Amendment of Schedules Each party hereto agrees that, with respect to the representations and warranties of such party contained in this Agreement, such party shall have the continuing obligation until 24 hours prior to the anticipated effectiveness of the Registration Statement to supplement or amend promptly the Schedules hereto with respect to any matter hereafter arising or discovered which, if existing or known at the date of this Agreement, would have been required to be set forth or described in the Schedules, provided however, that supplements and amendments to Schedules 5.10, 5.11, 5.14 and 5.15 shall only have to be delivered at the Closing Date, unless such Schedule is to be amended to reflect an event occurring other than in the ordinary course of business. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, no amendment or supplement to a Schedule prepared by the Company that constitutes or reflects an event or occurrence that would have a Material Adverse Effect may be made unless TCI and a majority of the Founding Companies other than the Company consent to such amendment or supplement; and provided further, that no amendment or supplement to a Schedule prepared by TCI or Newco that constitutes or reflects an event or occurrence that would have a Material Adverse Effect may be made unless a majority of the Founding Companies consent to such amendment or supplement. For all purposes of this Agreement, including without limitation for purposes of determining whether the conditions set forth in Sections 8.1 and 9.1 have been fulfilled, the Schedules hereto shall be deemed to be the Schedules as amended or supplemented pursuant to this Section 7.8. In the event that one of the Other Founding Companies seeks to amend or supplement a Schedule pursuant to Section 7.8 of one of the Other Agreements, and such amendment or supplement constitutes or reflects an event or occurrence that would have a Material Adverse Effect on such Other Founding Company, TCI shall give the Company notice promptly after it has knowledge thereof. If TCI and a majority of the Founding Companies (other than the Founding Company seeking to amend or supplement a Schedule) consent to such amendment or supplement, which consent shall have been deemed given by TCI or any Founding Company if no response is received within 24 hours following receipt of notice of such amendment or supplement (or sooner if required by the circumstances under which such consent is requested), but the Company does not give its consent, the Company may terminate this Agreement pursuant to Section 12.1(iv) hereof. In the event that the Company seeks to amend or supplement a Schedule pursuant to this Section 7.8, and TCI and a majority of the Other Founding Companies do not consent to such amendment or supplement, this Agreement shall be deemed terminated by mutual consent as set forth in Section 12.1(i) hereof. In the event that TCI or Newco seeks to amend or supplement a Schedule pursuant to this Section 7.8 and a majority of the Founding Companies do not consent to such amendment or supplement, this Agreement shall be deemed terminated by mutual consent as set forth in Section 12.1(i) hereof. No party to this Agreement shall be liable to any other party if this Agreement shall be terminated pursuant to the provisions of this Section 7.8. No amendment of or supplement to a Schedule shall be made later than 24 hours prior to the anticipated effectiveness of the Registration Statement.
6Amendments and Waivers (a) If the ICANN Board of Directors determines that an amendment to this Agreement (including to the Specifications referred to herein) and all other registry agreements between ICANN and the Applicable Registry Operators (the “Applicable Registry Agreements”) is desirable (each, a “Special Amendment”), ICANN may adopt a Special Amendment pursuant to the requirements of and process set forth in this Section 7.6; provided that a Special Amendment may not be a Restricted Amendment.
(b) Prior to submitting a Special Amendment for Registry Operator Approval, ICANN shall first consult in good faith with the Working Group regarding the form and substance of such Special Amendment. The duration of such consultation shall be reasonably determined by ICANN based on the substance of the Special Amendment. Following such consultation, ICANN may propose the adoption of a Special Amendment by publicly posting such amendment on its website for no less than thirty (30) calendar days (the “Posting Period”) and providing notice of such proposed amendment to the Applicable Registry Operators in accordance with Section 7.9. ICANN will consider the public comments submitted on a Special Amendment during the Posting Period (including comments submitted by the Applicable Registry Operators).
