A dozen .xxx sites hit by rapid takedown
The National Arbitration Forum has ordered the secret takedown of 12 .xxx domains since the adults-only gTLD launched in December.
NAF yesterday published statistics about the .xxx Rapid Evaluation Service, which ICM Registry created and NAF exclusively administers.
Fifteen RES complaints have been filed since December 6, 12 of which have been resolved so far. All of the cases were won by the complainant — a trademark holder in 11 of the cases.
The RES was designed to handle clear-cut cases of cybersquatting and impersonation. It costs $1,300 to file a complaint and offers a super-fast alternative to the UDRP.
The domains are suspended forever if the complainant is successful.
According to NAF, it’s currently taking on average two business days between the complaint being filed and the domain being suspended.
Because registrants have 10 days to respond – and half of them did – the final decision took an average of 12 business days.
Unlike UDRP, RES decisions are not published, so there’s no way of knowing whether they were fair.
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Um, don’t buy xxx domains. That’s sketchy as hell, decisions aren’t published. Why can’t anyone propose something new like a rapid takedown but make it fair and not shady. Is it that hard to make fair rules?
That is really shady. And leaves plenty of room for corruption to spread through the ranks. Disgusting.
Corruption? in this day and age, there has always been and always will be some corruption sowhere in our society. With those who want to make a quick buck and really could care less who stands in the way. I would’t touch anything that wasn’t public record with a very long pole. That is just like gambling in my opinion hitting the jackpot, only to find out your money gets taken because you had an outstanding ticket from years ago. Thanks but I will stick to the .TLDs that are safe.
While the decisions were quite possibly justified, who’s to know for sure? Unfortunately, the appearance of impropriety and possible abuse will linger as long as the decisions are kept private. There is a question of due process for the registrants, as well, given the short time from complaint to decision.
1. Don’t buy TM domains simply to ride on the brand’s success.
2. What is someone thinking when they buy a TM in .xxx? Or are they thinking?
3. All decisions should be public.
just sayin…
I would imagine the registrants would be making noises if the decisions were unfair, no?
Absent transparency there is no way to judge whether RES is being implemented in a manner that provides adequate due process and results in correct decisions. nor is any case law developed that assures consistency in the future. This cannot be permitted when URS is implemented for new gTLDs.
I don’t care how “clear cut” any of those cases may have been (who knows anyway if you can’t even look it up yourself?).
Any public system that shrouds itself in secrecy is un-American (it is a hallmark feature of totalitarian systems).
It is as simple as that.
Shame on ICM and NAF for allowing such an un-American process to exist!