Administrative
proceedings for the resolution of disputes under
the Dispute Policy is governed by
the E=MC² Rules of Procedure ("Rules')
and also the Supplemental Rules of the Provider
administering the proceedings, as posted on
its Web site.
- Definitions
- Communications
- The Complaint
- Notification
of Complaint
- The Response
- Appointment
of Panel and Timing of Decision
- Impartiality
and Independence
- Communication Between Parties
and the Panel
- Transmission
of the File to the Panel
- General
Powers of the Panel
- Language
of the Proceedings
- Further
Statements
- In Person
Hearings
- Default
- Panel Decisions
- Communication of Decision
to Parties
- Settlement
or Other Grounds for Termination
- Effect
of Court Proceedings
- Fees
- Exclusion
of Liability
- Amendments
1. Definitions
In these Rules:
Complainant means the party initiating a complaint concerning a
Member of the Green Community Platform or a complaint concerning the Company, in regards to the Dispute Policy.
Name shall mean any one of or collectively: a subdomain or a
domain name or a keyword. The Name is a part of the Company's Service(s), consequently Name shall have the same meaning as Service (s).
Mutual Jurisdiction means a court jurisdiction at the location
of either
- the principal office of the Company or
- the address of the Respondent.
Panel means an administrative panel appointed by a Provider to
decide a complaint.
Panelist means an individual appointed by a Provider to be a
member of a Panel.
Party means a Complainant or a Respondent.
Policy means the Dispute Policy that is
incorporated by reference and made a part of the Green Stock Exchange Terms of Service.
Provider means a dispute-resolution service provider listed in the provider list.
Company means the Green Stock Exchange Inc. with which the Respondent has
registered for the Company's Services that is the subject of a complaint.
Agreement means the Green Stock Exchange Terms of Service.
Respondent means the Member
against which a complaint is initiated.
Hijacking means using the Policy in bad
faith to attempt to deprive another Member of a Service.
Rule shall mean this agreement.
Supplemental Rules means the rules adopted by the Provider
administering a proceeding to supplement these Rules.
Supplemental
Rules shall not be inconsistent with the Policy or these Rules and
shall cover such topics as fees, word and page limits and
guidelines, the means for communicating with the Provider and the
Panel, and the form of cover sheets.
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2. Communications
- When forwarding a complaint to the Respondent, it shall be
the Provider's responsibility to employ reasonably available
means calculated to achieve actual notice to Respondent.
Achieving actual notice, or employing the following measures
to do so, shall discharge this responsibility:
- sending the complaint to all postal-registered-mail and facsimile
addresses
- shown in the registration data in
Company's database or alternatively, supplied by the
Company: and
- supplied by Company to the Provider from the registration data in
Company's database ; and
sending the complaint in electronic form (including
annexes to the extent available in that form) by E-mail to:
- all the E-mail addresses of the Respondent;
- any E-mail address shown or E-mail links to the Respondent's Blog Portal and Web pages; and
- sending the complaint to any address the Respondent has
notified the Provider it prefers and, to the extent
practicable, to all other addresses provided to the
Provider by Complainant under Paragraph 3(b)(v).
- Except as provided in Paragraph 2(a), any written
communication to Complainant or Respondent provided for under
these Rules shall be made by the preferred means stated by the
Complainant or Respondent, respectively (see Paragraphs
3(b)(iii) and 5(b)(iii)), or in the absence of such
specification
- by telecopy or facsimile transmission, with a
confirmation of transmission; or
- by postal or courier service, postage pre-paid and
return receipt requested; or
- electronically via the Internet, provided a record of
its transmission is available.
- Any communication to the Provider or the Panel shall be made
by the means and in the manner (including number of copies)
stated in the Provider's Supplemental Rules.
- Communications shall be made in the language prescribed in
Paragraph 11. E-mail communications should, if practicable, be
sent in plain text.
- Either Party may update its contact details by notifying the
Provider and the Company.
- Except as otherwise provided in these Rules, or decided by a
Panel, all communications provided for under these Rules shall
be deemed to have been made:
- if delivered by telecopy or facsimile transmission, on
the date shown on the confirmation of transmission; or
- if by postal or courier service, on the date marked on
the receipt; or
- if via the Internet, on the date that the communication
was transmitted, provided that the date of transmission is
verifiable.
- Except as otherwise provided in these Rules, all time
periods calculated under these Rules to begin when a
communication is made shall begin to run on the earliest date
that the communication is deemed to have been made in
accordance with Paragraph 2(f).
