Can Skip .XXX Sunrise — Most Businesses

Risks of .xxx cybersquatting are minimal.

Yesterday I met with a group of entrepreneur friends and I explained the upcoming .xxx Sunrise B to them.

Sunrise B allows non-adult trademark holders to pay a one time fee to block their trademark from ever being registered in .xxx.

Following explaining the process an inevitable question came up: “So, Andrew, do you think we ought to participate in Sunrise B”.

My answer was no. Unless you have a huge brand, I don’t see why you’d bother.

Concerns regarding cybersquatters picking up every equivalent .com under .xxx are unfounded. The main reason: .xxx domains are expensive. It’s unlikely someone would pay $75 or more to cybersquat on a modest business’ brand. Following a couple years they’d tire of paying the renewal fees.

There are other reasons I don’t think cybersquatting will be a big issue on .xxx, counting rapid takedown and sponsored community requirements (assuming they are enforced).

But the big deterrent is price.

That stated, here are some businesses I think ought to participate in Sunrise B:

– intellectual property law firms. It shows that you’re on top of your own IP.

– sizable businesses. That way you don’t have to explain to your CEO why you didn’t spend a modest amount of money protecting your brand against a (rightly or wrongly) perceived risk.

– colleges and universities.