The average law-abiding company will certainly not be seen to be “lusting” after the registration of a .xxx domain name. However, unscrupulous cyber-squatters certainly will, viewing the new domain as a lucrative business opportunity.

Says Nishan Singh, Senior Associate at Adams & Adams, “the inevitable scam is to register a domain name that corresponds or resonates with a well-known brand, which has the potential to direct internet traffic to a pornographic website.”

Of course, the ramification of having the domain name of a reputable brand directed to a porn site is enormous says Singh.

Fortunately, there are measures in place for companies that do not want to be associated with what has been dubbed as the internet’s “red light district”.

The .xxx Domain Name Registry has created a specific sunrise period for brand owners, who are not members of the adult industry. This sunrise period commences tomorrow,
7 September 2011 and will run for the next 52 days.

Brand owners can protect their registered brands by blocking the corresponding .xxx domain name. A defensive domain name will be reserved and be set to resolve to a standard informational page indicating the status of the name as reserved.

Singh encourages brand owners to be proactive and register their brands as defensive .xxx domains.

Those .xxx domain names that are not blocked will be sold on a first come, first served basis. If a domain name conflicts with the brand owner’s domain, brand owners may file a complaint.

Provision has been made for the “rapid take-down” of .xxx domain names that clearly conflict with a brand owner’s rights.

“Due to the potential detriment to a brand, the swift censorship of the cyber-squatters is crucial and we anticipate frequent use of this procedure,” says Singh.

For more information:
Nishan Singh – Senior Associate – Adams & Adams
012 432 6000

Megan Larter
O83 605 8859
011 803 2040