Petillion successfully represents Namecheap in the IRP arbitration against ICANN

After years of legal filings, multiple lengthy hearings, and months of deliberations, the IRP arbitration panel decided that ICANN had violated its Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation and that ICANN’s decision to remove the price caps in .ORG and .INFO was invalid. The Panel also gave specific recommendations to ICANN about the process they should follow to reconsider removing the price caps, what to consider when deciding whether or not to remove the price caps, and some other structural recommendations to the operations of the ICANN Board and ICANN staff, which ultimately should drive more transparency and accountability.

Going forward, all ultimate decisions relating to this matter must be made at a more informed level by the ICANN Board, and these decisions should be documented and not carried out in secret or purely by ICANN Staff.

Additionally, before it can proceed with removing any caps in the future, ICANN must conduct thorough, diverse, and open research into the effects of doing so. This process must include the participation of a diverse range of stakeholders (including registrars and domain name registrants), and be conducted in a transparent manner. ICANN should also consider hiring an expert consultant to conduct a proper study into the effects of removing existing price caps. If the ICANN board chooses not to consult an expert, it must provide its reasons as to why.

ICANN should also consider revisions to its decision-making process to stop similar issues from occurring in the future.