Porn sites sue over .xxx TLD
Two Internet pornography companies have accused the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and ICM Registry of violating antitrust laws by introducing the .xxx domain.
Digital Playground and Manwin Licensing, which owns and licenses adult entertainment trademarks and domain names including youporn.com and brazzers.com, and operates and manages all online content for Playboy Enterprises, filed the antitrust complaint in the US District Court for the Central District of California in November 2011.
In the complaint, Digital Playground and Manwin said domain name regulator ICANN and ICM Registry, which manges .xxx, intended to injure competition and consumers by introducing the adult-orientated domain.
ICM Registry has battled to have .xxx introduced since 2000.
ICANN denied ICM Registry’s original application because it did not appear to “meet unmet needs” and the adult entertainment industry feared that .xxx would lead to a “ghettoization” of adult content online.
After several failed appeals, ICM Registry sought an independent review of ICANN’s rejections in 2008.
In 2010 an independent review panel found that ICANN had previously approved ICM Registry’s application and then incorrectly reconsidered its decision. Accepting the decision, ICANN approved ICM Registry’s .xxx TLD application in March 2011.
Manwin has mirrored this move by fi ling a November 2011 request with ICANN in parallel with its joint antitrust complaint. It has asked for an independent review of ICANN’s decision to approve ICM Registry’s application for .xxx.
In their antitrust complaint Digital Playground and Manwin said that the .xxx TLD is forcing trademark and domain name owners to purchase expensive “defensive registrations” from ICM Registry, so that they can protect their intellectual property.
During a two-month sunrise period ICM Registry sold almost 80,000 .xxx registrations for more than $150 each, according to the complaint.
“The significant costs and disadvantages of such defensive registrations, and their detrimental eff ects on competition, outweigh any alleged benefi t of the .xxx TLD.”
The complaint also stated that there was no competitive process for awarding the .xxx registry contract and that ICANN awarded the contract to ICM Registry without soliciting or accepting competing bids.
This has given ICM Registry “monopoly control and free rein” to impose anticompetitive pricing and practices within .xxx. “Indeed, ICM [Registry] is charging $60 annually for .xxx registrations, more than 10 times the annual registration charges in other relevant TLDs,” stated the complaint.
“[The complaint] uncovers a pernicious monopoly at the very heart of the Internet,” said Manwin managing partner Fabian Th ylmann in a statement. “Ending anticompetitive practices by ICM and ICANN will not only protect our business, but help other companies compelled to pay a fee to keep their names unassociated with a .xxx designation.”
ICM Registry president and chairman Stuart Lawley said in a statement that ICM Registry is reviewing the fi ling, adding that the claims are “baseless” and that it “will vigorously defend this matter”.
He also said: “Perhaps Manwin has filed this lawsuit because they are worried that ICM Registry is creating opportunities for others in the adult industry to fi nally have a fair chance to build great brands and businesses in this new .xxx space.”
ICANN director of global media affairs Brad White said that ICANN’s attorneys were reviewing the antitrust complaint and he could not add anything further.
Plaintiff Digital Playground did not respond to requests for comment.
