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CZECH REPUBLIC


THE RESOLUTE COURT FOR DOMAIN DISPUTES


Petra Korejzova Korejzová & Spol


CZE


Given the increasing importance of brand power in everyday business, especially for commercial companies on the Internet, domain name registrations are becoming more desirable. As a result, domain name disputes are on the rise.


A particular feature of these disputes is the need to solve them promptly—in the rapidly changing Internet world, days and weeks can make a vital difference. This means that for most domain disputes, the normal procedures in a general court are too slow, rigid and cumbersome.


In the Czech Republic, an alternative process that deals with domain name disputes has existed since 2004. The arbitration proceeding, conducted through the Arbitration Court, which is attached to the Economic Chamber of the Czech Republic and Agricultural Chamber of the Czech Republic, saves time and money for both parties.


.eu in court


In 2004, the Arbitration Court was granted permission to decide disputes over .cz top-level domain names (TLDs). The proceedings in these cases are currently being conducted online, using a designated secure platform that enables quick resolutions to disputes. Proceedings concerning domain names take place through the Arbitration Court according to the Order for Resolving Disputes Concerning .cz Domains. The Arbitration Court has earned a reputation for credibility over the years in the Czech Republic and abroad. An increasing number of plaintiffs have chosen this method to resolve their domain name disputes.


Arbitration Court’s decisions are not limited to domain names within the .cz domain (domény.cz). As early as April 12, 2005, .eu domain administrator EURid commissioned the Arbitration Court to formulate an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) system for


104 World Intellectual Property Review e-Digest 2012


.eu domain name disputes. The Arbitration Court is responsible for maintaining the authorised proceedings under the ADR Rules and Supplementary Rules in accordance with the principles and rules of the European Commission.


The applicability of these rules to .eu disputes, as well as the Arbitration Court’s authority to provide an ADR system for the .eu TLD, was reviewed and substantiated in the European Court of Justice (CJEU) because of a case that involved the name of web portal Reifen and the corresponding domain reifen.eu.


During the sunrise period for the .eu TLD, Austrian company Internetportal und Marketing GmbH registered 33 trademarks that were made up of commonly used terms, but individual letters in the trademarks were separated by the ampersand symbol (&).


‘&R&E&I&F&E&N&’ was registered as a trademark and Internetportal subsequently registered the generic domain reifen.eu with the right of priority.


Richard Schlicht, the owner of the Belgian trademark for Reifen, requested that the domain reifen.eu be transferred and filed suit in the Czech Republic Court of Arbitration. The court ordered the transfer of the domain, but Internetportal responded by challenging the Arbitration Court judgment and submitting the case to the Austrian courts. The Austrian Supreme Court has subsequently referred the issue to the CJEU. In its response the CJEU, inter alia, confirmed the admissibility of the application of the EURid registration provisions of the applicant’s domain, the competency of the Arbitration Court to decide over ADR proceedings for the .eu domains and the applicability of the ADR Rules.


Strength to strength


Since it handled its first .eu case in March 2006, the Arbitration Court has dealt with more than 1000 domain name disputes and has issued more than 900 decisions. Proceedings, which can be heard in 21 of


www.worldipreview.com


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