MMX launches adult domain name trademark protection service

MMX announced its new service “for trademark holders seeking to protect their brand identity across its adult portfolio of TLDs from the increasing trend of domain name abuse including website phishing and malware.”

Branded AdultBlock and AdultBlock+ the products have been designed to allow trademark holders to block the registration of their trademarks, as well as look-alike variations across MMX’s four adult themed Top Level Domains (TLDs) which the Company attained through its acquisition of ICM in 2018.

Under the basic AdultBlock service, rights holders will be able to block their exact match terms across the four TLDs – .adult, .porn, .sex, .xxx.

Through the AdultBlock+ service, the level of protection can be increased to cover potentially thousands of look-alike variations able to be generated per name through homoglyphs and alternate Internationalised Domain Name (IDN) scripts.

“The development of AdultBlock+ is in direct response to the increasing trend by bad actors to register look-alike trademark domain names.  This illegal practice allows cyber-criminals to create visual matches of domain names – often used in email scams and business email compromise attacks – by using different scripts, that are often visually indistinguishable from its credible counterpart, to dupe the user into navigating to a potentially nefarious website. In 2018, Farsight Security¹ observed 116,113 lookalike domain name registrations across 125 brands and in another study, almost 35% of registered domain name variants were owned by unrelated parties².”

MMX has partnered with Uniregistry to deliver and market its adult blocking service to the corporate registrar community and end-user audience.

Under the roll-out, registrants of ICM’s original 2011 Sunrise B program for .xxx will also be able to upgrade to the new blocking services for all four, adult themed TLDs without having to undergo the trademark reverification process if completed before 31 December 2019.

ICM Registry was the first registry to offer a blocking service in response to trademark owners concerns of enduring damage to their brand due to unauthorized registration and usage of their registered marks. Over 65,000 brands protected their trademarked names within .xxx in 2011.

Rates

“Pricing on the basic AdultBlock product has been structured to enable corporate registrars to deliver savings of 35% over the equivalent price as registering a single name across all four extensions. Meanwhile, trademark holders and brands adopting a 10-year AdultBlock+ registration before 31 December 2019 can do so for the same price as a 10-year basic AdultBlock registration.”

Toby Hall, CEO at MMX, commented,

“MMX has taken extensive soundings with the corporate registrar community in the pre-launch phase to ensure a strong value proposition for the service. Our AdultBlock products have likewise been packaged in a format that our corporate registrar partners will be able to easily onboard and affordably deliver to their clients.”

Vaughn Liley, Director of Registry Sales at Uniregistry, continued,

“We are delighted to be partnering with MMX on the introduction of AdultBlock and AdultBlock+ while moving the industry one step closer to delivering a standardized blocking mechanism that has the ability to eliminate abuse across any extension. This has broad appeal amongst the corporate registrars and trademark holders alike as it’s this kind of innovation and countermeasure to abuse that helps support a stable DNS while encouraging universal acceptance of new TLDs.”

Details about the AdultBlock Service

MMX has partnered with UniRegistry to offer AdultBlock and AdultBlock+ – a service that is designed to protect your clients’ brand from online abuse across our adult-themed TLDs: .adult, .porn, .sex, and .xxx. This unique service not only blocks abuse such as phishing, spam, etc., for your clients’ trademark, but also provides protection for variants of their brand name.*

AdultBlock and AdultBlock+
The benefits your client will enjoy by choosing AdultBlock or AdultBlock+ as their online trademark protection service include:

	Security in knowing that your clients’ brand is safeguarded from online malware and phishing attacks for .adult, .porn, .sex, and .xxx – our TLDs that are geared for a mature audience
	Opportunity for your client to defend their customers’ interaction with their brand
	Safeguarding protection for exact matches as well as variations of your clients’ brand name*
	Sunrise B participants are able to enroll in the service without having to complete additional verification of your trademark or incurring associated fees

Interested in offering AdultBlock and AdultBlock+ service to your clients?

	Review the Adult Block Service Agreement
	Review Technical Specifications
	Review AdultBlock Factsheet
	Sign the AdultBlock Service Agreement

Frequently Asked Questions

What TLDs does the AdultBlock and AdultBlock+ service cover?

The service covers all four ICM Registry TLDs – .XXX, .SEX, .ADULT and .PORN.

Who is eligible to block a domain name?

Trademark holders with a Signed Mark Data (SMD) file from the Trademark Clearing House (TMCH) and .XXX Sunrise B holders are eligible to block their labels.

