Italian Registration Authority

Domain name reassignment procedure

Version 1.3 (Text version)

1. Starting the procedure.

Any individual person or corporate body holding the requirements to register a domain name under ccTLD "it" may file an administrative procedure c/o any selected procedure administrator authorised by the President of the Naming Authority. If the procedure administrator cannot, due to inability or any other reason, review the claim submitted, he will inform the claimant, who can then file the claim with any other procedure administrator.

2. Communications.

The procedure administrator shall take all the measures required to reasonably ensure that the disputed domain name holder becomes aware of the contents of a claim. The procedure administrator shall be considered to have taken the measures above and the domain holder to have been informed of the claim when:

• a) There is evidence that the defendant has been actually informed of the claim; or:
• b) The administrator
  1. has sent the claimant's claim to all the postal addresses and fax numbers (A) shown in the registration data kept in the Assigned Names Register (RNA) of the Registration Authority or (B) supplied by the Registration Authority to the procedure administrator; and
  2. has sent the claim in electronic format (including any annex available in such format) by electronic mail:
  • (A) to the e-mail addresses related to the administrative contact;
  • (B) to the address: "postmaster@" followed by the disputed domain name; and
  • (C), if the domain name is related to an active web page (which the administrator considers to be other than the general pages used for the temporary use of domain names), also to all the e-mail addresses available or specified as links in the same web page.

Notwithstanding the above, any written communication to the parties shall be made by the means specified by the claimant in the claim and by the defendant in the rebutter, respectively. Failing such specification, the communications shall be made:

• a) by fax, with receipt of transmission, or
• b) by mail or courier, with delivery note, or
• c) by e-mail, provided evidence of transmission is available.

Any communication to the procedure administrator or to the board shall be made in the ways and by the means specified in the enforcement provisions, as drawn up by each procedure administrator. Such communications shall be drawn up in the language set forth by art. 11. Any e-mail communication shall be possibly sent in Text format.

Each party has the duty to promptly inform the procedure administrator and the Registration Authority of any change to the party's address. Otherwise, any communication shall be considered as actually made to the address that had been previously reported.

Unless otherwise provided by these regulations or decided by the board, any communication shall be considered as correctly made:

• a) when transmitted by fax, on the date specified in the receipt of transmission;
• b) when transmitted by mail or courier, on the date specified on the delivery note;
• c) when transmitted by e-mail, on the date of transmission of the message, provided it can be ascertained.

Unless otherwise provided by these regulations, any period starting from the forwarding of a communication shall start as from the earliest date on which a communication is considered as having been correctly made. Any communication concerning the procedure shall be forwarded to the administrator, which will in turn forward it to the board and to the parties concerned.

The sender shall be responsible for preserving evidence that a communication has been sent. The party concerned may request such evidence to be shown.

If the communicating party receives notice that the communication has not been delivered, it shall promptly inform the board thereof.

3. Contents of claim

The administrative procedure shall start as soon as the claim is forwarded by the claimant to the selected procedure administrator.

The claim may concern more domain names, provided they have been registered by the same holder.

The claim shall be forwarded to the procedure administrator in two copies both on paper and electronic format (except any annex that cannot be reproduced) and shall:

1) Expressly request that the claim undergo an administrative procedure;

2) Show name, postal and electronic addresses, telephone and fax numbers of the claimant or any person authorised to act on the claimant's behalf in the administrative procedure;

3) Specify the preferred communication method to be used in the administrative procedure (including contact people, method to be used and addresses) both for (A) exclusively electronic material and (B) material with paper copy;

4) Specify if the claimant requests the appointment of a board of three arbitrators or one single arbitrator to settle the controversy, and, in case a board of three arbitrators is selected, specify the names of three candidates among whom a member of the board shall be selected (the candidates' names must belong to the list available at the selected procedure administrator);

5) Specify the disputed domain name (or domain names);

6) Specify the name of the registered holder of the domain name which he intends to dispute;

7) Specify the distinguishing mark, name and surname or trademark involved in the claim and, for each distinguishing mark or trademark, describe the goods or services, if any, marked with the same distinguishing mark or trademark (the claimant may also separately describe the goods or services which he intends to mark in the future with the above distinguishing mark or trademark);

8) Specify the reasons for the claim, including, in particular:

• a) the reasons why the domain name (or domain names) are the same as or may be confused with a distinguishing mark, name or trademark on which the claimant claims exclusive rights;
• b) the reasons why the defendant, who is the registered holder of the disputed domain name, has no right or legal interests in the disputed domain name; and
• c) the grounds leading to the conclusion that the domain name has been registered and is used in bad faith;

9) Specify any other pending or settled legal procedure of which he is aware, concerning the disputed domain name;

10) Report, at the end, the following statement signed by the claimant or the claimant's proxy:

"The claimant states that his claims and the measures requested concerning the domain name registration, this controversy and the settlement of the controversy, are exclusively addressed to the domain name holder and expressly waivers any claim against

(a) the administrator of the administrative procedure and the people who shall be appointed as members of the board of arbitrators, except in the event of alleged fraudolent behaviour,

(b) the Registration Authority Italiana and

(c) the Naming Authority Italiana, including their managers, employees and delegates.

