Use Of Typing-Error-Domains – "Wetteronline.De"

German Federal Court of Justice, decision dated January 22, 2014, case no. I ZR 164/12

In a recent decision the Federal Court of Justice has dealt for the first time with the question whether the use of so called typing-error-domains constitutes a violation of the right to a name or is to be qualified as a breach of competition law. The plaintiff operated its service under the domain "wetteronline.de". The defendant registered "wetteronlin.de" to redirect users to a different website where he presented advertisements.

No violation of the right to a name – The Federal Court of Justice denied a claim based on a violation of the right to a name. The part of the name "wetteronline" was found not to have any inherent distinctiveness. Considering the corporate purpose of weather forecast, the court stated the appellation to be solely descriptive.