.XXX Arbitration to Be Held in September

PALM BEACH, Fla. — ICM Registry’s top-level domain .XXX proposal will go through a round of arbitration in late September.

ICM Registry is asking for a three-judge panel to rule in favor of its application to serve as .XXX registry operator because it met criteria set forth in a December 2003 request for proposal.

ICM Registry claims in more than a 1,000 pages of documents that ICANN acted inconsistently with its own articles of incorporation and bylaws.

Stuart Lawley, who is chairman and president of ICM Registry, told XBIZ Monday that the venue for arbitration will be in Washington, D.C., and not the Hague, as originally planned.

The neutrals involved, Lawley told XBIZ, include Judge Stephen Myron Schwebel, an independent arbitrator and counsel who is an expert on international law. Schewebel has been appointed in 50 international commercial arbitrations and in five intergovernmental arbitrations.

Schwebel will be joined by two other arbitrators — one from Europe, one from the U.S.

Lawley said he’s adamant about a victory using alternate dispute resolution.

“[It’s] always been a win for us in our opinion,” he said. “That's why we have invested more than $3 million to date in legal fees alone for this.”

ICM Registry saw its application to enable .XXX killed by the Internet policy-making board for a third time in March 2007 after three years of planning.

The scuttled proposal would have made ICM Registry required to contract third parties to monitor registrant compliance with content site-labeling requirements.

It also would have been required to create a set of “best practices” to protect children online and fund the International Foundation for Online Responsibility, an independent organization ICM has said it would create if approved. ICM pledged to donate $10 of the proposed annual fee of $60 for a .XXX domain name to child-protection groups and require users of .XXX to label their content.

ICM Registry briefs submitted by Washington, D.C., law firm Crowell & Moring in late January contend that ICANN’s decision to nix .XXX were arbitrary.

Lawley contends that the reasons that ICANN cited as the basis for its denial of ICM’s application were false and pretextual — “a mere cover for ICANN’s bowing to undue political pressure.”

The brief was referring to alleged pressure from the U.S. Commerce Department, which ICM Registry accused of working behind the scenes to kill .XXX. Later, a federal judge ruled against ICM Registry in its bid to gain access to conversations between ICANN and the federal agency through a Freedom of Information Act suit.

ICM Registry also contends that a .XXX proposal has a lot of support among online adult businesses because so many of them sought domain name addresses with the .XXX suffix.

“There is substantial industry support for the .XXX domain, as evidenced by the letters of support submitted with ICM’s application and the large number of providers that have participated in ICM’s pre-reservation program, which allows for applicants to reserve domain names in advance of the approval of the sTLD application for .XXX,” the brief said. “To date, over 100,000 such pre-reservations have been made.”

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Pineapple Support, Stripchat to Host 'Navigating Thoughts of Suicide' Support Group

Pineapple Support and Stripchat are hosting a free online support group to help performers deal with suicidal ideation.

Plaiir Names Cade Maddox as Lead of Creator Relations

Networking platform Plaiir has appointed Cade Maddox as its new lead of creator relations.

Go.cam Launches 'One-Line Integration' Verification Solution

Go.cam has introduced a one-line code integration for age verification.

XBIZ Amsterdam to Debut 'Behind the Lens' Screening Series

XBIZ is pleased to announce the debut of “Behind the Lens,” a new screening series presenting discussions with noted directors, taking place at the upcoming annual European conference, XBIZ Amsterdam.

'White Rabbit' Party Headed for XBIZ Amsterdam

XBIZ is pleased to announce the White Rabbit Party, an XBIZ Amsterdam special event set to take place Wednesday, Sept. 3.

2025 XBIZ Amsterdam Speaker Lineup Announced

XBIZ is pleased to announce the release of the full speaker lineup for XBIZ Amsterdam 2025, the latest edition of Europe’s biggest adult industry conference, set to take place Sept. 2-5 at the Jakarta Hotel in Amsterdam.

Sara Jay, Dan Leal to Sponsor XBIZ Amsterdam Kick-Off Event

Sara Jay’s Wyde Syde Productions and Porno Dan Leal’s Market64 will co-sponsor the Bottoms Up Day Drinking kick-off event for XBIZ Amsterdam 2025 at Excalibur Café on Sept. 2, from 2-4 p.m. (CET).

AEBN Publishes Report on DP Trends

AEBN has published a report on DP and extreme penetration categories from its straight and gay theaters.

Free Speech Coalition Appoints Megan Stokes to Board of Directors

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) announced today that it has appointed Megan Stokes to its Board of Directors.

FansRevenue Acquires DivaTraffic

FansRevenue has acquired web traffic service DivaTraffic.

Show More