Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS) Rules
Effective 28 June 2013
These Rules are in effect for all URS proceedings.
URS proceedings shall be governed by these Rules and the Supplemental Rules of theProvider administering the proceedings, as posted on its web site. To the extent that theSupplemental Rules of any Provider conflict with these Rules, these Rules supersede.

1. Definitions
In these Rules:
Business Day: means a working day as defined by the Provider in
its Supplemental Rules.
Calendar Day: means that all days, including weekends andinternational and national holidays, shall be counted in determining
deadlines and due dates. Provider Supplemental Rules may further
define this term.
Complainant: means the party initiating a URS complaint
concerning a domain name registration.
Determination: means a written outcome of a URS proceeding.
Determinations may be made at the point of default, after a response,or after an appeal and may be referred to as Default Determination,
Final Determination, or Appeal Determination.
Examiner: means an individual appointed by a Provider to make a
Determination.
ICANN: refers to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names andNumbers.
Mutual Jurisdiction: means a court jurisdiction at the location ofeither (a) the principal office of the Registrar or (b) the domain-nameholder's address as shown for the registration of the domain name inRegistrar's Whois database at the time the complaint is submitted to
the Provider.
New gTLD: generic top-level domains introduced in the root after 1
January 2013

Provider: means a dispute resolution service provider approved by
ICANN for handling URS cases. A list of such Providers appears at
http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/applicants/urs.
Registry Operator: means the entity responsible for operating the
top level domain in which a disputed domain name is registered.
Registrar: means the entity with which the Respondent hasregistered a domain name that is the subject of a URS complaint.
Registrant: means the holder of a domain name.
Respondent: means the holder of a domain name registration
against which a URS complaint is initiated.
Supplemental Rules means the rules adopted by the Provider
administering a URS proceeding to supplement these Rules.
Supplemental Rules shall not be inconsistent with the URS text orthese Rules and shall cover such topics as fees, word and page limits
and guidelines, file size and format modalities, the means forcommunicating with the Provider and the Examiner, and the form ofcover sheets.
URS Procedure refers to the Uniform Rapid Suspension System
Procedure (currently found at <hyperlink>), which these Rules andthe Provider’s Supplemental Rules enhance and explain.

2. Communications(a) When forwarding a Complaint, including any annexes,
electronically to the Respondent, it shall be the Provider's
responsibility to employ reasonably available means calculated toachieve actual notice to Respondent. Achieving actual notice, or
employing the following measures to do so, shall discharge this
responsibility:(i) sending the Notice of Complaint to all email, postalmail and facsimile addresses shown in the domainname's registration data in the Whois database for theregistered domain-name holder, the technical contact,
and the administrative contact, as well as to any email2addresses for the Respondent provided by theComplainant; and(ii) providing the Complaint, including any annexes, inelectronic form, either via email to the email addresses
mentioned in (i) above, or via an email link to an online
platform requiring users to create an account.
(b) Except as provided in Rule 2(a), any written communication toComplainant or Respondent provided for under these Rules shall bemade electronically via the Internet (a record of its transmission being
available).
(c) Any communication to the Provider or the Examiner shall be madeby the means and in the manner (including, where applicable, thenumber of copies) stated in the Provider's Supplemental Rules.
(d) Communications shall be made in the language prescribed inRule 9.
(e) Either Party may update its contact details by notifying theProvider, the Registry Operator, and the Registrar.
(f) Except as otherwise provided in these Rules, or decided by an
Examiner, all communications provided for under these Rules shallbe deemed to have been made:(i) if via the Internet, on the date that thecommunication was transmitted, provided that the dateof transmission is verifiable; or, where applicable(ii) if delivered by telecopy or facsimile transmission, on
the date shown on the confirmation of transmission; or:(iii) if by postal or courier service, on the date marked
on the receipt.
(g) Except as otherwise provided in these Rules, all time periods
calculated under these Rules to begin when a communication ismade shall begin to run on the earliest date that the communication isdeemed to have been made in accordance with Rule 2(f).
(h) Any communication subsequent to the Notice of Complaint as
defined in Rule 2(a) by
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(i) an Examiner via the Provider to any Party shall be copied by
the Provider to the other Party;(ii) the Provider to any Party shall be copied to the other Party;
and(iii) a Party shall be copied to the other Party, to the Provider andby the Provider to the Examiner, as the case may be.
(i) It shall be the responsibility of the sender to retain records of thefact and circumstances of sending, which shall be available forinspection by affected parties and for reporting purposes. This
includes the Provider in sending Notice of Complaint to the
Respondent by post and/or facsimile under Rule 2(a)(i).
(j) In the event a Party sending a communication receives notificationof non-delivery of the communication, the Party shall promptly notify
the Provider of the circumstances. Further proceedings concerning
the communication and any response shall be as directed by theProvider.

