YNOT – UK-based IPRota has released a whitepaper documenting the process by which trademark owners may protect their intellectual property rights within the dot-xxx domain space by blocking potentially infringing domain names during the Sunrise B registration phase. IPRota in March received the contract to manage pre-launch IP rights protection for dot-xxx overseer ICM Registry.

According to IPRota, the retail cost to block domains likely will be in the U.S. $200 to $300 range. Retail pricing will be set by individual registrars, not by IPRota or ICM.

Details about the domain-blocking process are revealed in a whitepaper entitled “Taking control: safeguarding brand owners’ rights in .XXX,” which debuted Monday during the International Trademark Association’s annual meeting in San Francisco. The whitepaper is aimed at trademark owners operating outside the adult entertainment industry.

“This year will see the introduction of dot-xxx, arguably the most significant web suffix since dot-com was launched back in 1985,” said IPRota Director Jonathan Robinson. “Although the Top Level Domain name is targeted at the adult industry, its introduction in September 2011 will have far reaching implications. With tens of thousands of adult entertainment website owners already pre-reserving their domains, this whitepaper outlines how trademark owners operating outside the adult industry can safeguard their marks in dot-xxx.”

Although pre-registration of dot-xxx domains has been going on for some time, actually registration, beginning with sunrise periods for intellectual property owners inside and outside the adult industry, is expected to open on or about Sept. 1.

According to Robinson, the whitepaper outlines ICM Registry’s rights-protection mechanism as it relates to placing trademarked names on a list domains which are prohibited from use in perpetuity. The option, provided for a one-time fee, will be available to rights owners only during the pre-launch and sunrise periods.

“We are delighted to be working with ICM on the dot-xxx launch,” Robinson said. “The ICM management team is strongly positive about effective protections for rights owners. We look forward to working with them on a Sunrise program that we believe will become a model of good practice.”

ICM Chief Operating Officer Russell King said, “We have a duty of care to members of our sponsored community of adult entertainment professionals and also to the broader business community to implement measures that will minimize conflicts. IPRota has the expertise and systems to ensure that those who want to block their brands from use within dot-xxx can do so whilst those with a legitimate claim to a dot-xxx domain are supported effectively.”

The whitepaper is available here.