The claimant states and ensures that, to the best of his knowledge, the information contained in this claim is complete and truthful, that the claim is not filed for illicit reasons."

11) Enclose any document or other evidence supporting the claim, including, if applicable, evidence of registration of the Distinguishing Mark or trademark involved in the claim. The annexes shall also be provided with an index of annexes.

12) Enclose a copy of the letter of dispute, as described in art. 14.1 of the Naming Rules and a copy of the Reception Confirmation

4. Communication of claim to the defendant

The procedure administrator shall review the claim for formal correctness based on these regulations and, once such formal correctness has been ascertained, shall forward the claim (together with the explanatory memorandum, if provided by his own enforcement provisions) to the defendant, by the means prescribed by art. 2, sub-section I, within four (4) days from date of reception of payment of the expenses to be borne by the claimant under art. 19.

If the procedure administrator should find any formal fault or irregularity in the claim, he shall immediately inform the claimant thereof, specifying the fault found in the claim. The claimant shall then have six (6) days to correct the faults found. Past such term, if the claimant has not corrected the formal faults found, the procedure shall be dismissed, without prejudice to the claimant's right to file a new procedure.

The administrative procedure shall be considered as started as soon as the disputed domain name holder is informed of the claim, as per art. 2, sub-section I.

The administrator of the procedure shall immediately inform the claimant, the defendant, the Registration Authority Italiana and the President of the Naming Authority Italiana that the procedure has been started, stating explicitly the names of the invoved parties, and the challenged domain name where the procedure apply.

The information must be sent in "text/plain".

5. Defendant's rebuttal

Within 25 (twenty-five) days from the starting date of the procedure, the defendant may forward his rebuttal to the procedure administrator. The rebuttal shall be forwarded in two copies both on paper and electronic format (except any annex which cannot be reproduced) and shall:

1) Contain a specific reply to any statement and allegation contained in the claim and include all reasons why the defendant (the registered domain name holder) believes that he can keep the registration and use the disputed domain name;

2) Specify the name, postal and E-mail addresses, telephone and fax numbers of the defendant (the registered domain name holder) and of any person authorised to act on the defendant's behalf in the administrative procedure;

3) Specify the preferred communication method to be used in the administrative procedure (including contact people, means and address), concerning both (A) exclusively electronic material and (B) material with paper copy;

4) In case the claimant has requested the controversy to be settled by a board of three arbitrators, provide the names of three candidates, among whom one member of the board shall be selected (the candidates' names must belong in the list of arbitrators available at the selected procedure administrator);

5) Specify any other pending or settled procedure of which he is aware, concerning the disputed domain name;

6) Report, at the end, the following statement signed by the defendant or the defendant's proxy: "The undersigned states and ensures that, to the best of his knowledge, the information contained in this rebuttal is complete and truthful."

7) Enclose any document or other evidence which the defendant intends to submit to the Board of Arbitrators, provided with an index.

Under exceptional circumstances, on the defendant's request, the procedure administrator may extend the term for the presentation of the rebuttal. If the extension of the term is agreed in writing by the claimant and defendant, the administrator has a duty to grant such extension.

If the defendant fails to forward any rebuttal, the board of arbitrators shall settle the controversy based on the claim alone, barring exceptional circumstances.

6. Appointment of the board of arbitrators

Each procedure administrator shall keep and make publicly available on the Internet a list of the credited arbitrators' names and qualifications.

If the claimant does not request the appointment of a board of three arbitrators, the procedure administrator shall appoint a single-member board, composed of one single arbitrator elected from the list of credited arbitrators within 5 (five) days from reception of the rebuttal. The claimant shall bear any cost incurred in relation to the single-member board.

If the claimant requests that the controversy be settled by a three-member board of arbitrators, the administrator shall appoint three arbitrators as specified in the following sub-section of this article. The claimant shall bear any cost incurred in relation to the three-member board.

If the claimant has opted for a three-member board of arbitrators, the procedure administrator shall appoint one arbitrator per party, one chosen from the names specified by the claimant, the other chosen from the names specified by the defendant. If the administrator, according to his own criteria for the selection of the arbitrators and within 5 days, is unable to appoint the two members of the board through the above criteria, the administrator may appoint the board by electing two arbitrators from his own list. In any case, the third arbitrator shall be selected by the administrator from a list of five candidates submitted by the administrator to the two parties, and the administrator shall select the members out of the five candidates by reasonably trying to comply with the preferences of each party, which the parties may specify within 5 days from the reception of the above list.

The board shall be considered as formed when the procedure administrator receives the acceptance of appointment from the single arbitrator, in the case of a single-member board, or from the third arbitrator, in the case of a three-member board. Once the board has been established, the procedure administrator shall inform the parties of the designated arbitrators' names and the date within which the board shall settle the claim, barring exceptional circumstances.