3. The Complaint(a) Any person or entity may initiate a URS proceeding by submittinga Complaint in accordance with the URS Procedure, these Rules andthe approved Supplemental Rules of the Provider administering theproceeding.
(b) The Complaint, including any annexes, shall be submitted using
an electronic form made available by the Provider and shall:(i) Request that the Complaint be submitted for
determination in accordance with the URS Procedure,
these Rules and the Provider’s Supplemental Rules;(ii) Provide the name, contact person, postal and email
addresses, and the telephone and telefax numbers of
the Complainant and of any representative authorized
to act for the Complainant in the URS proceeding;(iii) Provide the name of the Respondent and all otherrelevant contact information from the Whois record aswell as all information known to Complainant regarding4

how to contact Respondent or any representative of
Respondent, including contact information based on
pre-complaint dealings, in sufficient detail to allow theProvider to notify the Respondent of the complaint as
described in Rule 2(a);(iv) Specify the domain name(s) that is/are the subjectof the Complaint. The Complainant shall include a copyof the currently available Whois information and a copy,
if available, of the offending portion of the website
content associated with each domain name that is the
subject of the complaint;(v) Specify the trademark(s) or service mark(s) on
which the complaint is based and the goods or services
with which the mark is used including evidence of use –which can be a declaration and a specimen of current
use in commerce - submitted directly or by including a
relevant SMD (Signed Mark Data) from the Trademark
Clearinghouse;(vi) Identify which URS Procedure elements (URS
1.2.6) the Complainant contends are being violated by
Respondent’s use of the domain name. This will bedone by selecting the elements from URS Procedure
section 1.2.6 that apply from the list provided on theProvider’s Complaint form;(vii) An optional explanatory statement of no more than
500 words in a separate free form text box;
(viii) Identify any other legal proceedings that havebeen commenced or terminated in connection with or
relating to any of the domain name(s) that are thesubject of the Complaint;(ix) State that Complainant will submit, with respect toany challenges to a determination in the URS
proceeding, to the jurisdiction of the courts in at least
one specified Mutual Jurisdiction;

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(x) Conclude with agreement to the following
statement:“Complainant agrees that its claims andremedies concerning the registration of
the domain name, the dispute, or the
dispute's resolution shall be solely
against the domain-name holder andwaives all such claims and remedies
against (a) the Provider and Examiner,
except in the case of deliberate
wrongdoing, (b) the Registrar, (c) the
Registry Operator, and (d) the Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names andNumbers, as well as their directors,
officers, employees, and agents.
Complainant certifies that the information
contained in this Complaint is to the best ofComplainant's knowledge complete andaccurate, that this Complaint is not being
presented for any improper purpose, such as toharass, and that the assertions in this Complaint
are warranted under these Rules and underapplicable law, as it now exists or as it may be
extended by a good-faith and reasonableargument.”;(c) The Complaint may relate to more than one domain name,provided that the domain names are registered by the same domainname holder.
(d) The Complaint shall be accompanied by the filing fee, as set forthin the Provider’s Supplemental Rules. If fees are not paid within one(1) Business Day of filing, as determined at the location of theProvider, the Complaint shall be automatically dismissed.
(e) The Complaint will not be accepted if the Provider’s check of theRepository (see Rule 17) finds the Complainant has exceeded its
quota of Abusive Complaints.
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(f) URS Complaints may only be filed against domain names
registered in a New gTLD.
(g) A URS Complaint may not be filed against a domain name that ispart of an open and active URS or UDRP case.
(h) The Provider’s Supplemental Rules will specify how the
Respondent shall be identified in cases where the domain name isregistered with a privacy/proxy service.

4. Notice of Complaint and Locking of Domain(a) The Provider shall include a copy of the Complaint in its notice to
the Registry Operator.
(b) The Notice of Complaint to the Respondent shall be transmitted
in English and shall be translated by the Provider into thepredominant language used in the registrant’s country or territory, as
determined by the country(ies) listed in the Whois record when the
Complaint is filed.
(c) The electronic copy of the Notice of Complaint may be provided
via email or an emailed link to an online platform requiring users tocreate an account.

