Afnic, the registry for the .fr extension, has just announced the opening of a new mediation service as of July 3, 2023. This initiative aims to facilitate the management of disputes concerning .fr and overseas domain names. The mediation procedure offers rights holders and registrants an amicable solution to resolve their disputes, and follows a public consultation launched last February on that topic.
Afnic currently offers two alternative out-of-court dispute resolution procedures (Syreli and PARL Expert), which are widely used by rightsholders and have seen a steady increase in the number of requests since 2012.
With a view to facilitating the resolution of disputes where both parties are able to reach an amicable agreement, Afnic is therefore rolling out a free mediation procedure, which it will officially make available to all individuals and legal entities on July 3. This procedure can only be initiated on a voluntary basis and prior to the opening of a PARL-EXPERT procedure, and is aimed at rights owners and holders who consider themselves to be in a communication impasse, or even in dispute with the other party concerning a domain name registered under one of the following extensions: .fr, .pm, .re, .tf, .wf, .yt.
This new mediation service aims to achieve three main objectives:
- Resolve disputes quickly and confidentially: Once initiated, the mediation procedure offers the parties involved a period of 7 working days to reach a negotiated solution. This approach enables disputes to be resolved quickly, while preserving the confidentiality of the parties involved.
- Offer a free resolution solution: Unlike the Syreli and PARL Expert procedures, mediation is entirely free of charge. This makes it a more cost-effective option for rightsholders and domain name holders.
- Limit publication of decisions : Decisions resulting from PARL procedures will henceforth be reserved for cases where the parties fail to reach an agreement. This will reduce the number of cases made public, thus preserving the confidentiality of disputes resolved by mediation.
In the vast majority of SYRELI and PARL-EXPERT procedures, however, the domain name holder does not respond to the Complaint. The consent of the parties within 7 days being necessary for this mediation procedure, the absence of a response can therefore be a major obstacle to the effectiveness of this procedure.
There is no doubt that this mediation procedure will be widely used. What remains to be seen is its practical impact on trademark owners.
