You are pretty sure having a right to a domain – but someone else has already registered it? And you also fear that this someone might try to transfer the domain to a third party – before you can lay your hands on it? Then resort to DISPUTE as a reliable means for putting a stop to such ambitions.
All .de domains are registered by the .de managing organization, DENIC, according to the priority principle ("first come, first served"). However, by concluding the domain contract with DENIC, holders declare that their registration does not infringe the rights of third parties, such as name or trademark rights.
Nevertheless, disputes over domains occur time and again – even if their number is very small compared to the total number of .de domains under management: For example, companies or manufacturers of certain commodities notice that the names of their organization or products that are protected as a registered trademark or because of their geographical origin, are used by third parties in a way they deem unlawful. Or private individuals discover that e-mails are being sent or websites operated under domains containing their name by people whom they doubt holding a legal title to these domains.
But how can owners of name or trademark rights proceed if they consider a certain domain to infringe these rights? And can DENIC support in any way their endeavour to get hold of such domain?
Check out who is the Opposing Party: Know the Domain Holder
Enforcing one’s rights does not always require an expensive lawsuit. Often enough, an amicable agreement can be reached with the current domain holder. In Germany, out-of-court dispute resolution procedures have long been well-established legal instruments.
However, regardless of what further legal steps they plan to take, claimants should first of all check out who holds the domain that they believe infringes their rights.
If the domain in question ends in .de, claimants can apply to DENIC for information about who is the holder of the respective domain at the time of the request, against proof of their legitimate interest, using the dedicated form made available by DENIC for this purpose. The form indicates which conditions must be met by claimants for holder data to be disclosed, in line with the stipulations of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
If it emerges during the request for owner disclosure procedure that there is a name match between the enquirer and the registered domain holder, the claim remains with the first registered name holder, in line with the "first come, first served" priority rule – unless the new claimant whose name is identical succeeds in invoking and enforcing stronger rights in court.
In case domain holder and claimant names are not identical, the claimant who feels their rights are violated can try to reach an amicable settlement with the holder – or, if this fails, go to court.
Taking Legal Action is for Claimants – DISPUTE Entries Provide Mere Back-Up Support
In each conflict arising about domains DENIC will remain neutral, meaning that neither will DENIC examine nor evaluate the legal status of or any content linked to such domains. The sole responsibility for any infringements of rights through a domain lies with its holder.
Therefore DENIC will not take any action until the legal proceedings at issue over a domain are settled – which mostly comes through a final judgment delivered against the current domain holder.
However, DENIC may offer assistance to claimants who feel that a domain infringes their rights, by enabling for such domain, upon request, what is called a DISPUTE Entry: Bearing an active DISPUTE Entry label will prevent a domain from being transferred to a third party, during an ongoing lawsuit, while allowing the registered holder to continue using it for the time being, until the suit is resolved.
Why Apply for a DISPUTE Entry: Requirements & Procedure
DISPUTE Entries are in place to help preventing the undue protraction of lawsuits concerning domains or – at worst – the need to restart such litigations all over again: Once DENIC has enabled a DISPUTE Entry, claimants no longer run the risk to find themselves in a situation where all of a sudden they have to face and deal with another opposing party, simply because the previous holder, in an attempt to evade their responsibility, would transfer the domain to a third party.
Nevertheless it should be noted that DENIC accepting a claimant’s request and enabling a DISPUTE Entry for a certain domain does in NO way constitute any prior legal assessment on DENIC‘s behalf, in favor of the claimant, nor any recognition as to the legality of their claim.
Several conditions apply in order to be eligible to obtain a DISPUTE Entry. These are specified in a dedicated application form made available by DENIC.
DISPUTE Entries are free of charge and will initially be valid for one year, following DENIC’s Entry enabled notification.
If deleted by the current holder during this period, the contested domain will immediately pass on to the DISPUTE holder.
However, if the lawsuit against the current domain holder continues beyond the DISPUTE validity period and the DISPUTE holder can demonstrate this by submitting appropriate evidence to DENIC, the DISPUTE Entry may be renewed, upon separate request. Otherwise, it will expire without prior notice after the one-year period, this way allowing the domain to be transferred to a third party again by its current holder.
