This particularly “risky” domain is, you guessed it, the adult entertainment sponsored top level domain. This domain has finally been approved by ICANN (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). Unlike the .com, .ca, and .info domains, the .XXX domain cannot be registered by just anyone……it is limited to the adult entertainment industry (in a similar way to the ‘.gov’ sites being limited to government entities in the US). “Great…..” you may think, “….that doesn’t affect me, I will never need to register that domain”…. but think again. The issue this may raise is one of infringement. What if a cyber-squatter registered YOURTRADE-MARK.XXX? Think of all of the negative press you would get, all of the confusion in the market place that would arise, the detriment to your brand etc. etc.
FEAR NOT! With the .XXX domain comes a unique process by which trade-mark owners can apply to ICANN to actually have their trade-marks banned from the list of .XXX domains. What this means is, YOURTRADE-MARK.XXX can never be registered as an .XXX domain. Thus, you are able to avoid the potentially damaging domain being registered by a cyber-squatter using YOURTRADE-MARK.
Vanessa DeDominicis is a Registered Canadian and US Trade-mark Agent who can assist you with filing Canadian and US Trade-mark Applications, intellectual property licensing agreements, copyright registration and infringement issues. Please call or email Vanessa if you require any assistance with intellectual property matters 250-869-1140 or [email protected]
