Virgin forgot to register RichardBranson.xxx, but mystery squatter didn’t

Those pesky .xxx domain names are causing issues again. Last month, we reported that someone not directly linked to the Pope registered vatican.xxx, and The Vatican was eager to gain control of the domain.

This time around, someone has decided to register RichardBranson.xxx and potentially hold it for a Sir’s ransom. The .xxx domains just went on sale last December and it seems like squatters are buying them up in hopes of selling them back to their rightful owner. Virgin filed an official dispute with the National Arbitration Forum in hopes of seizing control of the domain.

While it’s clear that disputes over registered trademarks and copyrights are no-brainers, it will be interesting to see how a dispute over someone’s name, one that could be shared by many, will turn out in the eyes of the NAF.

It appears that it’s someone’s job over at Virgin to protect all of the companies IP online, as a spokesperson shared this comment with the BBC:

We spend a lot of time protecting the Virgin brand and the Richard Branson name and increasingly this takes us online. We do see this as a growing problem with the changes to top-level domains and we not alone.

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We’ll keep an eye on how this one turns out, and we’re sure to hear more stories like this since ICANN has rolled out the application process for new domain extensions again.

What do you think about the .xxx squatter? Are unregistered domains fair game, or should they have to give Branson his sexy domain back? Tell us in the comments!