Legal Question in Technology Law in United Kingdom
Registering of German town or village names, as a domain name, in the UK
Under paragraph 12 of the German civil code, all rights to the use of German village or town names belong to the relevant council, 'Gemeinde'. It has been decided in German court, that a German resident is not entitled to register a German place name as a domain name.
If a UK resident was to register German town or village names, as domain names. e.g. Dusseldorf.com,.net,.org,.info or .de, would the British legal system permit a German authority to enforce the German law, forcing the UK resident to give up their domain name?
Regards.
Barrie
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Registering of German town or village names, as a domain name, in the UK
Yes. The English courts would give effect to the German owner�s rights in the name. However, I doubt whether ICANN would permit your Domain agent/ISP to register these domain names anyway