Colleges are scrambling to buy up domain names ending with the new .XXX suffix before pornographers get the chance, according to a report in The Week.  The University of Kansas, for instance, purchased the domains KUgirls.xxx and KUnurses.xxx, while Indiana University reportedly purchased Hoosiers.xxx.

Other brands, including Nike and Target, are reportedly buying up their .xxx domains as well.  Google reportedly owns YouTube.xxx, Google.xxx and Blogspot.xxx, among others.

As FVLD noted in an October, 2011 Legal Update, brand owners “remain justifiably concerned about protecting their trademarks from registration as .XXX domains and the potential damage to business reputation and goodwill that would be caused by an unwanted and improper association with online pornography and the adult entertainment industry.”

Though no one is likely to assume that KU operates a porn site featuring its own students, the school still found the estimated $3,000 cost of buying up .xxx domains a worthwhile investment in protecting its image (no word yet on who owns Penn State’s domains).

During the rollout of the .xxx domain, businesses were given an opportunity to block objectionable domains from becoming available, but, as of December 6, such domains are generally available on a first-come, first-served basis.  The best option left for businesses looking to keep their marks away from pornographers is to buy the domains before they fall into the wrong hands.  Businesses whose marks have already been registered as unwanted .xxx domains may (depending on the circumstances of the case) still have certain legal remedies, including trademark claims, available to them.