The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN") recently approved .xxx as a new sponsored top-level domain, despite objections from groups both within and without the adult entertainment industry.

If the Internet is a global community, then this community has its first official 'red light district.'

The good news is that owners of registered trademarks who do not want to see a ".xxx" at the end of their brand name have ways to prevent others from highjacking their hard earned reputations.

Brand protection in .XXX
Several mechanisms exist for trademark owners to protect their brands in the new .xxx top-level domain. Failure to act risks brand tarnishment by association with sexually explicit material - in other words, you run the risk that [YourTrademark].xxx resolves to a pornographic site to which your customers are directed when searching for your products or services on the Internet. The protective mechanisms include:

• a pre-reservation period
• a defensive registration process during the "sunrise" period when .xxx takes effect
• a Start Up Trademark Opposition Procedure ("STOP")
• a "Rapid Takedown" procedure for the clearest cases of abusive registrations 

Pre-Registration
First, trademark owners can pre-register their marks with the ICM Registry ("ICM"), the company chosen to run the .xxx registry, through ICM's website for no charge. This service is already available and over 500,000 pre-reservations have already occurred. While pre-registration does not guarantee trademark protection in the .xxx top-level domain, ICM will contact pre-registered brand owners with all the necessary information when the "sunrise" period for .xxx begins. 

Sunrise Period
Second, during the "sunrise" period for .xxx to take effect, trademark owners not in the adult entertainment industry can request that their nationally registered marks be blocked from registration by third parties in .xxx domains. This will require payment of a onetime fee, expected to be between $200 and $300. If successful, it will result in an indefinite reservation or blocking in the registry. The sunrise period opens on September 7, 2011 and lasts for 30 days. This would appear to be a highly cost-effective method of protecting one's marks before any potential harm occurs.

Opposition Procedure
Third, the STOP procedure will allow trademark owners to prevent a proposed infringing name from being activated on the .xxx registry for a limited time, while an opposition procedure takes place. The specific rules governing STOP have not yet been published. 

Rapid Takedown
Fourth, ICM will initiate a "Rapid Takedown" procedure for a trademark owner who provides "a short and simple statement of a claim involving a well-known or otherwise inherently distinctive mark and a domain name for which no conceivable good faith basis exists" in the .xxx registry. A team of independent experts will determine within 48 hours whether to initiate the rapid takedown procedure, although such determination will not prejudice either party's ability to pursue another dispute mechanism. 

Background on the domain discussion
Sponsored top-level domains are domains administered and operated by a sponsoring organization and often based on a theme concept, such as .edu for accredited post-secondary educational U.S. institutions or .museum for museums. The sponsoring organization for .xxx is the International Foundation for Online Responsibility ("IFFOR"), and the community IFFOR is sponsoring is the "global responsible online adult-entertainment community."

The rationale behind approving the .xxx domain was debated within ICANN for years. Proponents of .xxx argue the suffix provides an easily identifiable mark for both (1) those who seek out online adult entertainment and (2) those who wish to avoid it, such as parents and employers who could more easily filter content. 

Critics of .xxx argue that since no requirement exists for providers of explicit content to use the .xxx domain, adult entertainment will continue to flourish in other online domains, rendering .xxx simply duplicative and encouraging only a rush to register desirable names that are currently unavailable in other domains. Critics from within the adult entertainment industry point to an increased likelihood of legislation mandating the use of .xxx for sexually explicit material, leading to a higher likelihood of government censorship and other difficulties for the adult entertainment industry. Despite the criticisms, ICANN approved the .xxx domain on March 18, 2011.