The "sunrise period", the first registration period of the .xxx domain name creation process, has begun.

If you protect your domain name now, you can safeguard against it being registered in the future. If you don't, you may have to rely on .xxx's dispute resolution procedure should you seek to recover a domain name in the future (the filing fee for which is currently USD1,300).

There are 2 periods leading up to the general availability of .xxx domain names:

  1. a sunrise period from 7 September 2011 (2:00 am AEST) to 28 October 2011 (3:00 am AEST); and
  2. a landrush period from 8 November 2011 (2:00 am AEST) to 25 November 2011 (3:00 am AEST). 

After these periods, general availability will commence on 6 December 2011 (3:00 am AEST).

We are now in the sunrise period. This is a limited period which permits:

  1. adult entertainment businesses to apply for registration; and
  2. non-adult entertainment businesses to block registration of trade marks.

It is important to note that, in the event that an adult entertainment business and a non-adult entertainment business apply for the same domain during the sunrise period, the domain name will be awarded to the adult entertainment business. This is regardless of the order of the applications during the period. After the sunrise period, future adult entertainment businesses will be prevented from obtaining any domain name blocked by a non-adult entertainment business during the sunrise period.

For both parties, businesses must have a registered national trade mark. A common law trade mark will not suffice. (Adult entertainment business must also meet the criteria of being in the Sponsored Community.)

Applications to block a registration are done through a qualified domain registrar. The application fee ranges from USD200  to USD300 (depending on the registrar).

In the full annotated version of this article we have included a flowchart produced by ICM Registry which explains the process and the periods. More details are available from http://www.about.xxx/.

If you have any questions or wish to discuss further, please contact me or a member of Addisons' IP team for assistance.

The assistance of Michael Camilleri, solicitor, of Addisons in the preparation of this article is noted and greatly appreciated

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.