Manwin Licensing International v. ICANN
Manwin Licensing International v. ICANN was an Independent Review Process relating to ICANN's delegation of the .xxx domain to ICM. It ran from November 2011 to May 2013.[1]
Summary
Manwin Licensing International was the owner of numerous licenses and trademarks for adult oriented domain names such as YouPorn and xTube. The company filed a request for an Independent Review Process on November 16, 2011.[1] The company claimed that the ICANN Board fell short of addressing important issues such as competition, consumer protection, malicious abuse and rights protection prior to its decision to delegate the .xxx TLD. In addition, Manwin alleged that ICANN failed to adhere to its process in selecting a registry for .xxx; failed to create adequate rights protections within its Registry Agreement with ICM; failed to compel ICM to follow its obligations under the Registry Agreement; and allowed ICM to engage in anti-competitive practices and violate the intellectual property rights of rights holders.[2]