Limited Registration Begins for .XXX Domains

Hoping to nab a .xxx domain name—or avoid having your trademark show up on the adult-centric network? Now is your chance. The ICM Registry today kicked off a sunrise period that lets trademark holders claim certain domains before .xxx is open to the public.

The 52-day effort is open until October 28 and will run on two tracks: Sunrise A is for those in the adult entertainment business; and Sunrise B is for those outside the industry who might not want to have their businesses associated with a porn-focused domain (disney.xxx, anyone?).

Protecting those trademarks won't be free, though. Each application will cost several hundred dollars, depending on the company with which you register. Go Daddy, for example, a $209.99 one-time, non-refundable fee. A list of ICANN-accredited registrars is available on icmregistry.com.

Anyone with any sort of trademark rights is eligible to register during the sunrise period. The benefit of registering at this time, ICM said, is feeling secure in the knowledge that your Web address won't be snagged by someone else at a later date.

"Protecting your trademark after the general launch could prove more difficult, expensive, and time-consuming," ICM said. "We believe it's better to be pro-active when it comes to avoiding grand conflicts, so now is the time to wake up to sunrise."

What happens if a Sunrise A and Sunrise B applicant registers for the same name? ICM said that if more than one party from both sections applies for the same domain, everyone will be notified of the applications and will be given the option of withdrawing their application. If they proceed, conflicts will be settled via arbitration, according to the BBC.

If there are two competing registrations from two Sunrise A applicants, meanwhile, the domain name will be auctioned off among qualified Sunrise A applicants. Priority is not provided to those who claim the name first.

What if you don't have a trademark? After the sunrise registration ends, a "land rush" period will run for 18 days, but it is only for those in the adult entertainment community. Everyone else can start snagging .xxx domains after December 6, when it opens to the public.