German Supreme Court Rules On Domain Name Ethics

KARLSRUHE, Germany — The German Supreme Court overruled several lower courts recently, finding that registering generic domain names did not constitute an unethical intent to cause damage.

According to the court, the first-come, first-serve nature of domain registrations does allow the first register an advantage, but domain names made up of generic terms cannot be “grabbed.”

This ruling rejected an earlier charge of “domain grabbing” made by Frankfurt’s Higher Regional Court.

The underlying case revolved around two domains, www.welt-online.de and www.weltonline.de.

Originally registered by a businessman from Kaarst who owns more than 4,000 Internet addresses, their domain ownership came under fire after Axel Spring, Germany’s second-largest magazine publisher and owner of the Die Welt newspaper, discovered the domains had been taken.

Springer won several victories in lower courts, forcing the businessman to avoid using www.welt-online.de in 1999. The businessman relinquished control of the domain, but quickly registered www.weltonline.de, for which Springer sued him again and won in both Frankfurt’s Regional and Higher Regional Courts.

The Supreme Court reversed the lower rulings, finding that, because “welt” means “world” and “world-online” can be used as a generic domain name, it did not constitute an unethical intent to cause damage. The court said that the resulting advantage for the person who registers first is not unethical because domain registrations operate on a first-come, first-serve principle.

The Court’s ruling is consistent with earlier approaches it has taken to domain law.

The case number is I ZR 207/01.

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Nebraska Legislature Passes Republican's Age Verification Bill With No Votes Against It

Nebraska’s unicameral legislature has passed the state’s version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists.

Performers in Meta Blacklisting Lawsuit Seek to Preserve Antitrust Claims

Adult Performance Artists Guild board officers Alana Evans, Kelly Pierce and Ruby have informed a California court that, although they want to drop their lawsuit claiming that Meta conspired with OnlyFans to blacklist rival premium fan platforms’ talent, they may still have antitrust claims that they may pursue in the future.

FSC, Co-Plaintiffs to Ask US Supreme Court to Review Constitutionality of Texas Age Verification Law

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) and its co-plaintiffs in the challenge to Texas’ controversial age verification law have filed a petition before the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit asking to stay its recent upholding the law because they intend to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to review the law’s constitutionality.

FSC Vows to Fight Florida Age Verification Law

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) issued a statement vowing to continue fighting Florida’s age verification law, which was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday as part of a comprehensive bill targeting minors’ use of social media.

Kansas Republican Aims to Create New Bureaucracy to 'Investigate' Porn Websites

Republican state legislators succeeded Monday in moving forward Kansas’ version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists, despite serious concerns raised by House Democrats about the cost of establishing a new bureaucracy tasked with investigating websites for pornographic content.

SK Intertainment Launches 'Skinfluential Management' Agency, FansFuel Joint Venture

Mr. Skin/Mr. Man parent company SK Intertainment has launched new creator agency Skinfluential Management, as well as a new joint venture with Showbizz Media's creator stats and affiliate marketing platform, FansFuel.

Industry Attorney, Free Speech Champion Clyde DeWitt Passes Away at 75

Noted industry attorney Clyde DeWitt passed away on Friday in Las Vegas at 75, according to friends and colleagues.

APClips Names Avery Jane 'Creator of the Month'

APClips has named Avery Jane its Creator of the Month for March.

JustFor.fans Offers Gumroad Users Platform to Sell NSFW Artwork

JustFor.fans (JFF) is offering Gumroad users a platform to sell NSFW artwork after the latter banned adult content.

Live Cam Academy Offers Free Access to Educational Resources

Live Cam Academy is offering its educational resources for free to content creators and cam models.

Show More