(c) If, within one hundred eighty (180) calendar days following the expiration of the Posting Period (the “Approval Period”), the ICANN Board of Directors approves a Special Amendment (which may be in a form different than submitted for public comment, but must address the subject matter of the Special Amendment posted for public comment, as modified to reflect and/or address input from the Working Group and public comments), ICANN shall provide notice of, and submit, such Special Amendment for approval or disapproval by the Applicable Registry Operators. If, during the sixty (60) calendar day period following the date ICANN provides such notice to the Applicable Registry Operators, such Special Amendment receives Registry Operator Approval, such Special Amendment shall be deemed approved (an “Approved Amendment”) by the Applicable Registry Operators, and shall be effective and deemed an amendment to this Agreement on the date that is sixty (60) calendar days following the date ICANN provided notice of the approval of such Approved Amendment to Registry Operator (the “Amendment Effective Date”). In the event that a Special Amendment does not receive Registry Operator Approval, the Special Amendment shall be deemed not approved by the Applicable Registry Operators (a “Rejected Amendment”). A Rejected Amendment will have no effect on the terms and conditions of this Agreement, except as set forth below.
(d) If the ICANN Board of Directors reasonably determines that a Rejected Amendment falls within the subject matter categories set forth in Section 1.2 of Specification 1, the ICANN Board of Directors may adopt a resolution (the date such resolution is adopted is referred to herein as the “Resolution Adoption Date”) requesting an Issue Report (as such term is defined in ICANN’s Bylaws) by the Generic Names Supporting Organization (the “GNSO”) regarding the substance of such Rejected Amendment. The policy development process undertaken by the GNSO pursuant to such requested Issue Report is referred to herein as a “PDP.” If such PDP results in a Final Report supported by a GNSO Supermajority (as defined in ICANN’s Bylaws) that either (i) recommends adoption of the Rejected Amendment as Consensus Policy or (ii) recommends against adoption of the Rejected Amendment as Consensus Policy, and, in the case of (i) above, the Board adopts such Consensus Policy, Registry Operator shall comply with its obligations pursuant to Section 2.2 of this Agreement. In either case, ICANN will abandon the Rejected Amendment and it will have no effect on the terms and conditions of this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 7.6(d), the ICANN Board of Directors shall not be required to initiate a PDP with respect to a Rejected Amendment if, at any time in the twelve (12) month period preceding the submission of such Rejected Amendment for Registry Operator Approval pursuant to Section 7.6(c), the subject matter of such Rejected Amendment was the subject of a concluded or otherwise abandoned or terminated PDP that did not result in a GNSO Supermajority recommendation.
(e) If (a) a Rejected Amendment does not fall within the subject matter categories set forth in Section 1.2 of Specification 1, (b) the subject matter of a Rejected Amendment was, at any time in the twelve (12) month period preceding the submission of such Rejected Amendment for Registry Operator Approval pursuant to Section 7.6(c), the subject of a concluded or otherwise abandoned or terminated PDP that did not result in a GNSO Supermajority recommendation, or (c) a PDP does not result in a Final Report supported by a GNSO Supermajority that either (A) recommends adoption of the Rejected Amendment as Consensus Policy or (B) recommends against adoption of the Rejected Amendment as Consensus Policy (or such PDP has otherwise been abandoned or terminated for any reason), then, in any such case, such Rejected Amendment may still be adopted and become effective in the manner described below. In order for the Rejected Amendment to be adopted, the following requirements must be satisfied:
(i) the subject matter of the Rejected Amendment must be within the scope of ICANN’s mission and consistent with a balanced application of its core values (as described in ICANN’s Bylaws);
(ii) the Rejected Amendment must be justified by a Substantial and Compelling Reason in the Public Interest, must be likely to promote such interest, taking into account competing public and private interests that are likely to be affected by the Rejected Amendment, and must be narrowly tailored and no broader than reasonably necessary to address such Substantial and Compelling Reason in the Public Interest;
(iii) to the extent the Rejected Amendment prohibits or requires conduct or activities, imposes material costs on the Applicable Registry Operators, and/or materially reduces public access to domain name services, the Rejected Amendment must be the least restrictive means reasonably available to address the Substantial and Compelling Reason in the Public Interest;
(iv) the ICANN Board of Directors must submit the Rejected Amendment, along with a written explanation of the reasoning related to its determination that the Rejected Amendment meets the requirements set out in subclauses (i) through (iii) above, for public comment for a period of no less than thirty (30) calendar days; and
