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On November 15, 2011, Manwin and Digital Playground filed an anti-trust lawsuit against [[ICM Registry]] and [[ICANN]]. The company claims that ICM and ICANN conducted anti-competitive, monopolistic conduct, price gouging and unfair practices. The complainants asked the court to issue an injunction order on the [[.xxx]] [[sTLD]], order ICANN to open a re-bidding process for the sTLD, and to require price constraints for ICM. The legal charges were filed at the United States Central District Court of California.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/youporn-sues-icann-and-icm-over-xxx/ YouPorn sues ICANN and ICM over .xxx]</ref> Following the lawsuit, Manwin also requested the [[ICDR|International Centre for Dispute Resolution]] conduct an [[IRP|Independent Review Proceedings]] (IRP) with regards to ICANN's actions.<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/irp/manwin-v-icann/notice-of-independent-review-16nov11-en.pdf Notice of Independent Review]</ref> <ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/irp/manwin-v-icann/request-for-independent-review-16nov11-en.pdf Request for IRP]</ref> Manwin is only the second company to ever file an IRP with ICANN; the first was filed by ICM Registry after the [[ICANN Board]] initially approved then denied the [[.xxx]] extension after the 2004 round of gTLD expansion. Manwin's IRP was aimed mainly at .xxx, but raises questions of legitimacy for the rest of ICANN's 2012 [[New gTLD Program|new gTLD program]].<ref>[http://domainincite.com/youporn-challenges-new-gtlds-with-review-demand/ YouPorn Challenges New gTLDs with Review Demand, DomainIncite.com]</ref>
On November 15, 2011, Manwin and Digital Playground filed an anti-trust lawsuit against [[ICM Registry]] and [[ICANN]]. The company claims that ICM and ICANN conducted anti-competitive, monopolistic conduct, price gouging and unfair practices. The complainants asked the court to issue an injunction order on the [[.xxx]] [[sTLD]], order ICANN to open a re-bidding process for the sTLD, and to require price constraints for ICM. The legal charges were filed at the United States Central District Court of California.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/youporn-sues-icann-and-icm-over-xxx/ YouPorn sues ICANN and ICM over .xxx]</ref> Following the lawsuit, Manwin also requested the [[ICDR|International Centre for Dispute Resolution]] conduct an [[IRP|Independent Review Proceedings]] (IRP) with regards to ICANN's actions.<ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/irp/manwin-v-icann/notice-of-independent-review-16nov11-en.pdf Notice of Independent Review]</ref> <ref>[http://www.icann.org/en/irp/manwin-v-icann/request-for-independent-review-16nov11-en.pdf Request for IRP]</ref> Manwin is only the second company to ever file an IRP with ICANN; the first was filed by ICM Registry after the [[ICANN Board]] initially approved then denied the [[.xxx]] extension after the 2004 round of gTLD expansion. Manwin's IRP was aimed mainly at .xxx, but raises questions of legitimacy for the rest of ICANN's 2012 [[New gTLD Program|new gTLD program]].<ref>[http://domainincite.com/youporn-challenges-new-gtlds-with-review-demand/ YouPorn Challenges New gTLDs with Review Demand, DomainIncite.com]</ref>


