.xxx deadline looms

Companies in the adult entertainment sector will get their chance to register .xxx Web sites for the first time this year.

However, big businesses only have until 28 October to protect their brands from being associated with the porn industry.

In March, the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) gave in after a decade-long battle and approved the .xxx domain name for Web sites carrying adult content.

The company behind the .xxx top level domain names, ICM Registry, has been overwhelmed with almost 900 000 expressions of interest from companies wanting to register porn sites.

In response, it extended the so-called “sunrise B” period, which allows firms to protect their intellectual property from being associated with the porn sector.

“The response from adult Web masters has been very exciting and we have received a lot of interest in names that aren't adult properties in the .com space, but will create exciting new opportunities plus direct and search traffic in .xxx,” says spokesman Greg Dumas.

Sunrise B follows “sunrise A”, which allowed members of the community with verifiable trademarks, or exact matching domains with other top-level extensions such as .com, to get the first bite of the cake.

The second phase, sunrise B, was created to allow companies to pre-emptively block their brands.

This sunrise period runs between 7 September and 28 October, giving companies that do not want to be associated with the adult entertainment sector the opportunity to pre-emptively block their names.

Companies that do not pre-emptively block their brand name run the potential risk of having it registered as a .xxx site, and associated with the adult entertainment business. In such cases, companies will have to follow the dispute resolution process to have the site registered in their name.

To block a name, firms will have to reportedly pay between $200 and $300, which protects their brand for a decade. However, the pre-emptive protection is only available to companies that can prove they own a registered trademark.

ICM Registry CEO Stuart Lawley said recently: “The sunrise period offers businesses a comprehensive rights protection mechanism where they can protect their brands and trademarks.”

He noted there is an “audience” that would like to take advantage of the opportunity to protect their intellectual property and opt-out before the .xxx domains go live.

Sunrise B closes on 28 October and, on 8 November, a “land rush” period will open and allow companies in the adult entertainment sector to register sites.

General availability of .xxx domains will open on 7 December and will allow registrations on a first come, first served basis.

However, concerns have been raised that .xxx names are open to abuse and anyone can register a current brand name with a .xxx extension.

“Given the high level of interest in the domain, we see that many businesses wish to be proactive in avoiding any brand conflicts,” says Lawley.

Lance Michalson, a partner with Michalsons Attorneys, says any brand is susceptible to being registered as a .xxx domain, from Anglo American to Vodacom. He says the connotation is that the company is in some way linked to pornography.

Ant Brooks, Internet Service Providers' Association of SA GM, says companies have always faced the risk of having their intellectual property abused through other domain extensions such as .info.

“The fact is .xxx is a bit of a red herring... nothing has changed, lower level domain names have always been risky, .xxx may be slightly more sensitive.” There is a dispute resolution process that can be used to recover a brand, he adds.

Brooks says no-one is likely to be misled in going to a .xxx site, but people are more likely to surf to those addresses on purpose seeking adult content. However, he cautions that companies should always be aware of where their names are being registered.

Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx, says it is a question of protecting a trademark more than an issue over being associated with the adult entertainment sector. He says no-one will assume that a reputable company is running a porn site. “It's really just insurance.”

Applications for a .xxx domain are $15 and the annual fee is $129, compared with a .com cost of around $10 a year.