Have Three Sunrise Periods — .XXX Will

by Kevin Murphy

Trademark holders are to get fresh rights if and when the porn-only .xxx domain launches.

ICM Registry, which hopes to get its .xxx application approved by ICANN this stretch, plans to have not one but three sunrise periods when it opens up next year.

The first period would allow owners of porn-related trademarks to claim their .xxx domain names and use them as normal, ICM representatives stated here at ICANN’s public meeting in Cartagena, Colombia.

But the second would enable non-porn firms that don’t want their brands associated with adult material to basically “turn off” their trademarks in .xxx domains, paying a one-time fee.

Disney, for example, would be able to make sure that disney.xxx is permanently blocked from registration. The domain would not resolve, not even to forward to disney.com, and the firm wouldn’t have to pay recurring annual registration fees.

It does not appear that ICM’s plans would prevent cybersquatters registering domains such as disneyporn.xxx, but high .xxx registration fees will likely make this less of a problem for trademark holders.

The third proposed sunrise would allow owners of non-trademarked porn domains in other TLDs, such as .com, to get their equivalent .xxx using an automated Whois check.

The process is being handled by Valideus, a British IP consultancy.