[ NNSquad ] Manwin Licensing (YouPorn, Playboy Enterprises) files suit against ICANN/ICM re .XXX

[Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com>]

Manwin Licensing (YouPorn, Playboy Enterprises) files suit against
ICANN/ICM re .XXX

http://j.mp/vFesfg  (Wall Street Journal)

http://j.mp/trpvV3  (Business Wire / Virtual-Strategy)

   "Manwin Licensing International, an information technology company
    specializing in highly trafficked websites and online adult
    entertainment, today filed a lawsuit against the Internet
    Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and ICM
    Registry (ICM) for antitrust violations. ICM is the sole operator
    of the .XXX registry, and was selected and approved for that
    position by ICANN, which must approve the operators of all Top
    Level Domain names.  In the lawsuit, filed in the United States
    District Court for the Central District of California, the
    plaintiffs maintain that ICANN and ICM conspired to eliminate
    competitive bidding and any market restraints for certain .XXX
    registry services, with the intent to injure competition and
    consumers.  According to the complaint, the creation of the .XXX
    TLD, forces owners of trademarks and domain names in other Top
    Level Domains (TLDs), such as '.com', to purchase expensive
    "defensive registrations" from ICM to prevent cyber-squatters or
    others from exploiting those names in .XXX."

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--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren 
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org 
Founder:
 - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org 
 - Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
 - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com 
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
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Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com