7. Impartiality and independence

8. Communications between the parties and the board of arbitrators

9. Transmission of the case to the board of arbitrators

10. Powers of the board of arbitrators

The board of arbitrators shall establish the methods for the execution of the procedure, consistently with the naming rules and these regulations. In any case, the board of arbitrators shall ensure that both claimant and defendant are treated impartially and equal right of defence is ensured to each of them.

The board of arbitrators ensures that the procedure is executed at the proper speed. Under exceptional circumstances, the board of arbitrators may, on the request of either party or ex-officio, extend the term prescribed. The terms specified shall be considered as peremptory, unless expressly stated otherwise. Failure to comply with the peremptory terms shall result in forfeiture.

The board of arbitrators shall determine the eligibility, relevance, pertinence of evidence and shall evaluate it freely.

The board of arbitrators may arrange, on the request of either party, the settlement of more domain name controversies at the same time.

11. Language of the procedure

The administrative procedure shall be carried out in Italian. The board of arbitrators may decide, after considering the specific circumstances of each procedure and upon either party's request, to carry it out in a different language.

The board of arbitrators may order that any document produced in a language other than Italian be accompanied by a full or partial translation into the language of the procedure.

12. Further details

In addition to the claim and rebuttal, the board of arbitrators may, at their discretion, ask either party to provide further details and documents.

If the board of arbitrators allows the parties additional time to provide further documentaion or information, the term for the decision is thirty days since the board of arbitrators is formed.

13. Personal interrogation

No personal interrogation (not even by teleconference, videoconference or web conference) shall be performed, unless the board of arbitrators decide, at their own discretion and under exceptional circumstances, that such interrogation is necessary to settle the claim.

In this case, the board of arbitrators shall take the appropriate measures required to regulate the methods to be applied in carrying out the interrogation session established.

14. Forfeiture

In case either party fails to comply with any term provided by these regulations or established by the board of arbitrators, it shall lose the right to carry out the related action, and the board of arbitrators, barring exceptional circumstances, shall settle the claim.

If either party fails to fulfil any task provided by these regulations or requested by the board of arbitrators, the board of arbitrators may draw from such behaviour the conclusions that they deem most appropriate.

15. Settlement

The board of arbitrators shall settle the claim based on the parties' statements and the documents submitted, and, in any case, in compliance with the naming rules, these regulations and the Italian law principles.

Barring exceptional circumstances, the board of arbitrators shall communicate their decision on the claim to the administrator within 15 days from its establishment, as per art. 6, last sub-section, or 30 days as per art. 6, second sub-section.

In the case of a three-member board of arbitrators, the settlement shall be made by majority vote.

The decision of the board of arbitrators shall be in writing, justified, and bear the publication date and the arbitrators' name (or names).

If the board of arbitrators believes the controversy does not fall within their jurisdiction, as established by the naming rules, they shall expressly state so in their decision. If, at the outcome of the preliminary investigation, the board of arbitrators becomes convinced that the claim has been filed in bad faith, for instance to discredit the domain name holder, they shall specify in their decision that the claim has been filed in bad faith and that it constitutes an abuse (reverse domain name hijacking).

16. Communication of decision to the parties

Within four days from reception of the decision from the board of arbitrators, the administrator shall communicate on the same day the full text of the decision to the claimant, to the defendant, to the Registration Authority and to the President of the Naming Authority.

In case the board of arbitrators deliberates the transfer of the disputed domain name, the Registration Authority shall immediately inform the claimant, the defendant, the administrator and the President of the Naming Authority of the date on which they intend to enforce the decision.

Unless otherwise determined by the board of arbitrators, the procedure administrator shall publish the full text of the decision and the date of its enforcement in a publicly accessible web site. In any case, the part of the decision stating that the claim has been filed in bad faith, as per art. 15, last sub-section, shall always be published.

17. Composition and other reasons for cancellation

If the parties reach an agreement before the board of arbitrators issue their decision, the board of arbitrators shall cancel the procedure.

If any circumstance should occur to make it useless or impossible to continue the procedure before the board of arbitrators issue their decision, the board of arbitrators shall cancel the procedure, unless either party raises valid objections for continuation within the term established by the board of arbitrators.

18. Lawsuit pendency

19. Costs

The claimant shall pay the procedure administrator a fixed initial consideration, the amount of which shall set forth by each procedure administrator, within the terms and in the amount required. In any case, the claimant shall be responsible for all procedure administrator's costs, without prejudice to the provisions laid down by sub-section V of this article.

The administrator shall receive the amounts paid by the claimant in any case, even in the event of a cancellation or suspension of the procedure, unless the board of arbitrators deems it opportune, under exceptional circumstances, to have them partly returned to the claimant.

No administrative procedure can be started by the procedure administrator before the claimant has paid the initial costs, as per sub-section I of this article.

If the procedure administrator has not received the payment within 10 (ten) days from reception of the claim, the claim shall be considered as dismissed and the procedure shall be considered as cancelled, without prejudice to the claimant's right to file it again.

Under exceptional circumstances, for instance in case of personal interrogation, the administrator may ask the parties to pay additional costs, as shall be agreed between the parties and the board of arbitrators.

20. Administrators' and arbitrators' responsibilities

21. Rules of procedure

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