5. The Response(a) The Response shall:(i) Provide the name, postal and email addresses, andthe telephone and telefax numbers of the Respondentand of any representative authorized to act for the
Respondent in the URS proceeding;(ii) Respond specifically to each of the grounds uponwhich the Complaint is based and include any defense
which contradicts the Complainant’s claims;(iii) Respondent may request a finding that theComplaint was brought in abuse of the proceedings per
URS Procedure Paragraph(s) 11.2 and/or 11.3;

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(iv) Identify any other legal proceedings that have beencommenced or terminated in connection with or relating
to any of the domain name(s) that are the subject of theComplaint;(v) Conclude with the following statement followed by
the signature (in any electronic format) of the
Respondent or its authorized representative:"Respondent agrees that its claims andremedies concerning the dispute, or the
dispute's resolution, shall be solely
against the Complainant and waives all
such claims and remedies against (a) theProvider and Examiner, except in thecase of deliberate wrongdoing, (b) the
Registrar, (c) the Registry Operator, and(d) the Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers, as well as theirdirectors, officers, employees, andagents.
Respondent certifies that the information
contained in this Response is, to the bestof Respondent's knowledge, complete
and accurate, that this Response is not
being presented for any improper
purpose, such as to harass, and that theassertions in this Response are
warranted under these Rules and underapplicable law, as it now exists or as it
may be extended by a good-faith andreasonable argument."; and(vi) Annex any documentary or other evidence uponwhich the Respondent relies.
(e) At the request of the Respondent, the Provider may, in
exceptional cases, extend the period of time for the filing of the
response. The period may also be extended by written stipulation
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between the Parties, provided the stipulation is approved by theProvider. Requests for an extension of time shall comply with theProvider’s Supplemental Rules.
(f) No affirmative claims for relief by the Respondent will be permitted
except for an allegation that the Complainant has filed an abusive
Complaint.
(g) The Provider’s compliance check for a Response shall at leastconsist of: (1) ascertaining the Response has been filed in alanguage acceptable under the Rules for that case; and (2) checking
for payment of required fees.
(h) The Response must be accompanied by payment of the
Response fee or Reexamination fee, as appropriate in relevantcases. If a required fee is not paid within one (1) Business Day, theResponse will not be considered and the case may proceed as a
Default.
(i) If the Response is determined to be non-compliant for reasons
other than non-payment, the Examiner is permitted to make any
reasonable inferences from the inadequacy of the Response.
(j) If a Respondent does not submit a response, in the absence of
exceptional circumstances, the Complaint shall proceed to a Default
Determination.
(k) The Provider should normally not accept a late Response
submitted after the domain name registration has expired, even if
submitted before the closing date of the late Response window. The
provider may in its Supplemental Rules define justified exceptions
from this rule.

6. Examiner(a) Each Provider shall maintain and publish a publicly available listof Examiners and their qualifications.
(b) An Examiner shall be impartial and independent and shall have,
before accepting appointment, disclosed to the Provider any
circumstances giving rise to justifiable doubt as to the Examiner’s
impartiality or independence. If, at any stage during the URS

9proceeding, new circumstances arise that could give rise to justifiabledoubt as to the impartiality or independence of the Examiner, theExaminer shall promptly disclose such circumstances to the Provider.
In such event, the Provider shall have the discretion to appoint a
substitute Examiner.

7. Communication Between Parties and the Examiner
No Party or anyone acting on its behalf may have any unilateral communication
with the Examiner. All communications between a Party and the Examiner or theProvider shall be made to the Provider in the manner prescribed in the Provider'sSupplemental Rules.

8. General Powers of the Examiner(a) The Examiner shall conduct the URS proceeding in a manner it
considers appropriate in accordance with the URS Procedure andthese Rules.
(b) In all cases, the Examiner shall ensure that the Parties are treatedwith equality to the extent feasible.
(c) The Examiner shall determine the admissibility, relevance,materiality and weight of the evidence.
(d) If one or more domain names are registered with a privacy orproxy service, or the nominal registrant changes after the complaint isfiled, it shall be the sole discretion of the Examiner to determine if the
respondents are sufficiently related and to dismiss the Complaint withrespect to any unrelated domain names. The Examiner may rely on
information submitted by the Complainant and/or the Respondent(s)in making its finding.

