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September 14, 2009

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From October 1 SIDN (the .nl registry) will mediate costless in quarrels over .nl names. This so-called mediation attempts to resolve a dispute without the intervention of a judge. The current procedure is that SIDN hires outside specialists in the field of domain names and registered trademarks and let them try to settle a quarrel. ‘ By becoming a mediatior ourselves, we want to make the process more accessible,’  says Maarten Simon, head lawyer for SIDN. ‘This procedure allows both parties to save money, time and publicity.’

A mediation occurs when the 2 parties can not agree on a .nl domain and 1 of both parties files a complaint at SIDN. SIDN will try to mediate in this dispute. If such mediation can not be completed successfully, the .nl registry themselves foot the bill, otherwise the costs of a mediation are contained in the solution.

‘We have based ourselves on the model currently used in the UK,’ says Roelof Meijer, CEO of SIDN. ‘The registry itself acts as a mediator in disputes over domain names. We note that more than half of the fights over domain names are resolved by such mediation, and we are therefore convinced that a mediation in many cases will provide a solution for .nl domain name holders.’