.XXX Domains Go On Sale Wednesday

Registered trademark and brand holders will get a chance to secure .xxx domains Wednesday, if only to fend off cybersquatters.

The ICM Registry, which doles out domains to third parties like GoDaddy and Network Solutions, is giving brands 50 days to claim their domain. For example, Coca-Cola can grab www.coca-cola.xxx. Stuart Lawley, the CEO of ICM Registry, says it should cost around $200 for brands to get their .xxx domains. Unlike other top-level domains, which charge roughly $50 a year to maintain rights to a URL, brand holders will pay a one-time fee for .xxx domains.

“The truth is, no one is going to be going to coca-cola.xxx, but some may not want their brands associated [with .xxx domains] in any way,” Lawley says.
After the 50-day period, there will be a 17-day period where domains are sold exclusively to the adult entertainment industry. Lawley says the appeal of such domains is that they will provide more traffic and offer a verification of sorts.

“It’s a win because you’ll be able to surf porn safely,” says Lawley, adding that it’s also a win for consumers wishing to avoid porn since they can filter out all .xxx sites.

The .xxx top-level-domain is the first to be approved by ICANN since .co, which was approved for commercial use in July 2010. ICANN has also approved a so-called “dot-whatever” plan that will allow for all kinds of suffixes. That proposal has been opposed by marketers, who claim it is a shakedown. For his part, Lawley says he is empathetic to marketers and thinks ICANN should have removed trademarked URLs from the table at no cost to the brands.