9. Language of Proceedings
The URS Procedure Paragraph 4.2 specifies the languages in which
the Notice of Complaint shall be transmitted.
(a) The Complaint shall be submitted in English.
(b) The Response may be provided in English, or in one of thelanguages used for the Notice of Complaint.

10(c) The Examiner appointed shall be fluent in English and in thelanguage of the Response and will determine in which language
to issue its Determination, in its sole discretion.
(d) In the absence of a Response, the language of the Determination
shall be English.
(e) The Provider is not responsible for translating any documents
other than the Notice of Complaint.

10. Further Statements
In order to ensure expedience of the proceeding, the Examiner may not request
further statements or documents from either of the Parties.

11. In-Person Hearings
There shall be no in-person hearings (including hearings by teleconference,
videoconference, and web conference).

12. Default(a) If at the expiration of the 14-day Response period (or extended
period if granted), the Respondent does not submit an answer, theComplaint proceeds to Default. In case of Default, the Provider shallappoint an Examiner to review the Complaint for a prima facie case,including complete and appropriate evidence.
(b) When a case enters Default, the Provider shall notify the Registry
Operator that the Registrant is prohibited from changing content
found on the site and that the Registrant is prohibited from changing
the Whois information. See URS Procedure Paragraph 6.2.
(c) The Examiner shall prepare a written Default Determination(d) If the Examiner finds that the Complainant has made a prima faciecase according to the URS Procedure Paragraph 1.2.6 for any of thedomain names in the Complaint, the Default Determination shall sostate, including any additional written reasoning the Examiner wishes
to append. The Examiner shall order suspension of the domainnames for which a prima facie case has been established.
(e) If the Examiner finds that the Complainant has not made a prima
facie case according to the URS Procedure Paragraph 1.2.6, the11Default Determination shall so state including any additional written
reasoning the Examiner wishes to append. The Provider shalldismiss the Complaint as to the domain names for which a prima
facie case is lacking.
(e) If a Response is filed within six (6) months after a Default
Determination (or within any extension period granted under URS
Procedure Paragraph 6.4), the Provider shall notify the Registry
Operator. The Registry Operator shall modify the nameservers sothat the domain name(s) resolve to the relevant IP address(es) for
the domain name(s) as soon as practical, but remain locked as if the
Response had been filed in a timely manner before Default.
(f) If a Party, in the absence of exceptional circumstances, does notcomply with any provision of, or requirement under, these Rules, the
URS Procedure or the Provider’s Supplemental Rules, the Examiner
shall draw such inferences therefrom as it considers appropriate.

13. Examiner Determination(a) An Examiner shall make a Determination (Default, Final or
Appeal) of a Complaint in accordance with the URS Procedure, theseRules and any rules and principles of law that it deems applicable.
(b) The Examiner's Determination shall be in writing, provide thereasons on which it is based, indicate the date on which it was
rendered and identify the name of the Examiner.
(c) Examiner Determinations shall normally comply with theguidelines as to length set forth in the Provider's Supplemental Rules.
If the Examiner concludes that the dispute is not within the scope of
the URS Provider, it shall so state.
(d) If after considering the submissions the Examiner finds that theComplaint was brought in bad faith or was brought primarily to harassthe domain name holder, the Examiner shall declare in its
Determination that the Complaint was brought in bad faith andconstitutes an abuse of the URS proceeding.

14. Remedies

12(a) The sole remedy available to Complainant pursuant to any URS
proceeding before an Examiner shall be limited to suspension of thedomain name for the balance of the registration period.
(b) If the Complainant wishes to extend the remedy for an additional
year per URS Procedure Paragraph 10.3, Complainant shall contact
the Registry Operator directly regarding this option.

15. Determinations and Publication(a) The Provider shall publish the Determinations and the dates of
implementation on a publicly accessible web site, subject to theconsiderations in Rule 15 (c) and (d) below. See URS Procedure
Paragraphs 9.2 and 9.4. The portion of any Determination that aComplaint was brought in bad faith (see Rule 17) shall be published.
(b) Determinations are subject to change only to correct
typographical and clerical errors and shall not be subject tosubstantive change at the request of any party.
(c) A Final Determination that changes a Default Determination
outcome for the same case, shall replace the Default Determinationon the Provider’s website, unless the Examiner determines both shallbe made available and so states in its Final Determination.
(d) A Final Determination that upholds a Default Determination
outcome for the same case may be published together on theProvider’s website, or the Final Determination may replace theDefault Determination, at the Examiner’s discretion.
(e) The Examiner or Panel has the sole discretion to require the
Appeal Determination to be published either instead of, or together
with, the Default or Final Determination it has overruled or upheld.
(f) Determinations related to the same domain names and/or parties,
but not part of the same case, need not be linked in any way on theProvider’s website.