- Any communication by
- a Panel to any Party shall be copied to the Provider and
to the other Party;
- the Provider to any Party shall be copied to the other
Party; and
- a Party shall be copied to the other Party, the Panel
and the Provider, as the case may be.
- It shall be the responsibility of the sender to retain
records of the fact and circumstances of sending, which shall
be available for inspection by affected parties and for
reporting purposes.
- In the event a Party sending a communication receives
notification of non-delivery of the communication, the Party
shall promptly notify the Panel (or, if no Panel is yet
appointed, the Provider) of the circumstances of the
notification. Further proceedings concerning the communication
and any response shall be as directed by the Panel (or the
Provider).
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3. The Complaint
- Any person or entity may initiate an administrative
proceeding by submitting a complaint in accordance with the
Dispute Policy and these Rules to any Provider approved by
the Company.
(Due to capacity constraints or for other reasons, a
Provider's ability to accept complaints may be suspended at
times. In that event, the Provider shall refuse the
submission. The person or entity may submit the complaint to
another Provider.)
- The complaint shall be submitted in hard copy and (except to
the extent not available for annexes) in electronic form and
shall:
- Request that the complaint be submitted for decision in
accordance with the Policy and these Rules;
- Provide the name, postal and E-mail addresses, and the
telephone and telefax numbers of the Complainant and of
any representative authorized to act for the Complainant
in the administrative proceeding;
- Specify a preferred method for communications directed
to the Complainant in the administrative proceeding
(including person to be contacted, medium, and address
information) for each of (A) electronic-only material and
(B) material including hard copy;
- Designate whether Complainant elects to have the dispute
decided by a single-member or a three-member Panel and, in
the event Complainant elects a three-member Panel, provide
the names and contact details of three candidates to serve
as one of the Panelists (these candidates may be drawn
from any of the approved Provider's list of
panelists);
- Provide the name of the Respondent and all information (including any postal and E-mail addresses and telephone and telefax numbers) known to
Complainant regarding how to contact Respondent or any
representative of Respondent, including contact
information based on pre-complaint dealings, in sufficient
detail to allow the Provider to send the complaint as
described in Paragraph 2(a);
- Specify the nature and problem that is/are the subject of
the complaint;
- Identify the specific Service that is subject of the complaint;
- If applicable, specify the trademark(s) or service mark(s) on which the
complaint is based and, for each mark, describe the goods
or services, if any, with which the mark is used;
- Describe, in accordance with the Policy, the grounds on
which the complaint is made including, in particular,
- the manner in which the Respondent is using any of the Service(s) that infringes on the Complainant rights; and
- why the Respondent should be
considered as having no rights or legitimate interests or legitimate rights
or is abusing your rights or is in violation of the Agreement in respect to the Service(s) that is/are the
subject of the complaint; and
- why the Service(s) should be considered as
having been registered and being used in bad faith
(The description should, for elements (2) and (3),
discuss any aspects of Paragraphs 4(b) and 4(c) of the
Policy that are applicable. The description shall
comply with any word or page limit set forth in the
Provider's Supplemental Rules.);
- Specify, in accordance with the Policy, the remedies
sought;
- Identify any other legal proceedings that have been
commenced or terminated in connection with or relating to
any of the Service(s) that are the subject of the
complaint;
- State that a copy of the complaint, together with the
cover sheet as prescribed by the Provider's Supplemental
Rules, has been sent or transmitted to the Respondent , in accordance with Paragraph 2(b);
- State that Complainant will submit, with respect to any
challenges to a decision in the administrative proceeding
canceling or transferring the Service(s), to the
jurisdiction of the courts in at least one specified
Mutual Jurisdiction;
- Conclude with the following statement followed by the
signature of the Complainant or its authorized
representative:
"Complainant agrees that its claims and remedies
concerning the registration of the Service(s), the
dispute, or the dispute's resolution shall be solely
against the Respondent and waives all such claims
and remedies against (a) the dispute-resolution provider
and panelists, except in the case of deliberate
wrongdoing, (b) the Company , as well as their
directors, officers, employees, and agents, except if the Respondent is the Company (c) the Company's affiliates, as well as their
directors, officers, employees, and agents."
"Complainant certifies that the information
contained in this Complaint is to the best of
Complainant's knowledge complete and accurate, that this
Complaint is not being presented for any improper purpose,
such as to harass, and that the assertions in this
Complaint are warranted under these Rules and under
applicable law, as it now exists or as it may be extended
by a good-faith and reasonable argument."; and
- Annex any documentary or other evidence, including a
copy of the Policy applicable to the Service(s) in
dispute and any trademark or service mark registration
upon which the complaint relies, together with a schedule
indexing such evidence.
