Manwin, ICM Registry Settle Antitrust Lawsuit

CYBERSPACE—Manwin and ICM Registry have hashed out their legal differences in a settlement that includes reduced prices in May for .xxx domains and similar promotions in the future. ICM will also pay $2.00 per registration to an industry fund designated by Manwin. According to Domain Name Wire, the new fee designation “is in addition to the amount ICM gives to non-profit IFFOR for each registration. With the discounted pricing, IFFOR stands to receive a lot less money. It previously received about $10 per registration, or 15 percent of the wholesale cost. With wholesale prices of $7.85 it will receive a little over $1 per registration during the promotional pricing periods.” A joint announcement issued today indicated Manwin will lift the ban implemented last year that prohibited .xxx sites from participating in its affiliate programs, and will henceforth "permit content from or advertising for .XXX websites on its Tube sites." The announcement further states, "In the agreement ICM also acknowledges that websites hosted on their adult-specific TLDs are not the only responsible and safe adult content websites." The antitrust lawsuit was filed by Manwin against ICM registry in November 2011.