ICM Registry Applies to ICANN for .Sex, .Porn, .Adult

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL.—Calling it a "significant move to protect .xxx participants," ICM Registry today announced that it has submitted applications for three additional adult entertainment-related TLDs—.sex, .porn and .adult. Under rules finalized in 2011, ICANN began accepting applications for new domain extensions on January 12, 2012. The process concludes April 20, 2012.  “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.” In an announcement issued Thursday morning, the registry also stated that if awarded the TLDs it will offer existing .xxx domain owners an "unprecedented grandfathering clause" by automatically reserving those names at no cost; if the registrants choose to do nothing, their names will not be released under the new TLD suffixes, the company said. "If however, registrants choose to register the new names for use, there will be a nominal fee," the announcement added. "This means .xxx domain holders can potentially triple their exposure and value of their holdings, while brand and trademark holders who own .xxx domain names are automatically protected and will not have to register for the new domain names." Lawley concluded: “ICM Registry has invested just under two million dollars in these applications to support our existing customers. By offering the grandfathering clause at no charge, we are demonstrating our commitment to our adult entertainment community and will not collect fees for this from anyone who already has purchased a .xxx domain by the appropriate cut-off date.” The statement added that each of the new TLD applications were submitted under separate, wholly-owned subsidiaries of ICM Registry LLC: ICM Registry SX LLC, ICM Registry PN LLC, and ICM Registry AD LLC.