Domain names in the new extensions .sucks, .adult and .porn are now available for registration or are launching soon.

Companies and individuals may wish to purchase domain names that correspond to their key trademarks in these new generic Top-Level-Domains (gTLDs) as a defensive brand protection strategy.

For most businesses, the .sucks registry will be the most important one to consider, while .porn and .adult domain names may be of greater interest to celebrities and companies whose businesses lend themselves to websites with these extensions.

The .sucks registry opens on March 30, 2015. At that time it will cost approximately US$2499 to buy a .sucks domain name corresponding to a registered trademark. Applicants will need to have recorded their trademarks with the Trademark Clearinghouse operated by Deloitte in order to apply for a corresponding domain during this initial phase, called the Sunrise Period. Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP can help applicants record their marks with the Clearinghouse.

If you forego or are ineligible to register your marks as domain names during the Sunrise Period, you can register any domain name still available as of June 1, 2015, during what is called the General Availability phase. At that time, the cost of a .sucks domain will be much less, at approximately US$249.

A third option is to purchase a domain name blocking service to remove your key marks from the pool of available domains during the General Availability phase. This service can be purchased for 1 year or up to 10 years. According to the .sucks registry, the cost of the blocking service will be 25% less than the cost of a standard registration.

The .adult and .porn extensions are also being purchased by companies and individuals in an effort to control the content they are associated with. The Sunrise Period for these extensions began on March 1, 2015, and runs until April 1, 2015.  Only  domains corresponding to registered trademarks recorded with the Trademark Clearinghouse are eligible for registration during that period.

The Sunrise B period runs from April 6 to 30, 2015, and will only be open to applicants that submitted a successful .XXX Sunrise B Reservation Request in 2011. Then from May 6 to 31, 2015, entities which own a .XXX domain name as of April 30, 2015 will have the opportunity to purchase the matching string in .adult and/or .porn.  Remaining domains will be available to the public as of June 4, 2015.

The cost of purchasing one of these two domain names varies by registrar, but they are generally being offered for prices in the range of US$120 per year for each of the four phases of registration.

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.