Domain Law2
We protect your domain name
Domain law
There is no specific law on domains. Instead, you will find regulations about domains in various areas of law such as the German “Namensrecht”, trademark law and the law against unfair competition.
Data protection law, copyright law, consumer protection regulations might be applicable to the content you are sharing on your domain.
Protecting domains
Domains are an essential part of your company’s external appearance. Your customers expect to find your company or your products under a domain with the same name. Domains are thus inseparably linked to your brand.
Domain registration
The registration of domains complements your brand and trademark protection. A well-planned domain portfolio determines the scope of protection and will save you time and money.
We take domains into account in our consulting services and support you in building a strong domain portfolio, which will help you against abusive domain applications. Before registering and using domains, we conduct research, in particular for conflicting prior rights to avoid infringing third parties’ rights.
Infringement of your property right by a domain registration
In case of an infringement of your IP rights by a new domain registration, we will help you to enforce your rights during negotiations or dispute resolution proceedings.
Have you received a warning letter?
If you are the owner of a domain and you have received a warning letter, please make sure to take note of the deadline in the warning letter. We are happy to advise you on how to proceed.
OUR SERVICES
- Individually tailored advice on your domain strategy
- Support in the selection and registration of the domain avoiding conflicts with prior rights (especially trademarks)
- Drafting of warning letters in case of a conflicting domain registration
- Have you have received a warning letter as the owner of a domain name? We are here to help.
FAQs
A domain is the “address of your homepage” in the world of the internet and easier to read than the IP (Internet Protocol) address.
DENIC administers the allocation of all domains with the country code “.de” for Germany (“Top-Level Domain”) – ensuring that the domain exists only once.
For example: “denic.de”. The first part is the domain name, which can (if available) be the name of your company or brand. The part after the dot (“.de” for Germany), is called “top-level domain”. DENIC is responsible for the allocation of all domains with the country code .de.
The domain is the “address of your homepage” in the world of the Internet. There is only one domain with your domain name on the Internet – ensuring that people can find your homepage.
Your homepage contains your offer of products and/or services.
You can present your company on your homepage, showing and advertising the products and/or services you are offering. The domain is the “address of your homepage” ensuring that your homepage can be found on the Internet. To be easily found on the Internet, it is important to wisely choose your domain name.
Everyone can register a domain. The owner can be an individual, a company, an organization, etc.. Once you are the owner of a domain, others are restricted from registering an identical domain name. However, this does not include the top-level domain. If you have registered “xxxx.de”, a third party will still be able to register “xxx.com”.
No; however, a domain name may infringe trademark rights or other related third parties`rights, or violate unfair competition law. You may, for example, not register “meineCocaCola.de” without expecting legal actions from the Coca-Cola Company.
The owner of the trademark rights or the licensee in some cases.
The owner of a domain has the rights to the domain, but also the obligation to pay the annual fee for the domain. The owner can be an individual, a company, an organization, etc.
We are specialized in IP and are happy to advise you on all your questions regarding domains.
