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from www.edmonton.ctv.com – Roll over, boobs.com — it’s about time to make way for boobs.xxx.
The world’s pornographers are counting down to December when they’ll be able to register websites ending with “.xxx.”
The new suffix would replace typical domains ending in “.com” and make it clear that a website has adult content. Critics, however, say it opens the door for trademark infringement.
For example, web users searching for a business with the domain OttawaToyStore.ca might mistakenly end up at OttawaToyStore.xxx – which would likely be a wholly different type of operation, explained Ottawa patent and trademark lawyer Wing Yan.
“Some businesses may not mind the increased Internet traffic but some people may not really want to be associated with the adult entertainment industry,” Yan told CTVNews.ca on Thursday.
After declining a proposal for .xxx domains in 2006, the non-profit Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced recently it will begin taking applications for such addresses on Dec. 6.
In the meantime, everyone else on the Internet has less than a month to block porn sites from using their trademarks. Registered trademark owners have until Oct. 28 to submit applications to prevent others from registering a .xxx site with the same name.
Each application carries a fee of about $200 and only trademarks recognized by a government body are eligible, Yan said.
Another option, for individuals or businesses without a registered trademark, is buying the .xxx domain corresponding to their existing domain, preventing someone else from obtaining it.
Like any web address, the “.xxx” domains will have to be renewed and paid for every year, while the $200 opt-out process is a one-time affair.
“Even the adult entertainment industry may not find this new system 100 per cent favourable,” suggested Yan, a lawyer with the firm Nelligan O’Brien Payne. “They already have their existing web sites. Now if they want to make sure people know they are in the adult entertainment industry, they are more or less compelled to register .xxx. This would be an added cost of running the business.”
A Racy History
ICM Registry, the American company sponsoring “.xxx,” first applied for the top-level domain in 2004. Its application said the suffix would “clearly and unequivocally convey to the Internet user that the site contains adult material of a sexual nature.”
After about two years and public outcry, ICANN voted 9-5 against establishing the .xxx suffix.
“This decision appeared to be based on political considerations with near-obvious intervention from the U.S. government,” wrote University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist at the time.
The tides appear to have shifted and ICANN is working to open the domain name market even further. On Jan. 12, the organization will begin taking applications for the next round of new top-level domains, allowing anyone with enough money to make their mark on the Internet.
That means anything from .movie, .music, or .food could be up for grabs. It also means companies like Walt Disney could apply for a .disney domain.
“It’s going to be completely Wild-West, free-for-all thing,” said Yan.
However, the price of personalization is substantial.
Technical costs for operating such a unique piece of the Internet have been estimated at up to $1 million annually, not including ICANN’s $185,000 charge just to apply for the privilege. Successful applications will also have to pay a $25,000 annual fee.
ICANN says the costs will weed out players who aren’t serious about running a top-level domain.