- The complaint may relate to more than one Service,
provided that the Service(s) under complaint are registered by the same Respondent.
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4. Notification of Complaint
- The Provider shall review the complaint for administrative
compliance with the Policy and these Rules and, if in
compliance, shall forward the complaint (together with the
explanatory cover sheet prescribed by the Provider's
Supplemental Rules) to the Respondent, in the manner
prescribed by Paragraph 2(a), within three (3) calendar days
following receipt of the fees to be paid by the Complainant in
accordance with Paragraph 19.
- If the Provider finds the complaint to be administratively
deficient, it shall promptly notify the Complainant and the
Respondent of the nature of the deficiencies identified. The
Complainant shall have five (5) calendar days within which to
correct any such deficiencies, after which the administrative
proceeding will be deemed withdrawn without prejudice to
submission of a different complaint by Complainant.
- The date of commencement of the administrative proceeding
shall be the date on which the Provider completes its
responsibilities under Paragraph 2(a) in connection with
forwarding the Complaint to the Respondent.
- The Provider shall immediately notify the Complainant, the
Respondent, the concerned Company(s), of the date of commencement of the administrative proceeding.
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5. The Response
- Within twenty (20) days of the date of commencement of the
administrative proceeding the Respondent shall submit a
response to the Provider.
- The response shall be submitted in hard copy and (except to
the extent not available for annexes) in electronic form and
shall:
- Respond specifically to the statements and allegations
contained in the complaint and include any and all bases
for the Respondent to retain
registration and use of the disputed Service (This
portion of the response shall comply with any word or page
limit set forth in the Provider's Supplemental Rules.);
- Provide the name, postal and E-mail addresses, and the
telephone and telefax numbers of the Respondent and of any representative authorized
to act for the Respondent in the administrative
proceeding;
- Specify a preferred method for communications directed
to the Respondent in the administrative proceeding
(including person to be contacted, medium, and address
information) for each of (A) electronic-only material and
(B) material including hard copy;
- If Complainant has elected a single-member panel in the
Complaint (see Paragraph 3(b)(iv)), state whether
Respondent elects instead to have the dispute decided by a
three-member panel;
- If either Complainant or Respondent elects a
three-member Panel, provide the names and contact details
of three candidates to serve as one of the Panelists
(these candidates may be drawn from any of the Company's
approved Provider's list of panelists);
- Identify any other legal proceedings that have been
commenced or terminated in connection with or relating to
any of the Service(s) that are the subject of the
complaint;
- State that a copy of the response has been sent or
transmitted to the Complainant, in accordance with
Paragraph 2(b); and
- Conclude with the following statement followed by the
signature of the Respondent or its authorized
representative:
"Respondent certifies that the information
contained in this Response is to the best of Respondent's
knowledge complete and accurate, that this Response is not
being presented for any improper purpose, such as to
harass, and that the assertions in this Response are
warranted under these Rules and under applicable law, as
it now exists or as it may be extended by a good-faith and
reasonable argument."; and
- Annex any documentary or other evidence upon which the
Respondent relies, together with a schedule indexing such
documents.
- If Complainant has elected to have the dispute decided by a
single-member Panel and Respondent elects a three-member
Panel, Respondent shall be required to pay one-half of the
applicable fee for a three-member Panel as set forth in the
Provider's Supplemental Rules. This payment shall be made
together with the submission of the response to the Provider.
In the event that the required payment is not made, the
dispute shall be decided by a single-member Panel.
- At the request of the Respondent, the Provider may, in
exceptional cases, extend the period of time for the filing of
the response. The period may also be extended by written
stipulation between the Parties, provided the stipulation is
approved by the Provider.
- If a Respondent does not submit a response, in the absence
of exceptional circumstances, the Panel shall decide the
dispute based upon the complaint.
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6. Appointment of the Panel and Timing of
Decision
- Each Provider shall maintain and publish a publicly
available list of panelists and their qualifications.
- If neither the Complainant nor the Respondent has elected a
three-member Panel (Paragraphs 3(b)(iv) and 5(b)(iv)), the
Provider shall appoint, within five (5) calendar days
following receipt of the response by the Provider, or the
lapse of the time period for the submission thereof, a single
Panelist from its list of panelists. The fees for a
single-member Panel shall be paid entirely by the Complainant.
- If either the Complainant or the Respondent elects to have
the dispute decided by a three-member Panel, the Provider
shall appoint three Panelists in accordance with the
procedures identified in Paragraph 6(e). The fees for a
three-member Panel shall be paid in their entirety by the
Complainant, except where the election for a three-member
Panel was made by the Respondent, in which case the applicable
fees shall be shared equally between the Parties.
