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Recourse Strategies In the New Age of .XXX Domain Names

BY Erin S. Hennessy
February 01, 2012

The sun has set on the collective Sunrise periods in the race to acquire .XXX domain names. Sun-up on Nov. 8, however, shed new light on a seemingly boundless landscape of .XXX domain name possibilities. The dawn of the wild, wild West of .XXX domain name acquisition, a trail first blazed by a red light Landrush between Nov. 8 and Nov. 25, 2011, where the sole prerequisite for Applicants was a membership in the adult Sponsored Community (namely, individuals, companies and organizations who “provide talent, products or services to the adult industry”) (www.icmregistry.com/about). Demonstrated members were not required to be trademark owners or exhibit pre-existing ownership rights or even be first in line for the domain (www.icmregistry.com/launch/plan/#landrush_rules). While domains with lone Applicants were set to be automatically allocated at the close of Landrush, unlike the prior periods in the launch, competing Applicants participated in a closed auction at the end of the period.

As the dust settled following the close of Landrush, however, the last (and potentially most contentious) leg of the launch commenced. General availability began on Dec. 6, and .XXX domains are being allocated on a first come basis; no requirements for pre-existing rights or adult community memberships apply (www.icmregistry.com/launch/plan/#general_aval). Now is the time for trademark, domain name and brand owners to purchase .XXX domains to proactively race to stake a claim in their brand if only as a defensive measure to prevent other domain owners from registering/using their name in a .XXX context. It's a showdown at the .XXX corral.

Myriad questions for brand owners remain. In the event that yours wasn't the first hand to pull the trigger in the .XXX domain name shoot 'em up, what are the ramifications of having your mark incorporated into an active .XXX domain? Is there any recourse? Are there any mechanisms in place to protect intellectual property in a post-.XXX world?

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