Does the service include premium domains?

Yes, both AdultBlock and AdultBlock+ will block all available domains irrespective of price point and automatically block any additional dropped names while the block service is in place – no further actions are required by the trademark holder.

Where can I see what domains will be covered by the service?

In the ICM Registry Block console, where a SMD file or plain text trademark can be submitted.  The system will provide a list of domains blocked along with any exceptions, which are domain names currently registered and cannot be blocked but will be automatically added if they become available while the block service is active.  This list can be exported for ease of providing it to the customer.

Will domains already registered be blocked?

No, domains that are currently registered cannot be blocked.  Once a name is deleted or expires, the blocking service will automatically add the domain name to the list of blocked names during the service period without any further actions by the customer.

What happens when a domain becomes available?

Once the redemption period has ended and the domain name becomes available, both the AdultBlock and AdultBlock+ service will add the newly available domain name to the block for the remainder of the service period.  Registered names cannot be blocked until they become available.

Can someone else register my customers’ blocked domains?

Once a domain name is blocked by the AdultBlock or AdultBlock+ service no other users can register the domain name during the service period.  See below for the registration of a blocked name.

What IDN characters are part of the service?

The variants generation software utilizes Unicode Consortium standards. This means that the AdultBlock+ service not only blocks characters available today but also includes any language character sets that become available in the future for the specific TLD.  Currently, the AdultBlock+ service covers over 20 languages and scripts including Chinese (Simplified & Traditional), French, German, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Russian.

Does the service block any other confusingly similar characters?

Yes, the AdultBlock+ service will block confusingly similar characters, such as replacing an “L” with a “1” and an “E” with a “3”. The AdultBlock+ service is our most complete coverage available.

Where can I get a list of all the variants generated by a trademark?

The number of variants can be large depending on the trademark. For example, ‘bank’ would generate thousands of variants.  For this reason, we typically provide just a sample of the variations covered by the AdultBlock+ service.

How can I place orders for the AdultBlock and AdultBlock+ service?

Registrars can login to the ICM AdultBlock console to place orders.  Please consult the user guide for detailed process instructions.

How many years can I register the AdultBlock and AdultBlock+ service for?

The service allows 1, 3, 5 and 10 year registration periods with a maximum registration period of 10-years for both the AdultBlock and AdultBlock+ service.

How many years can I renew the AdultBlock and AdultBlock+ service for?

Renewals mirror the registration periods with 1, 3, 5 and 10-year renewal options with a maximum registration period of 10-years.

Is there any advantage to registering for multiple years?

Yes, there are significant cost savings being offered during a time-limited, special launch promotion that allows trademark owners to purchase a 10-year AdultBlock+ with variant protection in over 20 different languages and scripts.  Promotional prices for the AdultBlock+ service is equivalent to the basic AdultBlock service on an annual basis for the same 10-year time-frame – the promotion offers real value and savings to trademark owners.

Can I transfer the AdultBlock and AdultBlock+ service to a different registrar?

Yes, registrants may transfer the AdultBlock and AdultBlock+ service between registrars. The transfer request will change the Registrar of Record without having to purchase additional years to the life of the service.

Does my customer need to renew their TMCH SMD file?

The AdultBlock and AdultBlock+ service may check the validity of the SMD file at any time throughout the service period. The registrar is responsible for ensuring it is valid.

Some of my original application data from 2011 .XXX Sunrise B block seems to be incorrect, what should I do?

No need to be concerned, please contact customer support with the Sunrise B or trademark label for quick resolution.

Is there a limit on the protection of variants in the SMD file?

No, the AdultBlock+ service will block all non-registered variants in the SMD file.
What information will be shown in the WHOIS?

The WHOIS data will state that the blocked domains are protected by the AdultBlock and AdultBlock+ service.

Can I get volume discounts or rebates?

ICM Registry will provide volume discounts to registrars and other related parties who sign up to the marketing program. Any discounts will be provided at the time of invoice.

My customer wishes to purchase multiple blocks, what discount can I offer them?

Volume discounts are available. Please contact your representative for additional details and pricing.

Can you provide me with coverage data for all my customers?

Yes, just provide us with the list and we will generate a report.

What marketing material can I use to support my activities?

A variety of co-branded items are available including the AdultBlock and AdultBlock+ factsheet, website landing pages and online ads and banners.  We are happy to support your efforts so please contact us for any requests.

 

For further information on MMX’s adult block services, please visit https://adultblock.icmregistry.com