- Unless it has already elected a three-member Panel, the
Complainant shall submit to the Provider, within five (5)
calendar days of communication of a response in which the
Respondent elects a three-member Panel, the names and contact
details of three candidates to serve as one of the Panelists.
These candidates may be drawn from any of the Company's approved Provider's list of panelists.
- In the event that either the Complainant or the Respondent
elects a three-member Panel, the Provider shall endeavor to
appoint one Panelist from the list of candidates provided by
each of the Complainant and the Respondent. In the event the
Provider is unable within five (5) calendar days to secure the
appointment of a Panelist on its customary terms from either
Party's list of candidates, the Provider shall make that
appointment from its list of panelists. The third Panelist
shall be appointed by the Provider from a list of five
candidates submitted by the Provider to the Parties, the
Provider's selection from among the five being made in a
manner that reasonably balances the preferences of both
Parties, as they may specify to the Provider within five (5)
calendar days of the Provider's submission of the
five-candidate list to the Parties.
- Once the entire Panel is appointed, the Provider shall
notify the Parties of the Panelists appointed and the date by
which, absent exceptional circumstances, the Panel shall
forward its decision on the complaint to the Provider.
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7. Impartiality and Independence A Panelist shall be impartial and independent and shall have,
before accepting appointment, disclosed to the Provider any
circumstances giving rise to justifiable doubt as to the
Panelist's impartiality or independence. If, at any stage during
the administrative proceeding, new circumstances arise that could
give rise to justifiable doubt as to the impartiality or
independence of the Panelist, that Panelist shall promptly
disclose such circumstances to the Provider. In such event, the
Provider shall have the discretion to appoint a substitute
Panelist.
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8. Communication Between Parties and the
Panel No Party or anyone acting on its behalf may have any unilateral
communication with the Panel. All communications between a Party
and the Panel or the Provider shall be made to a case
administrator appointed by the Provider in the manner prescribed
in the Provider's Supplemental Rules.
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9. Transmission of the File to the Panel The Provider shall forward the file to the Panel as soon as the
Panelist is appointed in the case of a Panel consisting of a
single member, or as soon as the last Panelist is appointed in the
case of a three-member Panel.
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10. General Powers of the Panel
- The Panel shall conduct the administrative proceeding in
such manner as it considers appropriate in accordance with the
Policy and these Rules.
- In all cases, the Panel shall ensure that the Parties are
treated with equality and that each Party is given a fair
opportunity to present its case.
- The Panel shall ensure that the administrative proceeding
takes place with due expedition. It may, at the request of a
Party or on its own motion, extend, in exceptional cases, a
period of time fixed by these Rules or by the Panel.
- The Panel shall determine the admissibility, relevance,
materiality and weight of the evidence.
- A Panel shall decide a request by a Party to consolidate
multiple disputes in accordance with the Policy
and these Rules.
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11. Language of Proceedings
- Unless otherwise agreed by the Parties, or specified
otherwise in the Agreement, the language of the
administrative proceeding shall be the language of the
Agreement, subject to the authority of the Panel
to determine otherwise, having regard to the circumstances of
the administrative proceeding. If the Service(s) in dispute is
multilingual or is not in the language of the Registration
Agreement, a written translation and transliteration of the
Service(s)is required, along with a notarized document verifying
the exactness of the translation and transliteration.
- The Panel may order that any documents submitted in
languages other than the language of the administrative
proceeding be accompanied by a translation in whole or in part
into the language of the administrative proceeding. Any
translated documents must be notarized to verify the exactness
of the translation.
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12. Further Statements In addition to the complaint and the response, the Panel may
request, in its sole discretion, further statements or documents
from either of the Parties.
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13. In-Person Hearings There shall be no in-person hearings (including hearings by
teleconference, videoconference, and Web conference), unless the
Panel determines, in its sole discretion and as an exceptional
matter, that such a hearing is necessary for deciding the
complaint.
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14. Default
- In the event that a Party, in the absence of exceptional
circumstances, does not comply with any of the time periods
established by these Rules or the Panel, the Panel shall
proceed to a decision on the complaint.
- If a Party, in the absence of exceptional circumstances,
does not comply with any provision of, or requirement under,
these Rules or any request from the Panel, the Panel shall
draw such inferences therefrom as it considers appropriate.
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15. Panel Decisions
- A Panel shall decide a complaint on the basis of the
statements and documents submitted and in accordance with the
Policy, these Rules and any rules and principles of law that
it deems applicable.
