.XXX Domains – Opting Out is an Option
The adult entertainment industry will soon be launching its own domain extension:
.XXX
Even if your business and website are 180 degrees opposite of anything remotely related to .xxx, you still want to pay attention to this new offering…
Blocking others from using your domain name
Even though you have no interest whatsoever in this new domain extension, what happens if someone else wants to use your business name / domain name and tie it into a .xxx domain? Imagine your potential customers do a search for your business and see .xxx as the top result?
Fortunately, the registry managing the .xxx domains has provided a way to block the use of your domain name in the .xxx extension. Unfortunately, they require you to have a valid trademark on your name in order to opt-out…
Sunrise B – September 7 to October 28, 2011
If you own a valid trademark on your business name / domain name, you can submit your application to block the use of that name in connection with .xxx domains.
Details about the Sunrise B launch can be found on the .XXX Launch Overview page.
The cost is $200 and if accepted, will block the use of your trademark for 10 years. You can choose any registrar that offers .xxx Sunrise B services.
…
If you have a trademarked domain name, and you don’t want any association with the .xxx extension, $200 for 10 years of protection sounds like quite a deal.
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This sounds like blackmail to me. Why can’t we just buy the domain name with the .xxx extension and not use it. Wouldn’t that be cheaper in the long run and not be paying these guys “protection”?
Lauren, protecting your trademark now costs $200, but that lasts for 10 years. If you wanted to wait until .xxx domains are generally available, the cost seems to be around $80/year. So, it seems to be much more cost effective to block the use of your trademarked name then to register the domain itself ($200 vs. $800 for 10 years).
But it certainly could be made more obvious by the Registry, as the details are buried and scattered about.