From 6 December 2011 any individual, company or organisation is permitted to apply for a new .XXX (or triple X) domain name. Now that the sunrise period has ended, eligibility will be determined on a first come, first served basis.

.XXX domain names were approved by the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) earlier this year and are designed for the adult entertainment industry. Websites with .xxx addresses will focus exclusively on adult entertainment content, and applicants will need to certify that they belong to that industry.

However brand owners who are not members of the adult entertainment industry are able to apply to block a .XXX domain to ensure that their brand names and valuable intellectual property are not registered as .xxx domain names. In this way, the system will ensure that valuable brands are not hijacked, and not subject to potentially significant brand damage by being associated with adult content that may conflict with the brand's values.

If your business is concerned that a third party .XXX domain registration using your brand name may damage your businesses reputation or imply an affiliation or association that does not exist, you may wish to apply to block that name from being part of a .xxx domain name.

These new .XXX domain registrations are subject to existing rights protection mechanisms, including the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy, but it may be more cost effective for your business to pre-emptively block a .XXX domain name that contains your brand name.

If your business would like to understand more about .XXX domain name registrations, please contact our IP team.

For further information please contact:

Matthew Hall, Partner
Phone: +61 2 9233 5544
Email: mdh@swaab.com.au

Anna Yeo, Solicitor
Phone: +61 2 9233 5544
Email: aky@swaab.com.au

Swaab Attorneys was the highest ranking law firm and the 13th best place to work in Australia in the 2010 Business Review Weekly Best Places to Work Awards. The firm was a finalist in the 2010 BRW Client Choice Awards for client service and was named the winner in the 2009 Australasian Legal Business Employer of Choice Awards.

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.