Public Interest Commitment Dispute Resolution Procedure

The Public Interest Commitment Dispute Resolution Procedure (PICDRP), created in relation to the new gTLD program, provides a dispute resolution procedure for registries in violation of the 2013 Registry Agreement's Specification 11 or Public Interest Commitments. This procedure has yet to be tested.

Specification 11 Violations
Specification 11 outlines certain public interest criteria that must be met by all signatories of the 2013 RA. Below are some example violations of Specification 11:
 * Failing to keep reports on how the registry has dealt with security threats as listed in Specification 11: "pharming, phishing, malware, and botnets,"
 * Failing to keep reports on technical analyses run by the registry to identify specified security threats,
 * Using registrars that have not signed the 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement,
 * Failing to include in the registry's registry-registrar agreement (RRA) a clause which prohibits "Registered Name Holders from distributing malware, abusively operating botnets, phishing, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement, [and] fraudulent or deceptive practices,"
 * Failing to create, publish, or follow registration policies, and
 * Seeking to "impose eligibility criteria for registering names...that limit registrations exclusively to a single person or entity" in generic TLDs.

Procedure

 * A PICDRP complaint is submitted to ICANN online; it is then reviewed initially for completeness and to ensure that the reporting party is in good standing with ICANN.
 * ICANN will then submit the report to the offending registry, which will have 30 days to meet with the reporting party to correct the issue.
 * If the registry does not meet with the reporting party, the complaint will go to an ICANN compliance review and standing panel. If the reporter does not meet with the registry, then the PICDRP will be closed, and ICANN will not investigate further.
 * Additionally, if the reporter and registry meet but do not resolve the issue that was reported, then ICANN will be informed and will review the case.
 * If ICANN decides to investigate further, it will appoint a standing panel which will deliver a decision to ICANN that the registry is either compliant or non-compliant with Specification 11 requirements within 15 days.

Policy Rules

 * PICDRP proceedings do not apply to ccTLDs and many other existing gTLDs like .com, .biz, .net, .gov, or .org.
 * A registry or a reporter can be labelled a repeat offender under section 5 of the PICDRP.
 * A reporter who is a repeat offender could be banned from filling future PICDRPs, while a registry that is determined to be repeat offender could face financial sanctions.
 * ICANN will supply the fee for establishing a standing panel if one is deemed necessary.
 * ICANN will appoint a 3 person standing panel.
 * No service providers have been approved or appointed at this time for PICDRP proceedings.

Additional Resources

 * Read the PICDRP
 * Read the 2013 RA, including the Public Interest Commitments under Specification 11
 * Report a Specification 11 Violation

Related Articles

 * Registry Agreement
 * Abuse Prevention Policies
 * Registrar Accreditation Agreement