Denial Review and Dispute Resolution

General

There are no priorities or privileges in name registration in the .travel TLD. All eligible registrants are entitled to registration of any name they select and to which they have a ”basis” for eligibility under .travel policies. The first registration in time is the only source of priority, subject to the application of the formal dispute resolution policies under the Registry Agreement with ICANN.

The parties to a dispute under CEDRP and UDRP pay their own costs. Costs of these procedures are determined by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and not by the .travel TLD, the Registry or the Registry. Disputes handled by the Registry or by TTPC are conducted at no cost to the applicant since these disputes are only in cases of denial of eligibility.

Categories of Disputes

There are four types and categories of disputes each with an appropriate dispute policy:

1. Complaints over denial of eligibility that are handled informally by the Registry alone;

2. Complaints over denial of eligibility that are handled formally by The Travel Partnership Corporation (TTPC);

3. Disputes by any party that a registrant is not eligible for a .travel domain name that are handled under the ICANN Charter Eligibility Dispute Resolution Policy (CEDRP); and

4. Disputes by any party that a registrant is has registered a name that is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the claimant has rights, and that the registrant has no rights or legitimate interests in the domain name, and that the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith, that are handled under ICANN’s Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP).

1 Denial of Eligibility and Informal Resolution

It is the role of the Registry to assist its community to avoid disputes that can become costly and time-consuming. The .travel Registry anticipates that disputes over name eligibility and selection will be minimal within the travel community, therefore it has put in place an informal procedure to assist the travel community in dealing with denials of eligibility in a way that supports community needs and values. The .travel informal denial procedures will not supercede any formal dispute procedures.

When authentication is denied, all applicants will be informed that they have 30 days to request the staff of the Registry to review their application and the reasons for denial. Such request must be made in writing and will carry no cost.
Within 48 hours of such a request for review the Registry will inform the applicant of any documents or supporting material that may be useful in carrying out the review. The applicant is under no obligation to provide additional material but in the event that they refuse such material their review will terminate. In the event that the informal staff review continues it will be completed within 5 business days of the date on which all material has been provided.

If the staff decision is to continue to deny eligibility there are no further review procedures available. A denial of eligibility will be recorded against the applicant’s name and they will not be entitled to register a domain name until their circumstances have changed such that their eligibility is confirmed in the usual manner. Please contact upside down text

2 Denial of Name Registration and TTPC- Review

When an applicant has been denied registration they have 30 days to apply in writing for formal review by a panel of TTPC reviewers. The TTPC review will:
Be held by a panel of 3 members who are selected by TTPC alone.

Review all application documentation including any material reviewed by staff in an informal review but in no case will the panel be limited to such material and they may require further material. In the event that the applicant refuses any material required by the panel the review will end and the name will be denied.

Be completed within 30 days following the date of formal request.

A decision by the panel that the applicant is eligible and authorized will be conveyed to the Registry and the appropriate registrar and the name will be listed in the applicant’s Name List and will be eligible to apply to register the name.

Registration is not guaranteed and continues to be based on the first-come, first-served policy.

A decision by the panel that the applicant is not eligible to register the .travel domain name(s) is final.

In the event that an applicant’s circumstances have changed and it considers itself to be eligible it may request a review of name eligibility prior to making a future application for name registration.

Please submit your denial review appeals to [email protected]

3 Disputes under CEDRP

In cases where any party disputes the eligibility of a registrant to register a .travel name the .travel Registry will not be a party to the dispute or assist in its resolution. Such disputes are expressly covered by ICANN CEDRP and handled by WIPO.

For .travel CEDRP process please log on to http://arbiter.wipo.int/domains/gtld/travel

4 Disputes under UDRP

Action by .travel Registry following CEDRP/UDRP Decisions

.travel Registry will make any changes, transfers or adjustments as have either been agreed to by both parties or ruled upon by formal dispute resolution bodies.

Direction to take such action must be provided to .travel Registry in writing from officers of both organizations in dispute or by the presiding officer of the formal body that has made a binding decision in the dispute.

.travel Registry reserves the right to assess additional fees against the parties in the dispute to cover the cost of lengthy or time-consuming involvement in the dispute.