Handling Inter-Registrar Transfer Disputes

The transfer of a domain name from one Registrar to another is authorized by the Registrant/Admin Contact associated with the domain name through an approval link listed in the email sent by the
Gaining Registrar to the Registrant/Admin Contact email address. The approval may also be provided through offline methods such as fax, etc.

An unauthorized transfer can occur under the following circumstances:

• It is possible that at the Losing Registrar, the domain management account of the domain name owner or email address of the Registrant/Admin Contact got compromised, whereby the alleged hacker was able to login to the account, modify the Registrant and/or Admin Contact details prior to transfer and approve the transfer using the transfer approval mail sent to the Registrant/Admin Contact.

• It may also happen that the hacker got control of the domain name at Registrar A, initially transferred it to Registrar B and then under your Registrar account. Such cases might involve multiple intermediate Registrars.

In order to handle disputes arising out of such Inter-Registrar transfers, ICANN has formulated the Transfer Dispute Resolution Policy (TDRP). Under this Policy, the Losing Registrar may file a TDRP case with a Dispute Resolution Provider designated by ICANN. However, Registrars are advised to resort to a TDRP case only under extreme circumstances, when all attempts to have the dispute resolved amicably between the Registrars involved fail. This is because -

• ICANN encourages Registrars to first try and resolve the dispute among the Registrars involved.

• a TDRP case involves substantial fees.

• it is a time-consuming process involving administrative proceedings.

Based on our experience regarding disputed transfers, we have developed a Transfer Undo process which is simple and easily adoptable by the Registrars and the Losing Registrant involved.

When the Losing Registrar contacts you regarding the transfer of a domain name from their Registrar account to you, then as per the ICANN's Transfer Policy, you need to provide the Losing Registrar details about the Form Of Authorization (FOA) that you had obtained from the Registrant/Admin Contact of the domain name related to the transfer of the domain name under your Registrar Account. See details

It is advised that at this stage, you lock the domain name and disable privacy protection (if enabled) with an appropriate reason.

The Losing Registrar may claim that the Registrant/Admin Contact's email (account) address and /or their customer's domain management account was hacked and that might have led to the transfer of the domain name under your Registrar account. It is important to note that even in such cases, the transfer happened as per the ICANN's Transfer Policy since the Registrant/Admin Contact clicked on the transfer approval link contained in the email sent by you (the Gaining Registrar) to the Registrant/Admin Contact email address as obtained from the Losing Registrar's Whois Server. Hence, in order to return the domain name back to the Losing Registrar with their customer (the Losing Registrant) as the Registrant, it is advised that you obtain an assurance from both Losing Registrar as well as the Losing Registrant about the order of events that took place leading to the transfer away of the said domain name to you. Our Transfer Undo process which may be adopted in such cases is described below.

Transfer Undo Process

1. Provide the Losing Registrar with 2 forms - (Losing) Registrar Transfer Undo Request Form as well as (Losing) Registrant Transfer Undo Request Form.

   The (Losing) Registrant Transfer Undo Request Form requires the Registrant to submit a Notarized Affidavit in a certain format to the Losing Registrant, confirming that he was the Owner of the domain name prior to its transfer to you (the Gaining Registrar) and he did not wish to have the domain name Transferred from the Losing Registrar to you (the Gaining Registrar). The Affidavit needs to be Notarized from a Notary office of the local Court of Law.

2. The Losing Registrant sends these documents (Notarized Affidavit & Identification Proof) to the Losing Registrar for verification.

3. The Losing Registrar in turn completes the (Losing) Registrar Transfer Undo Request Form and forwards the following to you (the Gaining Registrar):

   • Losing Registrant's Notarized Affidavit

   • Losing Registrant's Identification Proof

   • completed (Losing) Registrar Transfer Undo Request Form

4. Once you verify all of the above documents, you would unlock the domain name, move it under your Compliance account and facilitate the transfer away of this name to the Losing Registrant under the Losing Registrar Account.

In case the Losing Registrar is not willing to follow the above Transfer Undo process, you may update them to advise their customer to reclaim the domain name via any of the below mentioned means:

• If the Losing Registrar's customer has a Service Mark like a Trademark registered for the domain name, then their customer may file a Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) case for the same with an ICANN-approved
  UDRP Service Provider.

  Additional Information

  ICANN's Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy

• In the absence of a Service Mark, the Losing Registrar's customer can complain to their City/State's Police Cyber Crime Department and provide them the required details, so that they initiate their investigations. The Police would then assist the customer in filing a case and bringing the matter for hearing in the Local Judicial Court. Once a judgment is delivered, the Losing Registrar's customer need to provide you a copy of the same so that you can abide by it.

The Transfer Undo Request Form Documents can also be used to re-gain domain names that have been transferred away from your Registrar Account, if the Gaining Registrar is willing to adopt the above Transfer undo process.