ICANN orders bulk transfer of domain names from 4 de-accreditated registrars to Astutium Limited

ICANN has authorized the bulk transfer of gTLD domain names from three registrars: C I Host, Inc., Central Registrar, Inc. DBA Domainmonger.com, Power Brand Center Corp. to Astutium Limited due to compliance actions taken by ICANN that resulted in the de-accreditation of registrars C I Host, Central Registrar and Power Brand Center.

ICANN has also authorized the bulk transfer of gTLD names from Dotted Ventures, Inc. to Astutium due to the termination of its Registrar Accreditation Agreement.

The affected gTLD registries have processed the bulk transfers. Former registrant-customers of C I Host, Central Registrar, Power Brand Center, and Dotted Ventures should receive notices from Astutium advising of the transfer. Customer questions about the transfer should be directed to Astutium, using the contact details provided below. Additional information about these bulk transfers is provided below.

Click on the links below to see past articles about the de-accreditations:

• ICANN terminates “C I Host, Inc.” registrar accreditation because it has no website, no office and doesn’t pay accreditation fees
• ICANN Terminates 3 Registrar Accreditations: Domainmonger.com, DomainsToBeSeen.com and LimeDomains.com.
• ICANN terminates “Power Brand Center Corp.” registrar accreditation after failing to pay accreditation fees
• ICANN sends notice of breach to 3 registrars: Basic Fusion, Inc., A. Telecom S.A., Dotted Ventures, Inc.

FAQs

Q. Why were these transfers authorized by ICANN?

A. The registrar accreditation agreements (RAAs) of C I Host, Central Registrar, and Power Brand Center were terminated for failure by the registrars to comply with their respective RAAs. C I Host’s RAA terminated on 1 March 2013 and the termination notice is posted at http://www.icann.org/en/news/correspondence/serad-to-bullock-01mar13-en.pdf [PDF, 176 KB]. Central Registrar’s RAA terminated on 13 March 2013 and the termination notice is posted at http://www.icann.org/en/news/correspondence/serad-to-linford-11feb13-en.pdf [PDF, 272 KB]. Power Brand Center’s RAA terminated on 1 April 2013 and the termination notice is posted at http://www.icann.org/en/news/correspondence/serad-to-castro-28feb13-en.pdf [PDF, 264 KB].

Dotted Ventures’ RAA was voluntarily terminated by Dotted Ventures on 27 March 2013.

As a result, these registrars are no longer permitted to register or manage gTLD registrations.  ICANN authorized bulk transfers pursuant to the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy to ensure that the registrant-customers of these registrars would not be harmed by their registrars’ discontinued ability to manage the registrations.

Q. How was the gaining registrar selected?

A. ICANN followed its De-Accredited Registrar Transition Procedure (see http://www.icann.org/en/processes/registrars/de-accredited-registrar-transition-procedure-01oct08.pdf [PDF, 119 KB]) to identify a gaining registrar for the gTLD names formerly managed by the de-accredited registrars. Through this competitive process, Astutium was selected.

Q. Will Astutium attempt to contact the affected registrants? What should customers of the de-accredited registrars do now?

A. Former customers of these registrars should receive a notice of the transfer and instructions for continued management of their names from Astutium. Affected customers who do not receive notices from Astutium should contact Astutium by submitting a “support ticket” at https://www.astutium.com/submitticket.php or by using the contact information provided at http://www.internic.net/registrars/registrar-1471.html.

Q. Do registrants have to pay a fee for the bulk transfer?

A. No, there is no cost to registrants for the bulk transfer. Unlike a normal inter-registrar transfer, the registration terms will not be extended by a year. Accordingly, it is important to contact Astutium if your registration will expire soon in order to maintain your registration.

Q. Why do former C I Host, Central Registrar, Power Brand Center, and Dotted Ventures customers need to contact Astutium?

A. None of the de-accredited registrars participated in the bulk transfers and therefore did not forward billing information to Astutium. Accordingly, all registrants must provide updated billing information or transfer their names to other registrars.

Q. What if affected registrants want to select a different registrar?

A. Registrants will continue to be able to transfer their registrations to other registrars under the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy (see http://www.icann.org/en/transfers/). Note that Astutium may deny transfers for the first 60 days following the bulk transfer, at its discretion. This 60-day period is permissible under the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy and is intended to help protect registrants. The registrant may need to renew names that will expire during the first 60 days following the transfer to Astutium by using the details provided above.

Q. How will C I Host, Central Registrar, Power Brand Center, and Dotted Ventures customers know if a message purportedly from Astutium is legitimate?

A. The message from Astutium should direct you to its website hosted at http://www.astutium.com/ or refer you to other contact information provided above. For general advice about avoiding phishing email messages, you may also wish to refer to the materials prepared by the Anti-Phishing Working Group (see http://www.antiphishing.org/resources/overview/avoid-phishing-scams).