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.

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/