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1. Purpose
a. This Singapore Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy
(the "Policy") has been adopted by the Singapore Network
Information Centre (SGNIC) Private Limited ("SGNIC") as the
registration authority for the Singapore country code top
level domain ("Singapore ccTLD").
b. The Policy is incorporated by reference into the Domain
Name Registration Agreement between SGNIC and the registrant
or domain name holder of a ".sg" Internet domain name (the
"Registrant"), and sets out the terms and conditions
governing how a dispute between the Registrant and any party
other than SGNIC over the registration and use of the
Registrant's ".sg" Internet domain name are to be resolved.
c. Any party who wishes to rely on this Policy, or who
participates in an administrative proceeding under
Paragraph 4 of this Policy, must abide by
the terms of this Policy.
d. Administrative proceedings under Paragraph 4
of this Policy will be conducted according to the Rules for
the Singapore Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the
"Rules of Procedure") and the Supplemental Rules for the
Singapore Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the
"Supplemental Rules") issued jointly by the Singapore
Mediation Centre ("SMC") and the Singapore International
Arbitration Centre ("SIAC") as the joint operators of the
secretariat established to provide the administrative
dispute resolution service under this Policy.
2. The Registrant's Representations
By applying to register a domain name, or by asking
SGNIC to maintain or renew a domain name registration, the
Registrant represents and warrants to SGNIC that:
a. the statements that the Registrant made in the
Registrant's Application Form for Registration of Domain
Name are complete and accurate;
b. to the Registrant's knowledge, the registration of the
domain name will not infringe upon or otherwise violate the
rights of any third party;
c. the Registrant is not registering the domain name for an
unlawful purpose; and
d. the Registrant will not knowingly use the domain name in
violation of any applicable laws or regulations.
It is the Registrant's responsibility to determine whether
the Registrant's domain name registration infringes or
violates someone else's rights.
3. Cancellations, Transfers and Changes
a. SGNIC will cancel, transfer or otherwise make changes
to domain name registrations under the following
circumstances: (i) subject to the provisions of
Paragraph 8, SGNIC's receipt of written
or appropriate electronic instructions from the
Registrant or the Registrant's authorized agent to take
such action; (ii) SGNIC's receipt of
an order from a court in Singapore requiring such
action: and / or (iii) SGNIC's receipt
of a decision of an Administrative Panel requiring
such action in any administrative proceeding to which
the Registrant was a party and which was conducted under
this Policy or a later version of this Policy adopted by
SGNIC. (See Paragraphs 4(i) and
(k) below.) b. SGNIC may also cancel, transfer or
otherwise make changes to a domain name registration in
accordance with the terms of the Registrant's Domain Name
Registration Agreement or other legal requirements.
4. Mandatory Administrative Proceeding
This Paragraph sets out the type of disputes for which
the Registrant is required to submit to a mandatory
administrative proceeding. These proceedings will be
conducted before an Administrative Panel appointed by the
secretariat established and operated by the SMC and the SIAC
to provide the administrative dispute resolution service
under this Policy (the "Provider"). a.
Applicable Disputes. The Registrant is required to submit to
a mandatory administrative proceeding in the event that a
third party (a "Complainant") asserts to the Provider, in
compliance with the Rules of Procedure, that: (i) the Registrant's domain name is
identical or confusingly similar to a name, trademark or
service mark in which the Complainant has rights;
(ii) the Registrant has no rights
or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name;
and (iii) the Registrant's domain name
has been registered or is being used in bad faith. In the administrative proceeding, the
Complainant must prove that each of these three elements is
present. If the Complainant proves that each of these three
elements is present, the Complainant shall be entitled to
the remedies set out in Paragraph 4(i).
