ICM Registry, who operate the registry for the .XXX Sponsored Top-level Domain (sTLD) for the “adult entertainment community” have announced they have made further applications to ICANN for additional adult-themed sTLDs, specifically .SEX, .PORN and .ADULT.

 “ICM Registry has worked for more than a decade to create .XXX which has become a globally accepted and responsible place for adult online entertainment to thrive in an easily recognizable self-regulated environment,” - said Stuart Lawley, CEO of ICM Registry.

“We are dedicated to protecting interested stakeholders by providing the latest technology and the best domains which is why we created the .XXX TLD. We chose to submit applications for additional TLDs to spare .XXX participants from needless expense and to ensure the TLDs will be run in the same trustworthy and appropriate ways that .XXX is today.”

Interestingly the ICM Registry is offering a “grandfathering” clause should they be awarded the new TLDs which means that they will automatically reserve matching domains for no additional fee for registrants who already hold the .XXX equivalent and registrants will be able to choose to do nothing and the matching domains will be permanently reserved under the new TLDs. However if registrants wish to register the new domains for use then there will be a “nominal” fee.

This proves an interesting promise from the registry and will carry a lot of favour with existing .XXX domain holders and brands who wish to protect their names from association from adult content, many will see this as a highly preferable situation as it is likely, should another company be awarded .SEX, .PORN and/or .ADULT brands will be required to again pay to protect their names from association.

The registry is said to have invested just under two million dollars in the application process so as to “support our existing customers” and say the grandfathering clause demonstrates their commitment to the adult entertainment industry.

Many are still dubious over the benefits of a dedicated “adult” TLD as a means of categorising websites, mostly because it is unlikely adult websites, many of who are against these new Adult-only TLDs, will migrate their businesses to new domains and risk the loss in traffic & users which would be associated.

What do you think? Are TLDs specifically for adult content a good thing? Will they actually help the filtering process to help those who do not wish to view adult content to avoid it or is it simply not going to work? Share your views in the comments below.

The .UK Registry Nominet has announced today that from 1st May 2012 the registration periods for all .UK domains will change to the more commonly used multi-year periods in the same wayas  .COM.

This means that users will be able to register .UK domains from between 1 year and 10 years enabling users more flexibility in their registrations as they can renew for longer without needing to worry about renewals.

What does this mean for .UK ?

This will have no impact on current registrations, it just means you will have the option to renew domains for up to 10 years come renewal.

XDnet plans to fully support this change in May and will announce pricing details closer to the time.

Wednesday 7th September, 16:00 GMT marks the start of the Sunrise A (Adult Trademark & Domain) and Sunrise B (Blocking) phases of the launch of the new .XXX domain extension – Learn more about the .XXX launch phases.

You can now submit your .XXX applications with XDnet.

Please note that in the Sunrise phase orders are NOT processed on a first-come, first-served basis as with most domains, so there is no queuing or pre-ordering required.

Don’t forget that all orders in Sunrise AT and Sunrise B require documentation to be provided as only trademark holders and owners of existing exact match domains in other TLD extensions can apply for .XXX in Sunrise.

Sunrise AD orders also carry additional requirements to prove ownership/control of the matching domain in question, for further details please get in touch with Sales.

Valid & successful Sunrise AT/AD orders will result in a resolving domain being awarded to the registrant, unsuccessful AT/AD orders will be applicable for a partial (£45) refund.

Valid & successful Sunrise B orders will result in the domain being blocked from registration.

If you have any questions about .XXX, why you might want to consider protecting your brand from Adult association please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Sales [at] xdnet.co.uk.

Please place sunrise orders via the standard domain order page - http://xdnet.co.uk/domain-names/

Please note support will get in touch once you have placed a .XXX order & made payment to organize the documentation required for your application.

Video from http://about.xxx/

.XXX is a brand new Sponsored TLD which, after much debate and controversy has recently been approved by ICANN on 18th March 2011, and became operational in April this year. The sTLD is managed, and sponsored by the ICM Registry.

The .XXX (aka “dot tripple-X”) is intended as a voluntary option for the pornographic industry as a means to more easily identify it’s contents. It’s intended this will make identification and filtering easier for those who do not wish to view the contents.

The launch for the .XXX TLD is a coming soon as the industry prepares to support the new TLD, and rights holders and members of the adult industry need to be ready.

The launch phases for .XXX are:

Sunrise A – Trademark Holders (“AT”) – 7th Sept – 28th Oct:

This sunrise period provides an opportunity for members of the Adult Entertainment industry to submit applications for trademarks they hold pre-launch of the .XXX TLD.

Sunrise A – Domain Holders (“AD”) – 7th Sept – 28th Oct:

This sunrise period provides an opportunity for members of Sponsored Community (the Adult Entertainment industry) to submit applications for domains where they already hold registered domains in another IANA-recognised TLD – for example if you already operate an Adult website on a .com domain – pre-launch of the .XXX TLD.

Sunrise B – Non-community Trademark Holders (“B”) – 7th Sept – 28th Oct:

This sunrise period provides a pre-launch opportunity for those who are not part of the Sponsored Community to submit Reservation Requests for domains they hold registered trademarks for. Unlike standard .XXX registrations this kind of reservation will resolve to a standard informational page indicating the reserved status of the domain. This is not a typical registration and conveys no other rights for successful Sunrise B Applicants.

Landrush – 8th Nov – 25th Nov:

This is the final pre-launch opportunity for members of the Sponsored Community to submit Registration Requests for their chosen .XXX domain name. Domains are not allocated on the standard first-come, first-served basis; competing requests will be allocated based on a closed auction.

General Availability – 6th Dec:

Members of the Sponsored Community can register .XXX domains freely on a first-come, first served basis from this point on.

Non-members can apply on a first-come, first-served basis to register non-resolving .XXX names where they can show a legitimate interest, such as personal name.

Want to protect your .XXX domain?

Parties wishing to register or protect their trademarks and names .XXX can do so by contacting XDnet Sales who will be able to help you with the application process.

The .XXX TLD has and is a hotly debated topic, but what do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below! – Don’t forget to Tweet, Like and G+ this post if you liked it!