Why You Should Be Monitoring the New .Porn and .Adult Domains

The 30-day sunrise period for the .porn and .adult domains opened on March 2, 2015. These domains are available on a first-come, first-served basis to trademark holders registered in the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH). The announcement was made by ICM Registry, the registry operator for the .xxx top-level domain (TLD) that was approved in 2011.

A Sunrise B period will follow from April 6-30 for .xxx Sunrise B applicants. This will enable trademark owners who participated in the .xxx Sunrise B program to register domains before they are made available to the public.

The next phase will be the Domain Matching Program, which will enable .xxx registrants to register second-level .porn or .adult domains. This phase will be open from May 6-31, but those who want to participate must register a .xxx name by April 30.

This is part of the ongoing rollout of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) that began in January of 2014 when popular domains such as .com, .net and .org were joined by more descriptive domains such as .bike, .camera and .clothing. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) believes the new domains will help Internet users find what they need and provide organizations with the opportunity to use simpler, more specific domains.

ICANN originally created the TMCH to help organizations protect their trademarks against cybersquatters and manage domains. TMCH launches a Sunrise period, or pre-registration period, each time a new group of gTLDs is rolled out, giving priority to organizations that have registered their trademarks with the TMCH. The Domain Protected Marks List (DPML), proposed by Donuts Inc., is a right protection mechanism that will block domain registrations for hundreds of gTLDs if a trademark is included.

The .xxx domain focus primarily on adult entertainment, but .porn and .adult can be used in many different ways due to the nature of the words. For example, phrases like “food porn” and “shoe porn” have been used to describe excess or overindulgence in a particular product or activity. Similarly, the word “adult” is very generic and can be used for any number of applications outside of adult entertainment. Both have meanings beyond sex, which is likely to make them both more popular than .xxx.

Although the traditional defensive strategy of registering a bunch of domain names has become impractical and expensive due to the number of gTLDs, many brands and organizations may want to proactively register .porn and .adult domains in order to prevent misuse of their trademarks. Others will want to capitalize on those gTLDs, use them in a favorable context, and integrate them into their search engine marketing and optimization strategies.

While .porn and .adult have made headlines recently, new lists of soon-to-be released gTLDs are being announced on a regular basis, from .band and .yoga to .budapest and .taipei. At this point, the types of domains being announced, and the number of domains announced each time, are random.

An attorney can help organizations monitor these announcements, determine how their brands might be affected, develop a strategy for registering gTLDs, and address disputes. Domains are being snapped up quickly, so it’s important to be proactive in protecting your brand and controlling how it is used.