b. Evidence of Registration and use in Bad Faith. For the
purposes of Paragraph 4(a)(iii), the following
circumstances, in particular but without limitation, if
found by the Administrative Panel to be present, shall be
evidence of the registration and use of a domain name in bad
faith: (i) circumstances indicating that the
Registrant has registered or acquired the domain name
primarily for the purpose of selling, renting, or
otherwise transferring the domain name registration to
the Complainant, who bears the name or is the owner of
the trademark or service mark, or to a competitor of
that Complainant, for valuable consideration in excess
of the Registrant's documented out-of-pocket costs
directly related to the domain name; (ii) the Registrant has registered the domain name in
order to prevent the owner of the trademark or service
mark from reflecting the mark in a corresponding domain
name, provided that the Registrant has engaged in a
pattern of such conduct; (iii) the
Registrant has registered the domain name primarily for
the purpose of disrupting the business of a competitor;
or (iv) by using the domain name, the
Registrant has intentionally attempted to attract, for
commercial gain, Internet users to the Registrant's
website or other on-line location, by creating a
likelihood of confusion with the Complainant's name or
mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or
endorsement of the Registrant's website or location or
of a product or service on the Registrant's website or
location. c. How to Demonstrate the Registrant's
Rights to and Legitimate Interests in the Domain Name in
Responding to a Complaint. When the Registrant receives a
complaint, the Registrant should refer to
Paragraph 5 of the Rules of Procedure in determining how
the Registrant's response should be prepared. Any of the
following circumstances, in particular but without
limitation, if found by the Administrative Panel to be
proved based on its evaluation of all evidence presented,
shall demonstrate the Registrant's rights to or legitimate
interests in the domain name for the purposes of
Paragraph 4(a)(ii): (i) before any notice to the
Registrant of the dispute, the Registrant's use of, or
demonstrable preparations to use, the domain name or a
name corresponding to the domain name in connection with
a bona fide offering of goods or services; (ii) the Registrant (as an individual, business, or
other organization) has been commonly known by the
domain name, even if the Registrant has acquired no
trademark or service mark rights; or (iii) the Registrant is making a legitimate
non-commercial or fair use of the domain name, without
intent for commercial gain to misleadingly divert
consumers or to tarnish the trademark or service mark at
issue. d. Initiation of Administrative
Proceeding and Process and Appointment of Administrative
Panel. The Rules of Procedure state the process for
initiating and conducting an administrative proceeding and
for appointing the panel that will decide the dispute (the
"Administrative Panel"). e. Choice of
Procedure. The Complainant and the Registrant will be
invited to consider whether they wish to have the dispute
mediated by the Administrative Panel before the
Administrative Panel is called upon to decide the dispute. (i) If both the Complainant and the
Registrant agree to have the dispute mediated by the
Administrative Panel before the Administrative Panel is
called upon to decide the dispute, the Administrative
Panel will facilitate discussions between the parties to
help them resolve the dispute amicably. (ii) If either the Complainant or the Registrant does
not wish to have the dispute mediated by the
Administrative Panel, the dispute will not be mediated
and the Administrative Panel will decide the dispute.
(iii) If the parties agree on a
settlement, whether as a result of mediation by the
Administrative Panel or otherwise, and the parties
consent to having the terms of the settlement reflected
in a decision of the Administrative Panel, the
Administrative Panel shall render a decision that is
consistent with the terms of the settlement and state
that the decision is made pursuant to a settlement
between the parties. If the parties agree on a
settlement, whether as a result of mediation by the
Administrative Panel or otherwise, but any party does
not consent to having the terms of the settlement
reflected in a decision of the Administrative Panel, the
Administrative Panel (or, if the Administrative Panel
has not been appointed yet, the Provider) shall
terminate the administrative proceeding, such
termination to be without prejudice to the initiation of
another administrative proceeding in respect of the same
matter. (iv) If the parties fail to
reach an agreement after mediation by the Administrative
Panel, and the parties do not agree that the dispute may
be decided by the Administrative Panel that mediated the
dispute, the Administrative Panel shall terminate the
administrative proceeding, such termination to be
without prejudice to the initiation of another
administrative proceeding by the Complainant in respect
of the same matter, with a request that the Provider
appoint a different Administrative Panel to decide the
dispute. If the parties fail to reach an agreement after
mediation by the Administrative Panel, but the parties
agree that the dispute may be decided by the
Administrative Panel that mediated the dispute, the
Administrative Panel shall proceed to decide the
dispute. f. Consolidation. In the event of
multiple disputes between the Registrant and a Complainant,
either the Registrant or the Complainant may apply to
consolidate the disputes before a single Administrative
Panel. This application shall be made to the Provider before
the Provider appoints different Administrative Panels to
hear different pending disputes between the parties. The
Provider may consolidate any of all such disputes in its
sole discretion, provided that the disputes being
consolidated are governed by this Policy or a later version
of this Policy. g. Fees. All fees charged
by the Provider in connection with any dispute before an
Administrative Panel pursuant to this Policy shall be paid
by the Complainant, except in cases where the Registrant
elects to expand the Administrative Panel from one to three
panellists as provided in
Paragraph 5(b)(iv)
of the Rules of
Procedure, in which case all fees will be split evenly by
the Registrant and the Complainant. h.
