Despite the vote against the [tag].xxx[/tag] registry by the [tag]ICANN[/tag] Board earlier this month, [tag]ICM Registry[/tag] is refusing to give up and yesterday opened its doors to domain reservations by those in the adult industry.
“We have scrutinized the reasons given by Board members for making the decision and are satisfied that the principal concerns expressed are unfounded,” the company said in a statement. “Accordingly, we are continuing to address those concerns in order to obtain approval of a revised contract.
“We have invested a lot of time and effort into this initiative and are determined to see it through to completion.”
The company’s defiance comes after months of backroom dealing to which it was not a party, and following a lawsuit it has filed against the US Department of Commerce and Department of State, and a reconsideration request put into ICANN. ICM Registry has spent millions getting the .xxx bid this far and is furious that despite being initially approved, it was turfed out after the US government responded to pressure from right-wing Christian groups.
“ICM intended to roll out the plan elements following contract approval, with general registration commencing approximately six months later,” the company explained. “In order to provide an orderly process for members of the registrant community in the event of ICANN approval, and to use our resources effectively during this appeal period, ICM has decided to undertake the first phase of the plan now.”
That means that online adult companies can reserve domain names from now by going to ICM Registry’s website. ICM has two stark warnings though: “ICANN has not approved the .xxx domain, and may not do so in the future. Furthermore, the final terms, if any, on which the .xxx domain shall operate will be subject to further discussion with ICANN.”
Why is it doing it? ” We are introducing this Industry Reservation Period Now for multiple reasons including, to dispel some of the uninformed speculation emanating from certain quarters about how names were to be allocated to industry participants and to ensure we use our resources fully whilst we are in the appeals process with ICANN.”
ICM Registry is clearly hoping to demonstrate that it’s business plan is viable and that it can build sufficient funds to actively monitor what is placed on any future .xxx domains. To that end, it is not asking for any money up front. Instead, you enter an existing adult URL to demonstrate you are a member of the “sponsored community”, and are then entitled to ask for the .xxx equivalent of any domain you already have possession of- up to 1,000 domains. A second box enables someone to put in an “expresssion of interest” in other .xxx domains. ICM said it is expecting “a very large take up of reservations”.
Will the policy work out? Will the adult industry bother? Will a large number of domains help sway ICM Registry’s case? Will the embarassment that the US government will be forced to endure for abusing its influence on the Internet force it to steer clear if ICM Registry makes a second big attempt to get .xxx? Will ICANN be able to find a way to extricate itself from a fight it wishes it had now never entered?
We’ll have to wait and see.
