[council] ICANN Issues Advisory Regarding the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy

[GNSO.SECRETARIAT@GNSO.ICANN.ORG]

[To: council[at]gnso.icann.org; liaison6c[at]gnso.icann.org]
[To: ga[at]gnso.icann.org; announce[at]gnso.icann.org]
[To: regional-liaisons[at]icann.org]

ICANN
Issues Advisory Regarding the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy

Advisory available at
http://www.icann.org/announcements/advisory-03apr08.htm

Due to perceived confusion within the registrar community concerning the 
circumstances under which registrars may validly deny transfer requests 
pursuant to the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy, on 19 September 2007, 
ICANN issued a Notice of Intent to Issue Advisory Regarding the 
Inter-Registrar Transfer
(Notice) http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-19sep07.htm.

As part of this Notice, ICANN published a Proposed Advisory Regarding 
the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy (Proposed Advisory). The purpose of 
the Proposed Advisory was to solicit comments regarding whether it was
necessary to publish an advisory to assist ICANN-accredited registrars 
in understanding their obligations under the Inter-Registrar Transfer 
Policy.

The community was informed that comments would be accepted for 30 days
regarding the Proposed Advisory. ICANN received 16 comments, of which 14
were supportive of ICANN issuing the Proposed Advisory, one comment 
opposed the issuance of the Proposed Advisory and one comment was deemed 
neutral as it did not indicate support or opposition. After considering 
the comments received and other information provided by registrars 
regarding the Proposed Advisory, ICANN determined that sufficient 
confusion exists to warrant the issuance of an advisory to assist 
registrars in understanding that under the Transfer Policy:

1. Registrars are prohibited from denying
a domain name transfer request based on non-payment of fees for pending 
or future registration periods during the Auto-Renew Grace Period; and

2. A registrant change to Whois information is not a valid basis for 
denying a transfer request.

The Advisory is identical to the Proposed Advisory issued on 19 
September 2007, except the term "registration period after expiration" 
was replaced with "Auto-Renew Grace Period" wherever it appeared in the 
Proposed Advisory.

Developed through ICANN?s consensus policy process, the Transfer Policy
was approved unanimously by ICANN?s Generic Names Supporting Organization
(GNSO) and its Board of Directors. After consultation with several
interested parties, the Transfer Policy was adopted in 2004. The 
Transfer Policy provides domain name holders with a standardized process 
for transferring their domain names from one ICANN-accredited registrar 
to another upon request. All ICANN-accredited registrars and unsponsored 
gTLD registry operators are required to comply with the Transfer Policy 
pursuant to their agreements with ICANN. The purpose of the Advisory is 
to provide clarity and promote consistent handling of transfer requests.

-- 
Glen de Saint Géry
GNSO Secretariat - ICANN
gnso.secretariat[at]gnso.icann.org
http://gnso.icann.org