YouPorn owner Manwin Licensing International SARL has filed a lawsuit against those that are running the new .XXX top level domain. According to the suit, which was obtained by the Wall Street Journal, the company claims that the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Number (ICANN) as well as ICM, the organisation tasked with managing the .XXX domain, have engaged in "monopolistic conduct, price gouging, and anticompetitive and unfair practice."
Approved in March, .XXX domains are aimed squarely at those with adult or sexually explicit websites. The idea behind the genre-specific domain is a more regulated and secure environment for online payments; it also makes it extremely easy for schools and parents to block porn on computers frequently used by children. ICM Registry said at the time of launch that it had seen tremendous interest in the new domain and claimed that more than 200,000 have already applied to reserve domains. However, it seems not all the companies interested in .XXX domains are pleased with how ICM and ICANN are doing business.
Manwinn Licensing International, which owns many different sites and manages Playboy's web presence as well as that of Digital Playground, says that at $60 a pop, the new domains are costly, especially if you have countless brands and websites that each need their own address. Though the .XXX domain is voluntary and no company has to purchase the .XXX version of their current web address or company name, many feel they have to in order to prevent domain squatters from moving in.
According to PC Mag, Marwin's legal time has dubbed the new domain "an unnecessary cost on everybody" and hopes to stop the sale of .XXX domains and have price constraints put in place.