- In the absence of exceptional circumstances, the Panel shall
forward its decision on the complaint to the Provider within
fourteen (14) days of its appointment pursuant to Paragraph 6.
- In the case of a three-member Panel, the Panel's decision
shall be made by a majority.
- The Panel's decision shall be in writing, provide the
reasons on which it is based, indicate the date on which it
was rendered and identify the name(s) of the Panelist(s).
- Panel decisions and dissenting opinions shall normally
comply with the guidelines as to length set forth in the
Provider's Supplemental Rules. Any dissenting opinion shall
accompany the majority decision. If the Panel concludes that
the dispute is not within the scope of Paragraph 4(a) of the
Policy, it shall so state. If after considering the
submissions the Panel finds that the complaint was brought in
bad faith, for example in an attempt at Hijacking or was brought primarily to harass the
Respondent, the Panel shall declare in its decision that the
complaint was brought in bad faith and constitutes an abuse of
the administrative proceeding.
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16. Communication of Decision to Parties
- Within three (3) calendar days after receiving the decision
from the Panel, the Provider shall communicate the full text
of the decision to each Party, and the concerned Company(s). The concerned Company(s) shall immediately
communicate to each Party, and the Provider, the date for the implementation of the decision in accordance
with the Policy.
- Except if the Panel determines otherwise (see Paragraph 4(j)
of the Policy), the Provider shall publish the full decision
and the date of its implementation on a publicly accessible Web
site. In any event, the portion of any decision
determining a complaint to have been brought in bad faith (see
Paragraph 15(e) of these Rules) shall be published.
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17. Settlement or Other Grounds for
Termination
- If, before the Panel's decision, the Parties agree on a
settlement, the Panel shall terminate the administrative
proceeding.
- If, before the Panel's decision is made, it becomes
unnecessary or impossible to continue the administrative
proceeding for any reason, the Panel shall terminate the
administrative proceeding, unless a Party raises justifiable
grounds for objection within a period of time to be determined
by the Panel.
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18. Effect of Court Proceedings
- In the event of any legal proceedings initiated prior to or
during an administrative proceeding in respect of a Service(s) in dispute that is the subject of the complaint, the
Panel shall have the discretion to decide whether to suspend
or terminate the administrative proceeding, or to proceed to a
decision.
- In the event that a Party initiates any legal proceedings
during the pendency of an administrative proceeding in respect
of a Service(s) in dispute that is the subject of the complaint,
it shall promptly notify the Panel and the Provider. See
Paragraph 8 above.
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19. Fees
- The Complainant shall pay to the Provider an upfront fixed
fee, in accordance with the Provider's Supplemental Rules,
within the time and in the amount required. The proceedings
shall not begin unless the Complainant pays to the
Provider the upfront fixed fee, within the time and in the amount
required. A Respondent
electing under Paragraph 5(b)(iv) to have the dispute decided
by a three-member Panel, rather than the single-member Panel
elected by the Complainant, shall pay the Provider one-half
the fixed fee for a three-member Panel before the proceeding. See Paragraph 5(c). In
all other cases, the Complainant shall bear all of the
Provider's fees, except as prescribed under Paragraph 19(d).
Upon appointment of the Panel, the Provider may adjust the the
upfront fixed fee and add any additional fees as deem necessary depending on the complexitiy of the case to the
Complainant, as specified in the Provider's Supplemental
Rules.
- No action shall be taken or the proceeding shall not be
commenced by the Provider on a complaint
until it has received from Complainant the upfront fixed fee and any additional fees depending on the complexity of the case in
accordance with Paragraph 19(a).
- If the Provider has not received the fee within ten (10)
calendar days of receiving the complaint, the complaint shall
be deemed withdrawn and the administrative proceeding
terminated.
- The Provider shall
Parties request for the payment of additional fees, depending on the complexity of the case, which shall be
established in agreement with the Parties and the Panel.
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20. Exclusion of Liability Except in the case of deliberate wrongdoing, neither the
Provider nor a Panelist, nor the Company, as well as their
directors, officers, employees, and agents, shall be liable to a Party for any act or
omission in connection with any administrative proceeding under
these Rules.
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21. Amendments The version of these Rules in effect at the time of the
submission of the complaint to the Provider shall apply to the
administrative proceeding commenced thereby. These Rules may not
be amended without the express written approval of the Company.
Additional information regarding the Dispute Policy & Rules may be found at http://greensx.com/info/disputepolicy.php.
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This is E=MC² Rules of Procedure version 2.0.
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