How ICANN and Registrars extort brands

If you haven't heard of the latest changes in the Top Level Domain world, it's time to start reading up.  Recently, the .xxx TLD went live, but as we've started to learn, it's the registrars and squatters making the money, in a system where companies are essentially being forced to defensively register domains to avoid trademark infringement later down the road.

Here's my problem:

Trademarks are a known commodity

.

ICANN, in all it's wisdom of allowing this new land-rush of domain names, could have easily created a system whereby existing trademarks were exempt from the process, and trademark owners could, if they wanted to, register a .xxx domain.  I equate this to the opt-in of most email programs.

Instead, legitimate trademark owners must either pro-actively register the .xxx domains as a defensive move (at $99 a year) or risk them being registered illegally and then trying to wrestle control back using the UDRP process + lawyers.

Why is this even possible?

Why is it that Microsoft can't sue GoDaddy for even

 some nitwit to register microsoft.xxx.  GoDaddy knows that only the

Microsoft should

 be the one to register that trademarked name.  It's a trademark.  That's the point.  There's a big list over at the USPTO of all the trademarked terms, and ICANN and the registrars could just load in that list and wait for a company to dispute

being able to register a trademarked .xxx instead of the other way around.

On January 12th, 2012, generic term TLDs will become available...  This is the next chapter in this nightmare. Brands (this time for even bigger money) can start to register generic terms, as the last little bit at the end of a URL...  This means you could one day go to http://diet.coke and actually get somewhere.

Reminds me of something I read a while back:  The hardest challenge our grandchildren will face? Finding a username (or in this case a .com) that hasn't already been taken.