Sunrise applications are now being accepted by the ICM Registry for .XXX domains. Whether you or your company are WITHIN the “Sponsored Community” or outside, now is the time to put in your application for your branded .XXX domain.

Last week we posted .XXX Sunrise Applications Questions and Answers , which spurred on even more questions. The most important of these relate to the Sponsored Community, the verification process, and the Go-Live registration process.

Question and Answers for .XXX:

1. What is the criteria for being a member of the Sponsored Community?

Sponsored Community consists of individuals, business, entities, and organizations that fit one of the following:

• Provide Online Adult Entertainment intended for consenting adults (“Providers”) (e.g. adult webmasters, performers, studios, store owners, club operators);
• Represent Providers (“Representatives”) (e.g. lawyers, agents, advisors, accountants, affiliates); or
• Provide products or services to Providers and Representatives (“Service Providers”) (e.g. adult domainers, manufacturers, delivery companies, caterers, distribution companies, merchant account services, make up artists, stylists, hosting services).

2. What is the Process for the Sponsored Community Validation?

1. Person/company submits an application for a name in Sunrise A or Landrush with their registrar of choice – they pay their registrar directly for that.
2. ICM sends the person/company an introduction email with validation link – to the Registrant Contact email address provided with their application.
3. The person/company clicks on the validation link in the ICM email and is directed to the ICM Membership Application.
4. The person/company fills out the ICM Membership Application — free of charge. (Takes about 5 minutes to complete – only have to do this one time per email account, not per domain.)
5. As a part of ICM’s Membership Application, the person has to do the following:
   • Provide correct birth date information
   • Agree to ICM’s terms of service
   • Attest to being a member of the Sponsored Community
6. ICM will validate certain contact details:
   • Address
   • Phone Number
7. ICM will call the phone number provided during the Membership Application
8. In that phone call, ICM will provide the person with a PIN # (real time) and the applicant will input the pin in the designated area in the Membership Application process.
9. Once the person completes the Membership Application, ICM provides the registrar a Membership Token thus allowing all of the .xxx domain names associated with that email account to resolve.
11. The Validation Process Video from the ICM Registry

3. When the registry is opened up for general availability, how will registrations be different for members of the Sponsored Community and non-members?

Though registration after Go-Live (general availability) will be open to the public and allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis, domains will only resolve for validated members of the Sponsored Community. Non-member registrations will be awarded, but the domain will not resolve on the Internet, essentially making them DEFENSIVE REGISTRATIONS ONLY.

The post, dated August 26th, Why Reserving Your .XXX Domain Protects Your Brand explained why companies outside of the adult entertainment industry should register a .XXX domain.  The registry operator for .XXX, ICM, has even designed a special reservation process called “.XXX Sunrise B” to block the registration of branded names for 10 years.  With only a week to go before Sunrise B begins, now is the time contact your registrar to prepare your application.

Question and Answers for .XXX Sunrise B:

1. Honestly, who is going to register “mybrand.xxx” ?

The Internet is all about getting the eyes and ears of the masses.  A brand name plus an XXX extension though odd for most cases is still an intriguing combination.  It is this intrigue that people are trying to leverage and monetize into dollars.  A simple XXX Sunrise B registration prevents any damage to one’s brand be it small or big.

2. How much is it going to cost me to reserve “mybrand.xxx”?

.XXX Sunrise B applications are 238.00* (net: 200.00) USD. So for as little as 20 dollars a year, brand holders can have peace of mind.  Moreover, registration prices typically go up over the years so locking in at a low yearly price is a good idea.  Also, compared to the time and money it would take to stop someone else who registers your brand and uses it for their own purposes, .XXX Sunrise B is a bargain.

3. With all these new TLDs, if I defensively register all of them, isn’t this going to cost me thousands of dollars?

The best strategy for defensive registration is the same strategy for registering any domain.  If an extension makes sense for your customers, vendors, and partners then early registration is the best approach.  For instance, a small mobile phone business may consider registering the upcoming extensions .phone, .shop, and .web to promote their business while defensively registering .xxx, .gay, .eco, and .free because of their strong societal meanings.  I think this business can safely not register .wine as it has nothing to do with the beverage.

4. If I need more information to make a decision who can I speak with?

HEXONET is available to answer your questions.  Please email sales@hexonet.net and we will return with the answers you need.

On April 1, 2011, ninety one percent (91%) of all our customer’s pre-registrations were obtained by HEXONET’s pre-registration system! Best of class systems and engineering combined with exceptional preparation is the secret to success and is why thousands of individuals/corporations place their pre-registrations with us.   Since launch, demand for .SO domains remains strong, especially from China where “SO” phonetically sounds like “To Search”.

Congratulations to the GMORegistry and CloudRegistry for a job well done.

HEXONET will be participating in many of the upcoming newTLD Launch Phases.  Be sure to pre-register your desired domains ahead of time.  April 28, 2011 HEXONET will begin accepting pre-registrations for IDN.ASIA, numeric .TEL and .XXX.