(v) following such public comment period, the ICANN Board of Directors must (a) engage in consultation (or direct ICANN management to engage in consultation) with the Working Group, subject matter experts, members of the GNSO, relevant advisory committees and other interested stakeholders with respect to such Rejected Amendment for a period of no less than sixty (60) calendar days; and (b) following such consultation, reapprove the Rejected Amendment (which may be in a form different than submitted for Registry Operator Approval, but must address the subject matter of the Rejected Amendment, as modified to reflect and/or address input from the Working Group and public comments) by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the members of the ICANN Board of Directors eligible to vote on such matter, taking into account any ICANN policy affecting such eligibility, including ICANN’s Conflict of Interest Policy (a “Board Amendment”). Such Board Amendment shall, subject to Section 7.6(f), be deemed an Approved Amendment, and shall be effective and deemed an amendment to this Agreement on the date that is sixty (60) calendar days following the date ICANN provided notice of the approval of such Board Amendment to Registry Operator (which effective date shall be deemed the Amendment Effective Date hereunder). Notwithstanding the foregoing, a Board Amendment may not amend the registry fees charged by ICANN hereunder, or amend this Section 7.6.
(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 7.6(e), a Board Amendment shall not be deemed an Approved Amendment if, during the thirty (30) calendar day period following the approval by the ICANN Board of Directors of the Board Amendment, the Working Group, on the behalf of the Applicable Registry Operators, submits to the ICANN Board of Directors an alternative to the Board Amendment (an “Alternative Amendment”) that meets the following requirements:
(i) sets forth the precise text proposed by the Working Group to amend this Agreement in lieu of the Board Amendment;
(ii) addresses the Substantial and Compelling Reason in the Public Interest identified by the ICANN Board of Directors as the justification for the Board Amendment; and
(iii) compared to the Board Amendment is: (a) more narrowly tailored to address such Substantial and Compelling Reason in the Public Interest, and (b) to the extent the Alternative Amendment prohibits or requires conduct or activities, imposes material costs on Affected Registry Operators, or materially reduces access to domain name services, is a less restrictive means to address the Substantial and Compelling Reason in the Public Interest. Any proposed amendment that does not meet the requirements of subclauses (i) through (iii) in the immediately preceding sentence shall not be considered an Alternative Amendment hereunder and therefore shall not supersede or delay the effectiveness of the Board Amendment. If, following the submission of the Alternative Amendment to the ICANN Board of Directors, the Alternative Amendment receives Registry Operator Approval, the Alternative Amendment shall supersede the Board Amendment and shall be deemed an Approved Amendment hereunder (and shall be effective and deemed an amendment to this Agreement on the date that is sixty (60) calendar days following the date ICANN provided notice of the approval of such Alternative Amendment to Registry Operator, which effective date shall deemed the Amendment Effective Date hereunder), unless, within a period of sixty (60) calendar days following the date that the Working Group notifies the ICANN Board of Directors of Registry Operator Approval of such Alternative Amendment (during which time ICANN shall engage with the Working Group with respect to the Alternative Amendment), the ICANN Board of Directors by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the members of the ICANN Board of Directors eligible to vote on such matter, taking into account any ICANN policy affecting such eligibility, including ICANN’s Conflict of Interest Policy, rejects the Alternative Amendment. If (A) the Alternative Amendment does not receive Registry Operator Approval within thirty (30) calendar days of submission of such Alternative Amendment to the Applicable Registry Operators (and the Working Group shall notify ICANN of the date of such submission), or (B) the ICANN Board of Directors rejects the Alternative Amendment by such two-thirds vote, the Board Amendment (and not the Alternative Amendment) shall be effective and deemed an amendment to this Agreement on the date that is sixty (60) calendar days following the date ICANN provided notice to Registry Operator (which effective date shall deemed the Amendment Effective Date hereunder). If the ICANN Board of Directors rejects an Alternative Amendment, the board shall publish a written rationale setting forth its analysis of the criteria set forth in Sections 7.6(f)(i) through 7.6(f)(iii). The ability of the ICANN Board of Directors to reject an Alternative Amendment hereunder does not relieve the Board of the obligation to ensure that any Board Amendment meets the criteria set forth in Section 7.6(e)(i) through 7.6(e)(v).