SGNIC's Involvement in Administrative Proceedings. SGNIC
does not, and will not, participate in the administration or
conduct of any proceeding before an Administrative Panel. In
addition, SGNIC will not be liable as a result of any
decisions rendered by an Administrative Panel.
i. Remedies. The remedies available to a
Complainant pursuant to any proceeding before an
Administrative Panel shall be limited to requiring the
cancellation of the Registrant's domain name or the transfer
of the Registrant's domain name registration to the
Complainant. j. Notification and
Publication. The Provider shall notify SGNIC of any decision
made by an Administrative Panel with respect to a domain
name that the Registrant has registered with SGNIC. All
decisions under this Policy will be published in full over
the Internet, except when an Administrative Panel decides in
an exceptional case to edit portions of its decision.
k. Availability of Court Proceedings. The
mandatory administrative proceeding requirements set forth
in Paragraph 4 shall not prevent either the
Registrant or the Complainant from submitting the dispute to
a Singapore court for independent resolution. However, the
Registrant and the Complainant shall not commence any court
proceedings in respect of the Registrant's domain name while
an administrative proceeding is pending in respect of that
domain name. If an Administrative Panel decides that that
the Registrant's domain name registration should be
cancelled or transferred, SGNIC will wait ten (10) working
days ("working day" means any day other than a Saturday,
Sunday or public holiday) after SGNIC is informed by the
Provider of the Administrative Panel's decision before
implementing that decision. SGNIC will then implement the
decision unless SGNIC has received from the Registrant
during that ten (10) working day period a sealed copy of a
writ of summons or an originating summons showing that the
Registrant has commenced a lawsuit against the Complainant
in Singapore in respect of the domain name. If SGNIC
receives such documentation within the ten (10) working day
period, SGNIC will not implement the Administrative Panel's
decision, and SGNIC will take no further action, until SGNIC
receives: (i) evidence satisfactory to SGNIC of
a resolution between the parties; (ii)
evidence satisfactory to SGNIC that the Registrant's
lawsuit has been dismissed or withdrawn; or (iii) a copy of an order from a Singapore court
dismissing the Registrant's lawsuit or ordering that the
Registrant does not have the right to continue to use
the domain name. l. Nature of Administrative Proceeding.
For avoidance of doubt: (i) an administrative proceeding is
not an arbitration but an alternative dispute resolution
mechanism for resolving disputes over the registration
and use of ".sg" Internet domain names; (ii) the submission of a dispute to an administrative
proceeding does not constitute a submission of the
dispute to arbitration; and (iii) the
Policy, the Rules of Procedure and the Supplemental
Rules do not constitute an arbitration agreement or
procedural rules for arbitration. 5. All Other Disputes
and Litigation
All other disputes between the Registrant and any party
other that SGNIC regarding the Registrant's domain name
registration that are not bought pursuant to the mandatory
administrative proceeding provisions of
Paragraph 4 shall be resolved between the Registrant and
such other party through any court, arbitration or other
proceedings that may be available. 6.
SGNIC's Involvement in Disputes
SGNIC will not participate in any way in any dispute
between the Registrant and any party other that SGNIC
regarding the registration and use of the Registrant's
domain name. The Registrant shall not name SGNIC as a party
or otherwise include SGNIC in any such proceeding. In the
event that SGNIC is named as a party in any such proceeding,
SGNIC reserves the right to raise any and all defences
deemed appropriate, and to take any other action necessary
to defend itself. 7. Maintaining the
Status Quo
SGNIC will not cancel, transfer, activate, deactivate,
or otherwise change the status of any domain name
registration under this Policy except as provided in
Paragraph 3 above.
8. Transfers During a Dispute
The Registrant shall not transfer a domain name
registration to another holder: (i) during a pending administrative
proceeding brought pursuant to Paragraph 4
or for a period of fifteen (15) working days ("working
day" means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or
public holiday) after such proceeding is concluded; or (ii) during a pending court proceeding or arbitration
commenced regarding the domain name, unless the party to
whom the domain name registration is being transferred
agrees, in writing, to be bound by the decision of the
court or arbitration.
SGNIC reserves the right to cancel any
transfer of a domain name registration to another holder
that is made in violation of this paragraph.
9. Policy Modifications
SGNIC reserves the right to modify this Policy at any
time. SGNIC will post its revised Policy at
http://www.nic.net.sg/
at least thirty (30) calendar days before it becomes
effective. Unless this Policy has already been invoked by
the submission of a complaint to the Provider, in which
event the version of this Policy in effect at the time it
was invoked will apply to the Registrant until the dispute
is over, all such changes will be binding upon the
Registrant with respect to any domain name registration
dispute, whether the dispute arose before, on or after
the effective date of SGNIC's change. In the event that the
Registrant objects to a change in this Policy, the
Registrant's sole remedy is to cancel the Registrant's
domain name registration with SGNIC, provided that the
Registrant will not be entitled to a refund of any fees that
the Registrant has paid to SGNIC. The revised Policy will
apply to the Registrant until the Registrant cancels the
Registrant's domain name registration.
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