Domain Registration Related News
XXX: A New Frontier for Cybersquatting
July 2005
At first glance, the proposal to create a new cyberspace red light
district with the .xxx domain - from domain name selection to site
promotion. seems a clear win for legitimate businesses.
The domain, which has been approved by the Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers Latest News about Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), could essentially segregate
adult-content and pornography, moving it out of the .com realm where
the vast majority of legitimate commerce takes place.
However, the arrival of .xxx could also create a new set of headaches
for companies with high-profiles and carefully guarded brands and
trademarks if so-called cyber-squatters revive the practice of
grabbing domain names and essentially holding them hostage -- and with
this domain, the threat of real embarrassment from an .xxx Web site
using the company's name.
The goal, of course, would be to bring a handsome ransom, and history
shows the tactic can work, despite the legal rights that companies
bring to the table.
"Let the unseemly cybersquatting begin," said Karen Whitehouse, an
ICANN-watcher and author of the Weekend Geek blog. Though intended to
make it easier to filter porn sites and keep people, especially
children, from stumbling across them by accident, the upshot might be
to force people and companies to register domains as a defensive move.
"What I envision is people paying $60 a year just to keep
beaarthur.xxx out of circulation," Whitehouse said.
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