In January, 2012, Manwin acquired Digital Playground.<ref>[http://www.xbiz.com/news/143303 Manwin Acquires Digital Playground, xbiz.com]</ref> Later that month, ICANN and ICM both filed motions to dismiss the case. ICANN argued that, as it was an organization not engaged in "trade or commerce," the US anti-trust laws did not apply to it; additionally, both ICM and ICANN argued that Manwin's filing was essentially complaining about the possible increase in competition for them. ICM cited that Manwin had earlier attempt to approach them with a supposed mutually-beneficial agreement, in which Manwin would acquire various premium .xxx domains for free, in exchange sharing the profits of these domains with ICM. When ICM turned down the agreement, Manwin Managing Partner Fabian Thylmann said that he would do whatever he could to stop .xxx.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/icann-antitrust-law-does-not-apply-to-us/ ICANN: antitrust law does not apply to us, domainincite.com]</ref> ICANN's and ICM's motions to dismiss can be found [http://domainincite.com/docs/icann-manwin-motion-to-dismiss.pdf here] and [http://domainincite.com/docs/manwin-icm-motion-to-dismiss-2.pdf here] respectively. Manwin, ICANN and ICM Registry announced that they were in talks and hoping to resolve some or all of the outstanding complaints. The motions to dismiss the case filed by ICANN and ICM were temporarily put on hold.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/icm-and-youporn-in-antitrust-settlement-talks/ ICM and YouPorn in AntiTrust Settlement Talks, DomainIncite.com]</ref> On February 17, the company amended its anti-trust lawsuit against ICANN and ICM Registy. According to Manwin's counsel Kevin E. Gaut, two related state law claims were dropped to avoid potential risks of trial delays.<ref>[http://www.thedomains.com/2012/02/21/manwin-amends-complaint-against-icm-icann-drops-2-state-claims-talks-of-settlement/ Manwin Amends Complaint Against ICM & ICANN & Drops 2 State Claims & Talks Of Settlement]</ref>
In January, 2012, Manwin acquired Digital Playground.<ref>[http://www.xbiz.com/news/143303 Manwin Acquires Digital Playground, xbiz.com]</ref> Later that month, ICANN and ICM both filed motions to dismiss the case. ICANN argued that, as it was an organization not engaged in "trade or commerce," the US anti-trust laws did not apply to it; additionally, both ICM and ICANN argued that Manwin's filing was essentially complaining about the possible increase in competition for them. ICM cited that Manwin had earlier attempt to approach them with a supposed mutually-beneficial agreement, in which Manwin would acquire various premium .xxx domains for free, in exchange sharing the profits of these domains with ICM. When ICM turned down the agreement, Manwin Managing Partner Fabian Thylmann said that he would do whatever he could to stop .xxx.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/icann-antitrust-law-does-not-apply-to-us/ ICANN: antitrust law does not apply to us, domainincite.com]</ref> ICANN's and ICM's motions to dismiss can be found [http://domainincite.com/docs/icann-manwin-motion-to-dismiss.pdf here] and [http://domainincite.com/docs/manwin-icm-motion-to-dismiss-2.pdf here] respectively.  
 
In mid-February, Manwin, ICANN and ICM Registry announced that they were in talks and hoping to resolve some or all of the outstanding complaints. The motions to dismiss the case filed by ICANN and ICM were temporarily put on hold.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/icm-and-youporn-in-antitrust-settlement-talks/ ICM and YouPorn in AntiTrust Settlement Talks, DomainIncite.com]</ref> On February 17, the company amended its anti-trust lawsuit against ICANN and ICM Registy. According to Manwin's counsel Kevin E. Gaut, two related state law claims were dropped to avoid potential risks of trial delays.<ref>[http://www.thedomains.com/2012/02/21/manwin-amends-complaint-against-icm-icann-drops-2-state-claims-talks-of-settlement/ Manwin Amends Complaint Against ICM & ICANN & Drops 2 State Claims & Talks Of Settlement]</ref>


In August, 2012, a mixed ruling by the Central District of California District Court accepted only 2 out of ICANN and ICM's 7 motions to dismiss. The court ruled that ICANN would be subject to anti-trust law, as ICM pays fees to them in order to be permitted to run the .xxx domain space, and that the trial would proceed with focus on the "defensive registrations" market.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/10149-court-rules-youporn-can-sue-icann-for-alleged-xxx-antitrust-violations Court rules YouPorn can sue ICANN for alleged .xxx antitrust violations, domainincite.com]</ref>
In August, 2012, a mixed ruling by the Central District of California District Court accepted only 2 out of ICANN and ICM's 7 motions to dismiss. The court ruled that ICANN would be subject to anti-trust law, as ICM pays fees to them in order to be permitted to run the .xxx domain space, and that the trial would proceed with focus on the "defensive registrations" market.<ref>[http://domainincite.com/10149-court-rules-youporn-can-sue-icann-for-alleged-xxx-antitrust-violations Court rules YouPorn can sue ICANN for alleged .xxx antitrust violations, domainincite.com]</ref>

Revision as of 05:22, 11 October 2012

Type: Privately held
Industry: Information Technology
Founded: 2007
Founder(s): Fabian Thylmann
Headquarters: Luxembourg City
Country: Luxembourg
Employees: 700
Email: info[at]manwin.com
Website: www.manwin.com
Key People
Fabian Thylmann,Founder & Managing Partner

Manwin is an information technology and licensing company which owns and operates adult oriented trademarks and websites. The company's main office is located in Luxembourg with offices located in Hamburg, London, Los Angeles, Nicosia, and Montreal.

