An image from ICM Registry illustrating the value of the xxx domain
(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — According to reports published Friday (including an extremely thorough, fairly opinionated post on ZDNet by Violet Blue), a group of large porn website operators has sued ICANN and the ICM registry, the company currently in the process of launching the .xxx domain, on anti-monopoly grounds, filing suit in the US District Court of California on Thursday, November 16.
The lawsuit comes, of course, as the land rush period for the .xxx domain is underway, the final registration stage before the domain would be made publicly available December 6.
The companies involved in the suit are American adult group Digital Playground and Luxembourg-based Manwin, which operates a list of major porn sites, including Playboy.com and YouPorn.
According to reports, the companies are targeting ICM and ICANN on pricing grounds, asking for an injunction to stop the .xxx domain’s launch, and require that it be re-opened in a way that allows for more competition and more reasonable pricing.
A CNet story quoted ICM registry as saying it is reviewing the lawsuit, but is sure that it is without merit.
The lawsuit (a PDF of the filing is hosted here on the generally NSFW adult industry news site Xbiz) seeks “redress for the monopolistic conduct, price gouging and anti-competitive and unfair practices, broadly harming competition, businesses and consumers, and arising out of the establishment of .XXX”
Among other things, the lawsuit points out that the .xxx domain requires adult businesses to defensively purchase a .xxx domain for each of the brands it operates in order to prevent the creation of “confusingly similar” sites by a competitor.
According to the ZDNet post, a “defensive registration” one that simply blocks the domain, disabling its use altogether, costs $300 for a 10 year period. The article links to others showing that a significant part of the sunrise registration traffic was from organization such as schools making precisely these sorts of defensive registrations.
It is extremely significant that the lawsuit names not only ICM Registry, but also ICANN, since – as noted in the filing – the outcome of the lawsuit could have a significant impact on the way that TLDs are launched, priced and distributed in the future.
The lawsuit alleges that the ICM Registry attempted to coerce ICANN into approving the .XXX domain, that it misled and bullied ICANN into finally approving the domain, and the registry as its operator and that ICANN agreed to those terms partly because of ICM’s promise to pay fees that are expected to reach into the millions of dollars.
The domain has seen criticism from the adult industry for years, as the business objected to the domain being portrayed as a project supported by adult businesses. Those businesses oppose the domain on several grounds (not the least of which is the “price gouging” identified in the lawsuit), including the inherent implication that the industry is incapable of policing itself, and a kind of ghettoization of adult content within the .xxx domain (adult site operators don’t intend to give up their .com domains).
ICANN has reportedly yet to comment on the lawsuit.
About Liam Eagle
Liam Eagle has worked as a contributor to the Web Host Industry Review since its inception in 2000, and as editor since 2003. He has been editor of the WHIR's print magazine since its launch. His daily involvement in the gathering and reporting of Web hosting news and his regular interaction with Web hosting leaders gives him an uncommonly broad appreciation of the issues and tends facing the business. Through his WHIR blog, Liam spots Web hosting trends and offers opinions on the industry-wide impacts of major developments and the motivation behind big announcements. Follow him on Twitter @liameagle
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