XXX top-level domain finally approved, 300,000 domains already reserved

After 7 years of rigorous back-and-forth mass debating over the creation of the .XXX top-level domain (TLD), ICANN has approved its introduction. You can reserve domains through its sponsor, ICM Registry, and .XXX domains will cost at least $60 to register once they become available in the next couple of months.

Don't get too excited about securing a money shot domain, though: at the time of writing 296,000 domains have already been reserved. You can still go ahead and attempt to pre-reserve a domain, but you will be forced to enter a closed auction with all other interested participants -- and you can guarantee that you'll be bidding against some companies with very deep pockets. Owners of existing TLDs (.com, .net, etc.) can also jump to the front of the queue, which means you're unlikely to get your sticky hands on any thrilling domains.

The interesting thing about the introduction of this TLD is the inclusion of Rights Protection Mechanisms, which let adult (and non-adult) companies block their trademarks from being registered. Apple, for example, can (and will) reserve apple.xxx and ipad.xxx. These locked pages won't forward to apple.com either; they'll simply point to a non-porny holding page. Any companies wishing to block domains will have to pay a one-time fee per domain, though.

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XXX top-level domain finally approved, 300,000 domains already reserved originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 06:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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