Background[edit | edit source]

Manwin was founded by Fabian Thylmann, a geek from Germany who specializes in search engine optimization. He started developing codes for porn sites at the age of 17. Thylmann learned that porn sites gain high web traffic with good profitability so he started acquiring small adult entertainment sites such as PrivatAmateure, MyDirtyHobby, XTube and Brazzers. Manwin became the official name of the company when it expanded and acquired several porn sites for over 140 million.[1] [2] [3]

In November, 2011, Manwinn entered a partnership agreement with Playboy Enterprises, Inc. to manage the operations of Playboy TV worldwide, including its non-branded adult television and online businesses.[4] During the same month, the company also introduced Legendary Stats, an affiliate aggregation product website which allows users to access all of Manwin's products using one log-in.[5]

Services[edit | edit source]

The company provides the following solutions to its customers:[6]

  • Web Application Development
  • Search Engine Optimization
  • Customer Relationship Management
  • Website Optimization
  • Business Intelligence

ICANN & Lawsuits[edit | edit source]

On November 15, 2011, Manwin and Digital Playground filed an anti-trust lawsuit against ICM Registry and ICANN. The company claims that ICM and ICANN conducted anti-competitive, monopolistic conduct, price gouging and unfair practices. The complainants asked the court to issue an injunction order on the .xxx sTLD, order ICANN to open a re-bidding process for the sTLD, and to require price constraints for ICM. The legal charges were filed at the United States Central District Court of California.[7] Following the lawsuit, Manwin also requested the International Centre for Dispute Resolution conduct an Independent Review Proceedings (IRP) with regards to ICANN's actions.[8] [9] Manwin is only the second company to ever file an IRP with ICANN; the first was filed by ICM Registry after the ICANN Board initially approved then denied the .xxx extension after the 2004 round of gTLD expansion. Manwin's IRP was aimed mainly at .xxx, but raises questions of legitimacy for the rest of ICANN's 2012 new gTLD program.[10]

In January, 2012, Manwin acquired Digital Playground.[11] Later that month, ICANN and ICM both filed motions to dismiss the case. ICANN argued that, as it was an organization not engaged in "trade or commerce," the US anti-trust laws did not apply to it; additionally, both ICM and ICANN argued that Manwin's filing was essentially complaining about the possible increase in competition for them. ICM cited that Manwin had earlier attempt to approach them with a supposed mutually-beneficial agreement, in which Manwin would acquire various premium .xxx domains for free, in exchange sharing the profits of these domains with ICM. When ICM turned down the agreement, Manwin Managing Partner Fabian Thylmann said that he would do whatever he could to stop .xxx.[12] ICANN's and ICM's motions to dismiss can be found here and here respectively.

In mid-February, Manwin, ICANN and ICM Registry announced that they were in talks and hoping to resolve some or all of the outstanding complaints. The motions to dismiss the case filed by ICANN and ICM were temporarily put on hold.[13] On February 17, the company amended its anti-trust lawsuit against ICANN and ICM Registy. According to Manwin's counsel Kevin E. Gaut, two related state law claims were dropped to avoid potential risks of trial delays.[14]

In August, 2012, a mixed ruling by the Central District of California District Court accepted only 2 out of ICANN and ICM's 7 motions to dismiss. The court ruled that ICANN would be subject to anti-trust law, as ICM pays fees to them in order to be permitted to run the .xxx domain space, and that the trial would proceed with focus on the "defensive registrations" market.[15]

UDRP[edit | edit source]

In January, 2012, Manwin filed its first UDRP case. It claims that a Russian registrant had infringed on its PornHub.com site.[16]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Fabian Thylmann Linkedin Profile
  2. ↑ The Geek Kings of Smut
  3. ↑ How Geeks Took Over The Online Porn Business
  4. ↑ Playboy Enterprises, Inc. and Manwin Close
  5. ↑ Manwin Launches New Affiliate Site
  6. ↑ Solutions
  7. ↑ YouPorn sues ICANN and ICM over .xxx
  8. ↑ Notice of Independent Review
  9. ↑ Request for IRP
  10. ↑ YouPorn Challenges New gTLDs with Review Demand, DomainIncite.com
  11. ↑ Manwin Acquires Digital Playground, xbiz.com
  12. ↑ ICANN: antitrust law does not apply to us, domainincite.com
  13. ↑ ICM and YouPorn in AntiTrust Settlement Talks, DomainIncite.com
  14. ↑ Manwin Amends Complaint Against ICM & ICANN & Drops 2 State Claims & Talks Of Settlement
  15. ↑ Court rules YouPorn can sue ICANN for alleged .xxx antitrust violations, domainincite.com
  16. ↑ Manwin Files its First Cybersquatting Complaint, DomainIncite.com
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