For trade marks that were registered prior to 1 September 2011 the Sunrise B registration period has now commenced to prevent your brand from being registered in the new domain.
Sunrise B offers trade mark owners a pre-launch opportunity to apply to permanently opt out of the .xxx domain by submitting an application to reserve or block a trade mark before 28 October 2011. This will ensure that a trade mark will not be registered as a .xxx domain name by unauthorised third parties in the future without their knowledge or consent.
This is not an application for a domain registration; therefore Sunrise B applicants do not need to provide web content. Reserved domains will be set to resolve to a standard information page indicating that the name is reserved.
Once the general registration period commences on 6 December 2011, domains will be registered on a first come first served basis and with no pre-emptive rights protection in place. If trade mark owners wait to attempt to protect trade marks during this phase, there is no guarantee the domain name containing the trade mark will still be available for registration.
Although there will be post-launch rights protection mechanisms in place (ie ICANN's Uniform Domain Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP)), we consider that for most trade mark owners, prevention is better than the cure.
If a domain name that corresponds with your brand is registered by an unauthorised third party, submitting a complaint to the UDRP can be expensive and time consuming. In the meantime your brand's reputation may be tarnished as a result of being associated with adult content.
Middletons offers a cost effective approach to defensive Sunrise B applications and in filing .xxx domain applications. Please contact Chris Round or Jane Owen if you wish to obtain further information.
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.
