at the senior manager level. If that level of dispute resolution is not successful, the Parties shall proceed informally, as follows: (i) Upon the written request of either Party, each Party shall appoint a designated representative who does not otherwise devote substantially full time to performance under this Agreement, whose task it will be to meet for the purpose of endeavoring to resolve such dispute. (ii) The designated representatives shall meet as often as the Parties reasonably deem necessary in order to gather and furnish to the other all information with respect to the matter in issue that the Parties believe to be appropriate and germane in connection with its resolution. The representatives shall discuss the problem and attempt to resolve the dispute without the necessity of any formal proceeding. (iii) During the course of discussion, all reasonable requests made by one Party to another for non-privileged non-confidential information reasonably related to this Agreement shall be honored so that each of the Parties may be fully advised of the other's position. (iv) The specific format for the discussions shall be left to the discretion of the designated representatives. (b) Prior to instituting formal proceedings, the Parties will first have their chief executive officers meet to discuss the dispute. This requirement shall not delay the institution of formal proceedings past any statute of limitations expiration or for more than fifteen (15) days. (c) Subject to Subsection (b), formal proceedings for the resolution of a dispute may not be commenced until the earlier of: (i) The designated representatives concluding in good faith that amicable resolution through continued negotiation of the matter does not appear likely; or (ii) Thirty (30) days after the initial written request to appoint a designated representative pursuant to Subsection (a), above, (this period shall be deemed to run notwithstanding any claim that the process described in this Section 11.2 was not followed or completed). (d) This Section 11.2 shall not be construed to prevent a Party from instituting, and a Party is authorized to institute, formal proceedings earlier to avoid the expiration of any applicable limitations period, or to preserve a superior position with respect to other creditors or as provided in Section 11.6(a).
Dispute Resolution All or any disputes arising out or touching upon or in relation to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, including the interpretation and validity of the terms thereof and the respective rights and obligations of the Parties, shall be settled amicably by mutual discussion, failing which the same shall be settled through the adjudicating officer appointed under the Act.
Formal Dispute Resolution 10.6.1 If the Parties are unable to resolve the dispute through the informal procedure described in Section 10.5, then either Party may invoke the formal Dispute Resolution procedures described in this Section 10.6. Unless agreed among all Parties, formal Dispute Resolution procedures, including arbitration or other procedures as appropriate, may be invoked not earlier than sixty (60) calendar days after receipt of the letter initiating Dispute Resolution under Section 10.3.