16. Settlement or Other Grounds for Termination(a) If, before the Examiner’s Determination, the Parties agree on asettlement, the Examiner shall terminate the URS proceeding.

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(b) If, before the Examiner’s Determination is made, it becomes
unnecessary or impossible to continue the URS proceeding for any
reason, the Examiner shall terminate the proceeding, unless a Party
raises justifiable grounds for objection within a period of time to be
determined by the Examiner.

17. Effect of Court Proceedings(a) In the event of any legal proceedings initiated prior to or during a
URS proceeding in respect to the domain-name that is the subject of
the Complaint, the Examiner shall have the discretion to decide
whether to suspend or terminate the URS proceeding, or to proceed
to a Determination.
(b) In the event that a Party initiates any legal proceedings during thependency of a URS proceeding in respect to the domain-name that is
the subject of the Complaint, the Party shall promptly notify the
Examiner and the Provider. See Rule 7 above.

18. Abusive Complaints(a) The Examiner may, of its own accord, find that a Complaint isabusive or contains deliberate material falsehoods.
(b) A Respondent may, in its Response, allege that a Complaint was
brought in an abuse of the URS process or contains deliberatematerial falsehoods.
(c) Any findings by an Examiner as to abusive Complaints ordeliberate materials falsehoods shall be so stated in the
Determination, along with sufficient rationale to justify the finding toany potential Appeal Panel.
(d) Any Provider registering a case of abuse as described in the URS
Procedure Paragraph 11 shall, within one (1) Business Day submit
information of the abuse case to an abuse case database.
(e) The abuse case database shall be electronically accessible to all
Providers.

14(f) Upon receipt of a Complaint, the Provider shall verify theadmissibility of the Complaint against the abuse case database in linewith applicable URS Procedure provisions and dismiss the Complaint
if not admissible.

19. Appeal(a) The Provider is responsible for providing the entire record in theunderlying proceeding to the Appeal Panel.
(b) Appellant shall have a limited right to introduce new admissible
evidence that is material to the Determination subject to payment ofan additional fee, provided the evidence clearly pre-dates the filing of
the Complaint.
(c) Appellee shall not be charged any additional fee and shall havethe right to file a Reply to the Appellant’s additional statements within
the time period identified in the Provider’s Supplemental Rules.
(d) If the Respondent prevailed and the domain name is no longer
under the Registry Operator’s suspension or lock, the Provider shallnotify the Registry Operator to re-lock the domain name subject tothe outcome of the Appeals process, but the domain name shallcontinue to resolve per URS Procedure Paragraph 12.3.
(e) If any domain name that is the subject of an Appeal is expired at
the time of the filing of the Appeal, the Provider shall reject the
Appeal for want of a remedy, unless the Appeal is only filed under
URS Procedure Paragraph 11.8.
(f) The remedies for an Appeal are limited to:(i) Affirmation of the Final Determination and the Remedy
ordered. If the domain name is suspended, it shall remainsuspended. If the domain name is with the Registrant, theRegistry Operator shall promptly unlock the domain namefollowing receipt of the Appeal Determination.
(ii) Overruling of the Final Determination and the Remedy
ordered. If the domain name is suspended, the Registry
Operator shall unlock the name and return full control of thedomain name registration to the Registrant. If the domain

15name is with the Registrant, the Registry Operator shallimmediately follow the steps in URS Procedure Paragraph10.2 to suspend the domain name.
(iii) Overruling an Examiner’s finding that a Complaint was
abusive or contained a deliberate material falsehood. The
Appeal Panel may replace the Final Determination with one
including changes that the Appeal Panel deems appropriate.
(g) The Providers’ Supplemental Rules for URS Appeals, other thanthose stated above, shall apply.

20. Exclusion of Liability
Except in the case of deliberate wrongdoing, neither the Provider nor an Examiner
shall be liable to a Party for any act or omission in connection with any URS
proceeding under these Rules.

21. Amendments
The version of these Rules in effect at the time of the submission of the Complaint
to the Provider shall apply to the URS proceeding commenced thereby. These
Rules may not be amended without the express written approval of ICANN.

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