From the .XXX Files: Porn Industry Giants Sue Over New Domain Name Registry

Foley Hoag LLP - Trademark, Copyright & Unfair Competition
Contact

The .xxx domain name registry was approved by ICANN and is now taking applications via your friendly neighborhood domain name registrar, so you would be forgiven for thinking that opponents of the .xxx domain are ready to move on and deal with the new regime.

To the contrary, pornography giants Manwin Licensing International (operator of YouPorn, Pornhub, xTube, and the various Playboy websites) and Digital Playground (one of the five biggest pornography studios, according to Wikipedia) are decidedly not aroused amused by ICM Registry and its .xxx starlet. The two companies filed suit last week against ICM Registry, ICANN, and a few Does in the United States District Court for the Central District of California alleging, in primary part, claims for antitrust violations under the Sherman Act and unfair competition under California law. The plaintiffs aver that ICANN and ICM Registry “knowingly conspired to eliminate competitive bidding and competition in the markets for certain .XXX TLD registry services, with the intent to injure competition and consumers.”

Please see full publication below for more information.

LOADING PDF: If there are any problems, click here to download the file.

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

© Foley Hoag LLP - Trademark, Copyright & Unfair Competition | Attorney Advertising

Written by:

Foley Hoag LLP - Trademark, Copyright & Unfair Competition
Contact
more
less

Foley Hoag LLP - Trademark, Copyright & Unfair Competition on:

Reporters on Deadline

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
Custom Email Digest
- hide
- hide