Manwin’s Attack on .XXX is Really an Attack on Fresh TLDs
Arguments and antitrust lawsuit could be made against many top level domain names.
Manwin Licensing, the firm behind YouPorn, has sued .xxx registry ICM Registry for violating the Sherman Act (i.e. monopoly).
If you read the complaint against ICM you could substitute other top level domains for .xxx and the suit would still make sense.
Manwin states .xxx wasn’t put out to competitive bid, has no price caps, and ICM Registry gets presumptive renewal. It also complains regarding having to pay high fees for defensive registration.
The same thing could be stated for fresh TLDs that will be applied for starting next year.
As stated by Manwin:
There is no reasonable substitute for defensive registration in .XXX. For example, by blocking use of a domain name in a TLD other than .XXX, the name holder does not prevent the harm suffered if a non-owner registers that name in the XXX TLD. The .XXX TLD thus constitutes a separate antitrust market for
defensive registrations.
…and later:
ICM right now has a complete monopoly in TLDs that have a name connoting adult content. There are right now no other TLDs beside .XXX with names that connote adult content.
Hmm. For existing TLDs, couldn’t you say the same thing regarding .org? .mobi?
And just wait for .nyc, .law, etc.
If Manwin gets anywhere in its lawsuit, you can expect this to build momentum against the fresh TLD program.
(I’m not predicting that the firm will have any success with its suit.)
One of the more humorous parts of the lawsuit is this complaint:
ICM submitted partial and redacted information concerning persons purportedly supportive of its application who were allegedly involved in the adult entertainment industry, but who in fact appeared not to have been involved in the industry.
Kind of like the homeless guy who held a picket sign against .xxx for Free Speech Coalition?
Why file the suit, and why file it now?
Maybe it’s professional jealousy that someone is finally making money from internet porn again.
