ICANN registry, responsible for .XXX domain name registrations has begun cancelling .XXX registrations that were secured as blocking registrations during the Sunrise B period. In many cases, the registry has simply informed the owner that the domain name has been "cancelled" with no further information. However, a notification of cancellation does not necessarily mean the domain name will be offered for sale. Many of the domain names which have been "cancelled" by the ICANN registry have been withdrawn from the list for sale on the basis they correspond to names of political candidates, celebrity names and certain corporate brand names.
Trade mark owners who did not apply during the Sunrise B period can still take steps to protect their brand by filing an application in the current general availability period as a "blocking" registration. Trade mark owners can still also have recourse to the two main dispute resolution processed available to attack abusive .XXX domain name registration, being the Rapid Evaluation Service Policy (RES) and the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). Trade mark owners could also challenge the eligibility of an .XXX domain name owner under the Charter Eligibility Dispute Resolution Policy (CEDRP). Unlike the UDRP however, a successful RES or CEDRP will only result in cancellation of a domain name.
