.xxx marks the spot

The controversial ".xxx" domain name suffix has recently received the go-ahead from ICANN. This suffix is specifically designed for sites with pornographic content and has endured a difficult and protracted approval process.

Whilst this distinctly niche area may not seem to be of direct interest to most businesses, any brand owner with a high value and successful brand should be concerned about abusive registration of domains incorporating their trade marks by third parties who might seek to misuse them for purposes not associated with your usual brand values.

One potential way to block misappropriation of .xxx domains is to register them before anyone else can. Although any association with the .xxx domain may be distasteful to many businesses, the cost of recovering abusive registrations is always much higher and the potential reputational damage from misuse should not be underestimated.

The domain registry responsible for administering the .xxx domain http://icmregistry.com/ has not yet announced a start date for the registration process, but does operate a pre-registration service which will keep potential applicants fully updated on the steps to be taken to access the sunrise period.

If you are concerned by any of the issues raised by the .xxx domain and wish to explore putting in place brand reputation protections strategies, please contact Jeremy Hertzog on +44 (0) 20 7440 7264 or by e-mail, or Simon Tracey on +44 (0) 20 7440 4733 or by e-mail.