The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”), the agency that is responsible for creating and implementing sponsored top-level domains (sTLD), recently approved the implementation of the domain “.xxx” to be used for adult or pornographic sites on the Internet. While the implementation of this sTLD had been debated for many years and was previously rejected by ICANN for a variety of reasons, it is now available for use and registration.

For companies and individuals who do not want to be associated with the adult entertainment industry, and do not want their trademarks to be registered as domains with the “.xxx” sTLD, there is an opt-out option by which you can file an application and pay a fee to block your trademark registration from being registered as an “.xxx” domain. While some companies may not want to pay the fee to block their registration, such payment could prove to be cost-effective considering that the costs to enforce against a potential infringer and take legal action may be far greater.