Registrar Accreditation Agreement
The Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) was one of several agreements between ICANN, the United States Department of Commerce (DOC), and Network Solutions, with the intent of enhancing and solidifying the competition between .com, .net, and .org TLD registrars. These agreements were tentatively announced on September 28, 1999, and, after oral and written public comments, were revised and then adopted by ICANN on November 4, 1999.
The RAA is, simply stated, the contract that governs the relationship between ICANN and its accredited registrars. At the time, registrars were allowed to take up the new agreement in place of their old agreement.[1]
On May 21, 2009, ICANN approved revisions to the RAA, which were intended to clarify the responsibilities of the registrars and the rights of the registrants. These revisions came about in response to market development and the significant growth in the number of accredited registrars and domain name registrations, as per the suggestion of a comprehensive review of the RAA and the Accreditation process called for in March 2007 by then-ICANN CEO Paul Twomey. This new RAA applies to all the new registrars, registrars that voluntarily adopt the contract prior the renewal date and to registrars that renew after the approval date.[2]
Contents of RAA
General Obligations of ICANN:
ICANN, under the RAA, is obliged to carry out its functions in an open manner and is to promote intensive competition between registrars. It should also not apply standards, procedures, or policies to single out registrars for disparate treatment unless it has a reasonable cause.
General Obligations of the Registrars:
Registrars are obliged to comply with all related ICANN-adopted policies. The Registrars are also obliged not to restrain competition.[3]
References