I was reading the .xxx cybersquatting piece on Domain Name Wire. Andrew mentioned who he thought should protect their brand and who did not have to worry about it. Kevin Murphy from Domain Incite mentioned in the comments, “another category you might want to mention is celebrities.”
I agree with Kevin 100 % and I think this will be a hot area for cybersquatting.
There are plenty of people searching everyday for their favorite (mostly female) celebrity nude or xxx or sex.
Using the Google Keyword Tool here are some celebrity search numbers for XXX.
Beyonce XXX on Google shows 4400 searches
Britney Spears XXX 18,000 searches
Selena Gomez XXX the 18 year old Disney star has 22,200 searches
Miley Cyrus XXX also 18 and a Disney star with 22,000 searches
Kim Kardashian XXX 33,000 searches, of course Miss Kardashian does have a sex tape
Even Justin Bieber XXX got 2900 searches
So it stands to reason that celebrities need their people on top of the .xxx issue. These names will get registered imo.
They will always have the URS to grab that back .
This is true except, in order to be eligible during the sunrise period, they will need to have a registered trademark for their name.
If they don’t, their only other option is to wait for general availability phase and register an annual non-resolving registration.
Tom Barrett
EnCirca.com