(g) In the event that Registry Operator believes an Approved Amendment does not meet the substantive requirements set out in this Section 7.6 or has been adopted in contravention of any of the procedural provisions of this Section 7.6, Registry Operator may challenge the adoption of such Special Amendment pursuant to the dispute resolution provisions set forth in Article 5, except that such arbitration shall be conducted by a three-person arbitration panel. Any such challenge must be brought within sixty (60) calendar days following the date ICANN provided notice to Registry Operator of the Approved Amendment, and ICANN may consolidate all challenges brought by registry operators (including Registry Operator) into a single proceeding. The Approved Amendment will be deemed not to have amended this Agreement during the pendency of the dispute resolution process.
(h) Registry Operator may apply in writing to ICANN for an exemption from the Approved Amendment (each such request submitted by Registry Operator hereunder, an “Exemption Request”) during the thirty (30) calendar day period following the date ICANN provided notice to Registry Operator of such Approved Amendment. Each Exemption Request will set forth the basis for such request and provide detailed support for an exemption from the Approved Amendment. An Exemption Request may also include a detailed description and support for any alternatives to, or a variation of, the Approved Amendment proposed by such Registry Operator. An Exemption Request may only be granted upon a clear and convincing showing by Registry Operator that compliance with the Approved Amendment conflicts with applicable laws or would have a material adverse effect on the long-term financial condition or results of operations of Registry Operator. No Exemption Request will be granted if ICANN determines, in its reasonable discretion, that granting such Exemption Request would be materially harmful to registrants or result in the denial of a direct benefit to registrants. Within ninety (90) calendar days of ICANN’s receipt of an Exemption Request, ICANN shall either approve (which approval may be conditioned or consist of alternatives to or a variation of the Approved Amendment) or deny the Exemption Request in writing, during which time the Approved Amendment will not amend this Agreement. If the Exemption Request is approved by ICANN, the Approved Amendment will not amend this Agreement; provided, that any conditions, alternatives or variations of the Approved Amendment required by ICANN shall be effective and, to the extent applicable, will amend this Agreement as of the Amendment Effective Date. If such Exemption Request is denied by ICANN, the Approved Amendment will amend this Agreement as of the Amendment Effective Date (or, if such date has passed, such Approved Amendment shall be deemed effective immediately on the date of such denial), provided that Registry Operator may, within thirty (30) calendar days following receipt of ICANN’s determination, appeal ICANN’s decision to deny the Exemption Request pursuant to the dispute resolution procedures set forth in Article 5. The Approved Amendment will be deemed not to have amended this Agreement during the pendency of the dispute resolution process. For avoidance of doubt, only Exemption Requests submitted by Registry Operator that are approved by ICANN pursuant to this Section 7.6(j), agreed to by ICANN following mediation pursuant to Section 5.1 or through an arbitration decision pursuant to Section 5.2 shall exempt Registry Operator from any Approved Amendment, and no Exemption Request granted to any other Applicable Registry Operator (whether by ICANN or through arbitration) shall have any effect under this Agreement or exempt Registry Operator from any Approved Amendment.
(i) Except as set forth in this Section 7.6, Section 7.7 and as otherwise set forth in this Agreement and the Specifications hereto, no amendment, supplement or modification of this Agreement or any provision hereof shall be binding unless executed in writing by both parties, and nothing in this Section 7.6 or Section 7.7 shall restrict ICANN and Registry Operator from entering into bilateral amendments and modifications to this Agreement negotiated solely between the two parties. No waiver of any provision of this Agreement shall be binding unless evidenced by a writing signed by the party waiving compliance with such provision. No waiver of any of